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.
Monday, March 21, 2011
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.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Twitter- positives/negatives
What do you think of Twitter? What are some of the positives and negatives of the medium?
Frankly speaking, I have a very limited experience with twitter to form any opinion about it. To me, any form of social networking takes up a lot of time which can very well be spent interacting with the immediate society around us. Twitter, as far as I understand is a quick messaging service, like text messaging, only difference being it can reach an unlimited number of people all at the same time. The short messages showing the status updates reflects a sense urgency, which i felt was not necessary in most cases. Unless it is of utmost importance, I can wait till the next morning to get the news, neither I feel that many people will be interested in the changes in my personal status unless it changes dramatically overnight.
Positives of twitter- It has definitely changed the way public interactions and transactions take place in the business organizations and institutions where a constant changes are taking place every moment. For businesses like airlines, celebrities who need constant public attention, news media channels competing with each other to be the first to break the news, twitter is undoubtedly an excellent platform, connecting the world in an amazing way, serving as a great marketing niche.
Negatives of twitter- It can create information overload, with the constant stream of updates from the people you follow, which can be pretty overwhelming to many. There are a lot of limitations, like postings are limited to only 140 characters, which are often not enough to express ones views clearly, resulting in meaningless tweets. Also, there are other forms of social networking tools available that offer much more flexibility and functionality, that can make your postings more dynamic and attractive with pictures, videos and texts and more complete two way communication between both the parties, person writing the posts and his/her followers, which is not possible in twitter.
Frankly speaking, I have a very limited experience with twitter to form any opinion about it. To me, any form of social networking takes up a lot of time which can very well be spent interacting with the immediate society around us. Twitter, as far as I understand is a quick messaging service, like text messaging, only difference being it can reach an unlimited number of people all at the same time. The short messages showing the status updates reflects a sense urgency, which i felt was not necessary in most cases. Unless it is of utmost importance, I can wait till the next morning to get the news, neither I feel that many people will be interested in the changes in my personal status unless it changes dramatically overnight.
Positives of twitter- It has definitely changed the way public interactions and transactions take place in the business organizations and institutions where a constant changes are taking place every moment. For businesses like airlines, celebrities who need constant public attention, news media channels competing with each other to be the first to break the news, twitter is undoubtedly an excellent platform, connecting the world in an amazing way, serving as a great marketing niche.
Negatives of twitter- It can create information overload, with the constant stream of updates from the people you follow, which can be pretty overwhelming to many. There are a lot of limitations, like postings are limited to only 140 characters, which are often not enough to express ones views clearly, resulting in meaningless tweets. Also, there are other forms of social networking tools available that offer much more flexibility and functionality, that can make your postings more dynamic and attractive with pictures, videos and texts and more complete two way communication between both the parties, person writing the posts and his/her followers, which is not possible in twitter.
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