#CPD23 Thing 12: Social social networking
I am tempted to start holding back on my #CPD23 posts until Library Wanderer (aka @lemurph on Twitter) has written hers, because I’d like to shamelessly take inspiration from her writing. And I wish I was a tenth as witty. But sadly I’ve got loads on this week so I’ve got to write my post now. Damn!
Thing 12 asked us to think about how social media, and the pros and cons for professional networking. It won’t come as a huge surprise to anyone reading that I love the social web. I’ve been a Twitter user for years, and I’m on several other social networks. One of the things I like best about the social web is how I can get ideas, jokes, and moral support (amongst other things) from ‘the community’. I’ve ‘met’ people working across the information & library management world doing completely different jobs and leading different lives to me, and I’ve benefited from their advice and guidance. Mostly this has come in the form of cake recipes and pep talks - but I reckon that’s valid!
Although I don’t work in Oxford any more, through Twitter I can still be a member of the #oxfordlibrarymafia (I’m cursing Twitter’s lousy archive, as it doesn’t retrieve any of the many tweets using that hashtag…. sigh). I’m in touch with current and former trainees, many of whom I’ve never actually met, as a result. Through #CPD23 I’ve started to follow (in a non-stalker way) folks I wouldn’t have stumbled across otherwise. I think that’s rather lovely.
So, I think there is a lot that’s good about using social media for librarianship CPD (or whatever you want to call it). It’s helping me escape the echo chamber of work, and make me feel part of something a little bigger. It’s not a tangible thing, but it’s something I like to feel a part of.
There are downsides. I don’t have any data to prove it, but I suspect the majority of the folks I follow on twitter are about the same age as me, give or take 5yrs. Lots of youth (hey, stop giggling at the back… I’m still young!) but not a whole lot of experience. Twitter can feel like a great place to talk to other new(ish) information professionals, but it’s not where I’d go for proper grown-up advice. But that said, there isn’t a lot of grown-up advice that can be imparted in 140 characters or less, so maybe that’s not such a problem.
Another downside is that I don’t want to share the finer details of my life/work/thoughts with the entire world… so there’s an awful lot I leave out of my blog posts and tweets. Yeah, my life is actually a lot more interesting, nuanced, and drama filled than this blog might lead you to believe. Shocking! I’m sure the same goes for most others.
Limitations aside, I still love it. I love the wit, the links to lovely websites, cake recipes, photos, and all kinds of wonderful stuff that gets shared by the people I follow on Twitter, Tumblr, and all those other places. I love the jokes, the moral support, and the loose but potent sense of community. Does that answer the question?
Image credit: Morguefile
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jothelibrarian posted this
