Five reasons to have an RSS for a Library

RSS feeds are an integral part to utilizing web 2.0 material. For this reason, it is important to know how to use them. If we are a library, lets consider the benefits they offer for connecting to patrons. Here are five reasons why a Library should use RSS feeds.

1. Patrons and aggregates : A library can use RSS feeds to connect to patrons directly. Instead of users surfing the main site, a Library can send information directly to the patron. This can alleviate site browsing (Which can be frustrating and time consuming). Also, a Library can set up many specific RSS feeds so a patron has a choice of which updates they would like.

2. RSS and Publishing : A library can place RSS feeds to their blogs on their main site. This will make finding Librarian blogs easier for the user.

3. Boooks : RSS feeds can be used to let patrons know about new books. You can also make RSS feeds by subject, letting the user peruse the list by genre.

4. Catalogs : When searching the catalogs, a patron can save their search and make it a RSS, then save it to their aggregate. This notifies the patron when their request is ready at the Library.

5. Accounts : A RSS feed can be used to let the patron know that there are changes to their account. Such as when their holds are off or when their books are due.

Community and the Blogosphere

Chris Abraham sums up the Blogosphere quite nicely:

"The blogosphere, on the other hand, is big city and feeds on naive innocents — you had better watch what you say and to whom. If you have anything of value, you had better lock your door and learn some street smarts otherwise the blogosphere like a big city could chew you up and spit you out, like it has done to so many who just got off the bus."

His Blog if you're interested.

The virtual communities got its start with passwords and entry ports. But the Blogosphere doesn't need that. Everything is out there. Everything is open. It's a land of opportunity and warring tribes. Like-minded individuals will seek each other out and make connections. After all, there are strength in numbers. But how do these communities start?

As Quentin Jones (1997) points out, we need to meet certain requirements; interactivity, communicators, common space, and minimal membership.

1. Communicators - The communicators are the author and the reader.

2. Common Space - The communicators peruse the blogosphere looking for information they find interesting.

3. Interactivity - when said information is found, they leave a comment, initiating conversation.

4. Minimal membership - If they like the comment, or the reader likes the author, they subscribe to the blog. Thus creating a link to that person, and, in a sense, starts the beginning of a beautiful community.

Example:

I'm looking for information on the Detroit Tigers and what people are saying about them. I find a blog called Motor City Bengals that blogs daily about the team. I sign up and add comments, thus creating banter with other individuals that were doing the same thing I was. A community has now started centered around the Detroit Tigers.

Here is a video of two students diving into the philosophy of virtual communities:

Exercise 2

The five mandatory blogs:

1. "In the Library with the lead pipe"
This Blog would fall under the category of Knowledge Logs. It is intended to disseminate information to the reader through long essays. Each post is intended to be taken as academic and further strengthening the library community and organizations. This blog could be considered a mixture of reference/community building. It invites the reader to comment and at the same time lists all the references in certain blog uses.

2. "The Librarian's Commute"
The Librarian's commute is written in a personal journal format,but also carries the characteristics of knowledge logs. The author writes about her everyday thoughts and happenings, but also looks to post knowledgable content. The blog posts are mannered in the style of short essays. Olivia Nellums, the author, summarizes her blog topics as :
"I am one of many figuring out what a librarian is as the information world changes, and libraries, technology, and higher education are the topics I try and stick to."


3. "The Distant Librarian"
This blog consists of reviews and links to book reviews, applications, and anything else the author deems interesting. I would categorize this blog as a filter. This blog also keeps its blogs short, but is closer to the style of "brief remark". That is, it gives some commentary and provides links. Because it refers sites and links, I would mostly think of this site as a reference tool.

4. "Librarian by day"
Librarian by day is a knowledge log that is dedicated to helping librarians jump the digital gap.
This blog has a lot going on. It offers various ways for you to stay in contact with the author. The blog's postings are series type and sticks close to its subject; teaching technology for librarians. Because she tries to teach people a trade, I would consider this a workshop blog.

5. "Davidleeking"
This blog is used to talk about library technologies. Although it appears to be a Filter blog, it also contains original information by the author. I would say it is a cross between both Filter and Knowledge. David King posting tactics combine the efforts of the brief remark and short essay. Each post contains links, but he also can be long-winded. The blog is close to a workshop blog (because he also instructs on it), but it is more of a market blog. Mr. King encourages readers to use the items he's promoting.

So in summation, these five blogs have one underlying subject; There all librarians. But they each have different ways of promoting their trade:

Name - Type - Post - Use

In the Library with a lead pipe - Knowledge Log - Long Article - Reference/Community

The Librarian's Commute - Personal Journal - Short Essay - Subject

The Distant Librarian - Filter Brief - Remark - Reference

Librarian by Day - Knowledge - Log Series - Workshop

Davidleeking - Filter/Knowledge - Brief Remark/Short Article - Marketing

All these blogs seem quite successful, but I have to say I prefer the blogs that injected multiple ways to access their site. Also, sites that incorporated different aspects of media. I would have to say that "librarian by day" and "davidleeking" both were successful at doing this. "the distant librarian" also incorporated these tools, but seem to lack the overall enthusiasm that the others put into their site. They both also included bullets, listings, and numerals. I love these in blogs, because it lets the reader get to the point. The user usually reads in a "F". That is, once across, once across briefly, than scales down. Including numbers, bolds, bullets, etc. is a good way to catch the reader's eye as they skim.

3 Library Sites:

1. "What's new @ the ASIJ HS Library"
ASIJ stands for American Students in Japan. It is a News blog for the school. The blogs appear once a month or so updating the community on the happenings at their school.

2. "Shelf Talk"
Shelf talk is a Seattle Public Library Blog that posts by subject. The site lets you browse their topics by category. It also couples as a book review site.

3. "Ohio University Libraries News and Events"
This blog updates the readers on what is going on with the library, much like the ASIJ site. It also updates you on tweets and offers a meebo chat to a librarian.

I purposely chose a library from High School, Public, and Academic domain to see the differences. The High School blog only blogged when it had information to do it with. The public library had a large demographic and dealt with it by giving multiple links and options. While the academic library also aided students. What I mainly liked from the sites:

The ASIJ High School site not only updated information for the student, but also pandered to the parent. In some of there blogs, they offered scholarship and grant information.

Shelf Talk had something for everyone. If you were a teen, it offered another blog that had teenage book reviews. It also provided several links that where like their blog. Such as libraries close to them, bookish, and sites that were affiliated with them.

Ohio Universities had a library on "meebo me" you could talk to. It also boasted a schedule of upcoming events. thus it served as a blog and as an information site.

What to do...what to do....

What should a company do if they receive negative comments online? Should they delete the message? Retaliate with negative comments of their own? Shut their business down and quit? Or all of thee above. Could there possibly be a better solution to these problems? Well possibly.

If we learned anything from the readings this week is that a corporation needs to be transparent to live in social media. Check that, rather, thrive in social media. If you are not fully submerged, you will ironically drown. Social media holds the doors open for company-consumer relations. And to every yin, there is a yang.

Negative comments should not be frowned upon. Put them in a different light. they are ways to improve your company. These are perfect opportunities for "constructive criticism". Mind you, comments like "Your company sucks" obviously doesn't help as much as someone complaining about something specific, such as customer service. Negative comments that have a drive and purpose need to be taken seriously and investigated.

When this happens, a business should act in accordance to social media norms:

1. Be honest.
2. Answer promptly.
3. Appreciate the input.
4. And don't be afraid to delete the "your company sucks" comment. That helps no one!

Consumers appreciate a business that takes them seriously.

Exercise 1 - Groupon

Groupon is a company that offers discounts to customers if enough buy the deal. Hence "Groupon" not "coupon". The beauty of the site is that everyone wins, consumers get great deals, while businesses see an increase in customers. I personally love the site. I went whale watching for 17$, saw see caves for 30$, went to a PGA event for 17$, and have a four hour outdoor rock climbing class for 40$. The savings truly are tremendous. Moreover, they have a formidable presence in the social market.

Groupon has strong connections in Facebook and Twitter. But they also didn't make the Coke mistake and just push their products. They get their users involved with a suggestion page and a job listing page. They also have a campaign going called "living off groupon". They select one person and have them live off of groupon for a year. You can follow it on their daily blog post.

In summation, Groupon uses social networks to keep users involved with what is going on in the company and the direction of the company.

Here is "Good Morning America" explaining Groupon:



But then a funny thing happened when I was researching the Groupon company, the Superbowl. Apparently Groupon aired a controversial commercial starring Timothy Huttton that makes light of the strife in Tibet. Here is the commercial:



The backlash on Facebook has been large. Here are some comments from Groupon's Facebook page:

"Absolutely HATE your ads. They are in such poor taste that I am dumping you on FB and removing myself from your email list."

" i love groupon, but i'm seriously disappointed in the ads. i found them to be tasteless."

This type of event is exactly what we were reading about this week. How does a company like Groupon, who lives off of social media, respond? Exactly how a transparent company should, honestly.

The CEO, Andrew Mason, responded in his blog that "Our ads highlight the often trivial nature of stuff on Groupon when juxtaposed against bigger world issues, making fun of Groupon."

The humor behind the commercial might have been ill-advised, but the intention wasn't. In tweets and blogs, Groupon responded furiously to their contingents. They did not apologize, rather they wanted people to know their true intention; that Groupon donates portions of what they make to these charities, such as the Tibetan problem. they offered links in all their blogs and tweets to let consumers know about their charity known as "savethemoney.org".

When you look at Groupon's Twitter page, their are many followers thanking them for letting them know about the charity. Here's a taste of the activity:

@chanler Thanks for spreading the word about the Save the Money charities!

@TravelFit Thanks for the Tweet!

@MsVanessaS You're welcome. That's not the experience we want people to have.

@DashTreyhorn You can check out the story behind the commercials and donate to the charities
here: http://gr.pn/f2TMmv about 4 hours ago via Sprout Social in reply to DashTreyhorn

@joewescott Thank you.

@martinize Understood. Glad you're supporting the cause.



Socialmention registers more than 300 positives and only 30 negatives in sentiment. They turned it around just as fast as users turned on them. Social Media is 24/7 and it is impressive how quickly Groupon responded.

Here are some articles on the subject:

www.clickz.com

Groupon Blog

Green Celebrity

Social Media and me

When I first started getting into social media, around 2002 with mySpace, I didn't take it that seriously. As a matter of fact I don't think most people did. Most my information was silly and messages were infrequent and superficial. But as social media progressed through the years, it has grown up.

You now have to worry who is taking pictures of you doing what because they might end up on Facebook. From a career prospective, this has to be taken seriously. Some jobs that I have applied for have asked for access to my Facebook account, or any other social media accounts I have. It's alarming to me how my social life can now effect my career.

Some people actually say you need to develop two identities in social media. One for business and one for pleasure. Some of your friends might post something you find inappropriate about your boss and that's the last thing people need to see. And quite honestly, half of them are not even your friends anymore!

When I look at social media now, it is in a more serious lighting. I monitor who I become friends with better and what I update. It's simply not about connecting with friends, but it's also about connecting with jobs and networks.