Thing 23: Making it All Work Together

The first concern I had regarding social media streaming was that all my accounts, and their login info, is in one place for hackers to get at and the truth is - i'm a bit paranoid about these things (i feel weird checking my email on the bus WiFi) and if hackers really were skilled enough they wouldnt need all of it on a plate.

With a bit of a look around i found this could be useful, both in terms of keeping up with group and twitter activity for LIS but also if i wanted to get going on my entertainment news blogging again as i often find information across Facebook, Twitter and the internet at large. The requirement for this post was to reflect on one of the options, but i prefer to look at the ones I can sign up for and talk a bit about each. For the main part, however, I focus on HootSuite.

Due to the mobile app download requirements of Flipbook, i went for  Hoot suite, which is something i've came across on Twitter before. The limit of 3 feeds (particularly in terms of linkedin groups) is a bit of a letdown as this could be so useful if it went across more LinkedIn groups. My email already compresses updates on LinkedIn so it'd have to be worth my while to use a different platform for connecting social media outlets. Particularly since, although the cross platform posting sounds useful, i'm not using social media for work at the moment and any other news blogging i'm doing, Facebook and twitter already cross-platform post to each other, meaning posting to my Facebook group via Hootsuite would double-post on twitter. The useful item on this may be scheduling, but cant Facebook groups already do that? 

It is however very useful for looking at feeds on your screen in the one place. I do find it difficult to keep up with all the Twitter accounts i follow (especially since my tweet alerts to my phone don't seem to work any more) and having them in lists takes time to switch between them where you can have various lists spread across your Hootsuite. Despite my earlier comments, i'm not knocking it as a useful posting tool - it would be more of use should i use it in the future for work as LinkedIn and other social media that aren't Facebook and Twitter can be added in that I wouldn't necessarily use for my entertainment news sharing.  I would just need to get a pro account for this to be of benefit.

Google alerts is something i used before. I cant remember unsubscribing from it but i don't think i get the alerts anymore. This is something that could be useful; if you use your librarian skills on search engines well as too general terms will give you too general results and result overload.

Buffer may be of use in the future also as it allows you to schedule links to share rather than just posts and you can edit the post depending on the platform you're sharing to.

*PAT ON BACK*

Thing 12: Attending conferences

It's interesting that this topic came up in my study schedule today. I am in the most recent ILN (international Librarian Network) program and this is our first post-introductory topic of conversation. This is a program where you're connected with a peer from another part of the world in a sort of peer mentoring capacity. I just sent an email to my peer Chester in the Philippines talking about a few of the seminars and PD day's I went to as part of the LIA and also New Professionals Day.

The most useful ones I've attended are a Career Professional Development day on CVs and interviews in Pearse Library last year and New Professionals Day 2015 (duly noted I see our 3D elephant is pictured in the post). I understand the importance of networking and the condensed information presentations at these events, but unless they are affordable and I have adequate time to book time off, it can be difficult to attend. For example, the one-day conference at DBS this year sounded fantastic and was free (this is my favourite word) but as it turned out I was sick that particular day. In this case, online recording of the event was very helpful!

I would love to go to any RDA workshop, but as it stands I don't have that kind of money, and when management are talking about reviewing opening hours I can hardly imagine a worse time to ask to be sponsored to attend, especially when our current cataloguing system works just fine. As I work in an academic library, the A&SL conference would be something I will venture to, but I will need to,again, prepare my own funding for attending. Another event I plan on attending next year is Library Camp. It didn't work out this year because I had a christening to go to.

Mingling, for me, is terrifying and it's something I find hard to do unless I have a friend with me, so it's nice when you see the same faces again and can go, "hi, yes I've met you before Caroline". I might invest in some business cards, but for the time being I follow through on adding people on LinkedIn!

Thing 9: Video

I know one of the first rules of blogging is never apologising for being away a long time, but, yeah sorry guys.

And I still didn't make a podcast. This week for sho.

This topic is a bit scarier again. I've no problem sharing videos I've taken (like recent ones of Dublin Comic Con which I have up on my YouTube) but recording myself  (which I'm sad to say I've done before for silly things like trying to promote my old blog, and there was that time I was on RTE news that is unspeakable!) that is truly terrifying.

I already have an embarrassing YouTube channel (embarrassing despite the 500,000 views video that I had to take down due to copyright infringement a la sigh) so even if Vimeo were better I'd still chose YouTube. I;ve watched many screencasts on Youtube in my time - how to code this thing, how to use this app, watch this idiot play this game. But never recorded one. It is slightly less scary than the here is me talking option I was expecting. Also, as change is inevitable in my library, perhaps it would be useful for a 'how to' use our electronic resources video. I can also understand how a more personable approach can be gained by recording videos, as well as appealing to that visual generation once more.

Once more into the breach, my friends, and I will post my results and experience as soon as I make my screencast....




Update:
So I was gonna do a soundless one at work as it's a bit slow today, but as with every technology ever you need the latest version of Java, which I cannot download because it messes with our non-updated LMS. At home it is!


update 4th September
So I finally got the latest version of Java so this could work and lo and behold my archaic netbook takes almost 3 hours (I kid you not) to confirm that it will not work on any of my browsers and just loads forever but I finally got the app downloaded so I will give a screencast a go later, finally!
later that week I recorded a few soundless screencasts showing how to use the instiutions electronic resources and now I just need to set aside a few hours to captioning them on youtube, stay tuned for that!

Well that messed up and the video is frozen on the one screencapture for nearly two minutes cutting out the most important part of the search demonstration. Need to see if any others do that:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SSWlLT8GJYM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


THING 8: Curation

It's true that we indeed sort, classify and try to make thing accessible everyday. I for one try to keep the noticeboards and Moodle homepage fun and visual to help students find information or even just know when we are open or who to ask a question to. The closest thing to a fun book display we have is our serial desk, which due to cuts is looking less updated and shiny, but I still put effort into keeping everything looking tidy and visible.

I have come across Pinterest in passing, but it follows that type of boxes of images display that I find counter-productive to user friendliness. It is a form of visual information overload. It's that type of display that turns me off Windows 8 through 10. It also means that people like myself with lower internet speeds can't display it right. But it's the way of the future and I have to admit the images array is pretty. It's also nice to get a break from words. Young people seem to be more drawn to this set-up aswell so it is in keeping with trends in the field. As many people have said in their blogs, Librarians will continue to be necessary but need to adapt and evolve.

My main concern with all these different types of media is the time-consuming nature of their use. Yes, Pinterest is good for pinning and book-marking in a visual way, but I already use Twitter for useful links and for images. My opinion has more to do with simplifying my use of social media to a few sites and I happened upon Twitter first, so therefore I use it. Also the fact you need an account to even view these pages, and there is no sign in with Google option, is a bit discouraging.

Ok, so I have an account. Picture overload with like 11 following. Though it is a nice source of images. Rapid City have put their page to good use with different programs they've run. Could I use it to display some stuff about us? I just need to work out how to upload something original. Just one question though - good God, why did they shred books!???
I'll update when I've had a chance to look around.


UPDATE, the next day:
Wasted like a half hour searching different terms to see if there's a way to find all the stuff I want to buy when I get paid and pin them to a board as this would be useful for me. Still can't figure out how to upload my own pictures/links so it might be actually useful for promoting our library.


I didn't even try flipbook because the thoughts of setting up another account i'll never use again happened. I did try storify as it seems useful for searching terms across social media and creating the course of an event or news story. And I could sign up using Twitter!
It could be useful and is easy enough to use but I couldn't really work out how to filter results bar narrowing the search term. I'll have to spend more time at it I imagine.


UPDATE, Much later:
There's actually something I found on my own called paper.li that's good for sharing news. it's a bit finicky as regards it automatic streaming sources in, but it's useful for sure.

Thing 7: Podcasts

The word podcast strikes fear into the hearts of people like me. People who don't have the most confidence in public speaking. Would I have anything noteworthy to say? Would anybody listen? Does my voice really sound like that?

I sound like a Westmeath farmer on tape. On the average day I don't really have a culchie accent. I sound Irish, but nothing specific. Maybe it's all that listening to British and American accents that makes my voice go more international .It goes slightly country,  when the slang comes back, when I'm at home with my family, but on the average day there's only the odd hint of country.  Maybe that's why Niall Horan sounds so damn culchie on TV (please don't take offence Directioners). Maybe back in the day people who thought photographs captured part of your soul were on to something; recording your voice captures the real you. For me, that's a Mullingar girl.

I've never been a big listener of podcasts. Probably some sort of snobbery on my part, only wanting to hear what trained or more notable journalists/ presenters have to say on a certain topic. I've seen the odd YouTube version or been aware of some online on so narrow a topic you'd wonder if it was a couple of fangirls/fanboys babbling on about how much they love said movie. But I've come to realise Podcasts are big business. Seems I'm the only person not following Night Vale. More importantly some of the greatest experts or most humourous observers on a given topic are those without the qualifications or general notoriety: those who do it for the love of the topic.

I guess that's why we as Librarians are tasked to podcast on our job. We wouldn't be in it if we didn't have a certain passion for it. 4 podcasts seems a bit of an ask. I might manage one about common misconceptions of librarians and what we do, possibly including an interview with another librarian, and but I'd be happy if I could manage to fill one podcast. I will of course be talking about the importance of libraries. This isn't a particularly original idea within this course, but I will try.  This is assuming that the podcast has to be about your professional brand or whatnot. I think I'd have a lot more to say if, like so many others, I blabbed about my fandom interests. That said a podcast may be useful way to connect with your users and talk them through the digital services for when they are at home.

I'll listen to some of the options and update <<here>>.

As always one of the hardest parts is capturing what you do record right. I used to have a Dictaphone back in my Sociology day (that thing was expensive for what I actually used it) but as suggested Audacity is probably the inexpensive and easy option. I used it last for research methods in the MLIS so I hope I didn't delete the thing! It's listed as editing software but it's also useful to recording.

Well that's handy, soundcloud can be signed up for with Google. Though I'm concerned they knew what phone I had and wanted to know if I wanted the app downloaded there....

I'll update when I've recorded something, which will probably be Friday when I'm alone at home in the afternoon. I'd be scarlet otherwise!

Stay Tuned for that embarrassing clip!

>UPDATE<

<iframe width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/220130507&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true"></iframe>

Thing 5: Social Networks

By golly, I fell behind fast! Hoping to catch up today - wish me luck!
This post concerns Facebook and Twitter, two sites I know a fair bit about and use a lot.


FACEBOOK:
But  I don't really use Facebook for career stuff.for career stuff, Given, I used it once or twice to research people before interviews and I keep it looking as embarrassment free as possible. That said I don't mind the odd picture of me out on there because what kind of employee would I be if I stayed in every weekend watching Netflix? My profile is super-private anyway and my profile picture is never drunken. My facebook profile is used to keep in touch but also keep up with news as I don't often feel like watching or reading serious or depressing current affairs stuff after work. To some extend I'm signed up to groups and have liked pages, including professional ones, but I mainly use LinkedIn for that as it's easier to get updates and not overloading your brain all the time when you're chilling out. I will however take the advice of the module and sign up for more. I am already like the ALA and CILIP.


TWITTER:
Twitter I use more actively in the library field as I often use it to post interesting articles I find online. I don't use the feed as often as I should as loading it up can crash my phone, but I will attempt to use this more. Hopefully showing my interest in Open Access and other areas on my own profile will help me get noticed.
I follow quite a few people but I will work on following more and adding what I have already to lists.
I'm a bit too cautious with my twitter and don't have that many followers. It's kind of my private space but I will work on making this a more career friendly social network.
Definitely want to try out chats and hastags that aren't fandom related :P