Exercise#6
I have created a Screencast video of Delicious, the online social bookmarking site for this assignment.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
1. Which of the online communities that you viewed in the past 2 weeks were you the most drawn to (pick 1 or 2)? Why?
Of all the examples of online community that I looked into this week, I found TechSoup to be very unique. TechSoup provides technology product donations to libraries and non-profit organizations so that these non-profit organizations can get adequate technology support to serve their community. I felt particularly drawn to it, because in this economic downturn, I think TechSoup is providing an invaluable support and service to the non-profits, and also building a sense of community among its members. The qualified members of TechSoup can have access to more than 400 technology products, and there are more than 40 Companies as donor partners of TechSoup, including Cisco, Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec and Intuit. There is small administrative fee that is charged for each product donations, which is used to support the running expenses of TechSoup in USA as well as around the world.
In addition to the technical product support, TechSoup also has a active online forum which offers great reviews, feedback, and instant help on any questions asked posted by the members. I was impressed to the quick responses that were made by the members to one of the questions someone asked about choosing the right database for their company. I would definitely suggest TechSoup for Technical product support, if ever my library need any. Also, TechSoup blog is a great place to look for news on recent happenings in the global society.
Of all the examples of online community that I looked into this week, I found TechSoup to be very unique. TechSoup provides technology product donations to libraries and non-profit organizations so that these non-profit organizations can get adequate technology support to serve their community. I felt particularly drawn to it, because in this economic downturn, I think TechSoup is providing an invaluable support and service to the non-profits, and also building a sense of community among its members. The qualified members of TechSoup can have access to more than 400 technology products, and there are more than 40 Companies as donor partners of TechSoup, including Cisco, Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec and Intuit. There is small administrative fee that is charged for each product donations, which is used to support the running expenses of TechSoup in USA as well as around the world.
In addition to the technical product support, TechSoup also has a active online forum which offers great reviews, feedback, and instant help on any questions asked posted by the members. I was impressed to the quick responses that were made by the members to one of the questions someone asked about choosing the right database for their company. I would definitely suggest TechSoup for Technical product support, if ever my library need any. Also, TechSoup blog is a great place to look for news on recent happenings in the global society.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Exercise#5
This exercise has given me the opportunity to explore delicious, the most popular social bookmarking site. Now I have a much better understanding of how the bookmarking sites work, how the contents can be saved, organized and shared through a centralized source, that can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. The only bookmarking I knew all my life prior to this class, was the browser based one, which can be accessed only from the particular computer it is saved into. But with the increase in online activities, with the heavy load of information available through the internet, it has become absolutely necessary to store them centrally, by adding self explanatory tags to them so that they can be easily retrievable whenever the user is willing to access the information. Delicious and other social media sites have brought a 'portable solution' (Farkas, 2007) to information sharing through bookmarking, and this assignment has successfully introduced that portable solution to me.
This exercise has given me the opportunity to explore delicious, the most popular social bookmarking site. Now I have a much better understanding of how the bookmarking sites work, how the contents can be saved, organized and shared through a centralized source, that can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. The only bookmarking I knew all my life prior to this class, was the browser based one, which can be accessed only from the particular computer it is saved into. But with the increase in online activities, with the heavy load of information available through the internet, it has become absolutely necessary to store them centrally, by adding self explanatory tags to them so that they can be easily retrievable whenever the user is willing to access the information. Delicious and other social media sites have brought a 'portable solution' (Farkas, 2007) to information sharing through bookmarking, and this assignment has successfully introduced that portable solution to me.
1. What are some of the possible barriers to internal collaboration in organizations?
I think the most common barrier to internal collaboration, especially in library setting, is the lack of technical expertise among the staff members, and also lack of exposure and knowledge of the various web 2.0 social media tools that are available today to communicate effectively within the organization. Most of the staff are not comfortable to use any other means of exchange except telephone and emails, and there is a strong inertia to learn and accept any new technology, as long as it is not absolutely necessary. This trend is particularly common in the older generation (with due respect to them), as I witness at my work everyday. This is probably because most libraries have not reached that height yet where internal communication has to be solely based on technologies and interactive communication.
Another possible barrier to internal communication I think is that everyone involved in entire communication process do not always have the same the level of understanding and experiences on the message that is being transmitted, so that receiver can fully comprehend exact meaning of the information. This can not be possible where there is a difference in the level communication abilities among all the participants, often resulting in failure of internal communication within the organization.
Also, the absence of 'Corporate Culture', as Kelly mentioned in his article is another important reason why internal collaboration fails in some organizations. Every workplace has its own culture, depending on the nature of the services they provide, employee work schedule and the level of interaction required among the employees. In organizations, where employee 'presence beyond office hours' are not expected, everyone works a set schedule everyday without much variation, internal collaboration do not constitute to be an integral part of that work culture, and can not thrive as a successful means for organizational communication process.
I think the most common barrier to internal collaboration, especially in library setting, is the lack of technical expertise among the staff members, and also lack of exposure and knowledge of the various web 2.0 social media tools that are available today to communicate effectively within the organization. Most of the staff are not comfortable to use any other means of exchange except telephone and emails, and there is a strong inertia to learn and accept any new technology, as long as it is not absolutely necessary. This trend is particularly common in the older generation (with due respect to them), as I witness at my work everyday. This is probably because most libraries have not reached that height yet where internal communication has to be solely based on technologies and interactive communication.
Another possible barrier to internal communication I think is that everyone involved in entire communication process do not always have the same the level of understanding and experiences on the message that is being transmitted, so that receiver can fully comprehend exact meaning of the information. This can not be possible where there is a difference in the level communication abilities among all the participants, often resulting in failure of internal communication within the organization.
Also, the absence of 'Corporate Culture', as Kelly mentioned in his article is another important reason why internal collaboration fails in some organizations. Every workplace has its own culture, depending on the nature of the services they provide, employee work schedule and the level of interaction required among the employees. In organizations, where employee 'presence beyond office hours' are not expected, everyone works a set schedule everyday without much variation, internal collaboration do not constitute to be an integral part of that work culture, and can not thrive as a successful means for organizational communication process.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Library Success: the best...
Of all the wiki examples that I have explored for this week, the one that impressed me the most was the Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki which seems to be a one stop shop for all the information and useful resources for Library Professional or staff working in any type of libraries. This wiki offers a wealth of information in a familiar Wikipedia style, with clearly visible content section on the right side box giving the user a hyper-linked list of topics that are available in the wiki, which definitely saved me from wandering aimlessly and helped me find the topics I found of interest to me.
The first thing I checked in this wiki is the Recent Changes Page , I found it very fascinating to be able to see who made what changes and when so easily, in fact I had edited/added a resource in the wiki recently, and there it was, the entry showing the date time and content I added with a link to the actual page it is listed. All the Categories offer great resources on a wide number of topics, the one I was really impressed was the Job searching resources under the Professional Category, which offers success stories, websites, blogs and lot of tips on interviews and successful resume writing techniques that will be very helpful for anyone looking for jobs in the library field. I also explored the Technology Category, which I found very rich with relevant and up to date information, especially the Information Sharing and Education section, where I could find some very handy resources on children's services which I am going to use at my library.
Overall, it can be said that I Found this wiki to be very authoritative and well organized, covering a wide range of topics that are highly relevant to the library world, both traditional and digital.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Marketing Critique
New York Public Library using web 2.0...
The New York Public Library (NYPL) consists of 4 Research libraries and 85 branch libraries, with over 2.21 million card holders and a collection of over 50 million items. The library has incorporated a host of web 2.0 tools in their website to facilitate information sharing and foster collaboration and contact with the online community. NYPL website offers link to Facebook, Twitter and their blog, along with links to Flickr photos and YouTube to share photos and videos of various library events and programs.
Facebook- The library system successfully uses Facebook to market the events, programs and library materials, especially the new items as and when added in their collection. NYPL seems to have a pretty consistent presence in Facebook with few entries everyday. However, as of March, 2011, there are only 29, 851 people who follow the library system in Facebook, which is definitely not a very significant number given its total number of cardholders.
Twitter- NYPL's twitter page has 109, 484 followers and 4046 tweet as of March, 2011. But most of the postings are written by the librarians and staff, interaction with the followers are not that visible.
NYPL Blog- New York Public Library's blog is located under a section named Blogs, Videos and Publication and is organized by Channels, which offers RSS feeds on various topics, programs and services across the library system, and posts by Subjects. It is created following the same design pattern as of all other pages in their website. The header and footer offer links to library's home page, hours and location, online catalog and some other useful sites. The blog posts are in the middle with one graphic relevant to the subject per entry.The blog appears to be pretty current, with at least 2 posts each day from librarians from different departments from all over the library system. Again, no reader comments were seen on the posts, although there is an option to add a comment.
The NYPL system is moving into the right direction in their branding efforts, by choosing the popular social software platforms like Facebook, twitter and a blog to market their programs and services to the internet community. These social networking sites allow free flowing interaction with the patrons, which, if effectively utilized, can immensely boost the library's online presence and increase user participation while building a consistent organizational brand.
Suggestion - As it is evident from the statistics, the library has over 2.21 million card holders, whereas only 29, 851 follow the library system in Facebook. Same is true with their twitter account. The library system definitely needs to improve on their marketing and outreach strategies to attract more followers to join their online existence. I would suggest adding more interesting features, like Book Discussion in the library blog, where patrons can share their ideas and comments, postings on the Facebook and twitter that encourages patron interactions as well as adding pictures of library's events on the Facebook wall more often to tell people about programs and services the library offers. Although the library has an online presence through the most popular social networking platforms, it still needs to review the online marketing strategies more carefully to identify the reasons why they are unable to draw more traffic into their social networking sites.
The New York Public Library (NYPL) consists of 4 Research libraries and 85 branch libraries, with over 2.21 million card holders and a collection of over 50 million items. The library has incorporated a host of web 2.0 tools in their website to facilitate information sharing and foster collaboration and contact with the online community. NYPL website offers link to Facebook, Twitter and their blog, along with links to Flickr photos and YouTube to share photos and videos of various library events and programs.
Facebook- The library system successfully uses Facebook to market the events, programs and library materials, especially the new items as and when added in their collection. NYPL seems to have a pretty consistent presence in Facebook with few entries everyday. However, as of March, 2011, there are only 29, 851 people who follow the library system in Facebook, which is definitely not a very significant number given its total number of cardholders.
Twitter- NYPL's twitter page has 109, 484 followers and 4046 tweet as of March, 2011. But most of the postings are written by the librarians and staff, interaction with the followers are not that visible.
NYPL Blog- New York Public Library's blog is located under a section named Blogs, Videos and Publication and is organized by Channels, which offers RSS feeds on various topics, programs and services across the library system, and posts by Subjects. It is created following the same design pattern as of all other pages in their website. The header and footer offer links to library's home page, hours and location, online catalog and some other useful sites. The blog posts are in the middle with one graphic relevant to the subject per entry.The blog appears to be pretty current, with at least 2 posts each day from librarians from different departments from all over the library system. Again, no reader comments were seen on the posts, although there is an option to add a comment.
The NYPL system is moving into the right direction in their branding efforts, by choosing the popular social software platforms like Facebook, twitter and a blog to market their programs and services to the internet community. These social networking sites allow free flowing interaction with the patrons, which, if effectively utilized, can immensely boost the library's online presence and increase user participation while building a consistent organizational brand.
Suggestion - As it is evident from the statistics, the library has over 2.21 million card holders, whereas only 29, 851 follow the library system in Facebook. Same is true with their twitter account. The library system definitely needs to improve on their marketing and outreach strategies to attract more followers to join their online existence. I would suggest adding more interesting features, like Book Discussion in the library blog, where patrons can share their ideas and comments, postings on the Facebook and twitter that encourages patron interactions as well as adding pictures of library's events on the Facebook wall more often to tell people about programs and services the library offers. Although the library has an online presence through the most popular social networking platforms, it still needs to review the online marketing strategies more carefully to identify the reasons why they are unable to draw more traffic into their social networking sites.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Libraries reaching out to students online
I think by reaching out to students in an online environment, libraries can offer a service which is much beyond its traditional role as a custodian of knowledge and will be able to provide access to a wealth of new resources to the patrons that would not have been possible otherwise. By connecting with students in an online space through various popular social networking sites, libraries can become aware of the information needs and trends of the student population in a community and be able to identify the resources required to meet those information need.
Especially in Academic libraries, collaborating with students in a online space will enable them to market their resources and reference services in a more effective way. Also, since the online space fosters a friendly, informal atmosphere, students can feel more comfortable while interacting with the library even while giving feedback on the library services. So it would be a very successful outreach service by the libraries if they can connect with the student community online and offer a much richer, faster and personalized learning experience to the students through the online spaces.
I think by reaching out to students in an online environment, libraries can offer a service which is much beyond its traditional role as a custodian of knowledge and will be able to provide access to a wealth of new resources to the patrons that would not have been possible otherwise. By connecting with students in an online space through various popular social networking sites, libraries can become aware of the information needs and trends of the student population in a community and be able to identify the resources required to meet those information need.
Especially in Academic libraries, collaborating with students in a online space will enable them to market their resources and reference services in a more effective way. Also, since the online space fosters a friendly, informal atmosphere, students can feel more comfortable while interacting with the library even while giving feedback on the library services. So it would be a very successful outreach service by the libraries if they can connect with the student community online and offer a much richer, faster and personalized learning experience to the students through the online spaces.
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