social media

Abstract silhouette of a hand disintegrating into pieces

Social media: is it gone yet?

Very recently, I made the reluctant decision to stop doing webinars focused on tracking social media metrics. The topic was one that has made me uneasy for a while, but there seemed to be at least some demand for it.…
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Teens with cell phones

New social media rules for us #olds

A common question from librarians is “Where are the kids online?”  Of course, the answer to this question changes regularly. Teens shift their allegiances to social media channels periodically (remember when all the teens were on Facebook?).  The short answer though,…
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Tool Tuesday: ReciteThis

Tool Tuesday: ReciteThis

So…you probably already know that social media has become increasingly visual.  Images and photos typically get more engagement than plain text.  But, what if you don’t have a fun photo to share?  What if you have a great quote, but…
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Tagboard

Tool Tuesday: Tagboard

Last fall, I was tasked with trying to pull in all of the social media stuff tagged with a state convention’s hashtag into one, easy-to-digest display.  My was first thought was along the lines of “Oh, I guess I’ll go…
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Asking the WRONG question

Asking the wrong question

“Any suggestions on how to get more followers? I’d like to get more for the [insert social media site here] account I created. Thanks!” I see a fair number of this kind of question on library forums and from people…
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Subjects go social--Sulia

Subjects go social: Welcome to Sulia

Yes, Sulia is yet another social network.  However, unlike many of its brethren, Sulia makes no attempt to promote itself as the “next Facebook” or a “Twitter-killer.”  Which is a positive, since its chances of becoming either are just about…
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Is Facebook still free?

Is Facebook still free?

The answer to that question is, in short:  Sorta.  Kinda.  Maybe. This week, Facebook announced a new feature for Facebook Profiles (individual users–people–not Facebook Pages for brands/organizations).  Users now have the option to “promote” their posts, meaning that more people…
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Should you pin your hopes on Pinterest?

Pin your hopes on Pinterest?

Every so often, a new social media site starts to make the rounds on the hype circuit.   The latest of these is a new service called Pinterest.  Pinterest is still in beta, and is currently invite-only.  However, despite this,…
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Stop checking in

Stop checking in

I want to admit this, right up front.  This is more of a rant than my usual, more considered posts. I want you to stop checking into your own library on Foursquare.  Or Gowalla. Or Facebook Places or Google Latitude…
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Is it time to queue up for Quora?

Time to queue up for Quora?

Quora is somewhat new (heck, it barely left beta 6 months ago), but already has gained major traction.  Wikipedia describes Quora as an “online knowledge market.  ”  If you’re familiar with Yahoo! Answers or Ask MetaFilter, those are also examples…
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Lock those virtual doors

What would happen if your library closed up at night and purposefully left the front door unlocked?  Every night? Eventually, some unscrupulous individual would figure it out.  He/she would have the run of the library at night, and could easily…
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Broadcasting with Qik

As more people start using smartphones (e.g., Droids, Blackberries, iPhones, et al), we’re also starting to see a lot more applications that can be downloaded and used on them.  One I’ve been doing a bit of experimenting with is Qik…
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Figuring out Foursquare

Physical locations in combination with the web are starting to hit it big, and is predicted to seriously take off this year.  One example of an application that is rapidly heading that way is Foursquare. From Wikipedia: Foursquare is a…
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Unsticking Glue

This week I’m chatting about a web application called Glue .  I look at a good number of web applications, and some are useful.  Unfortunately, Glue is not one of those. The premise of Glue is that it “shows you…
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A tale of social media woe

Recently, a frustrated librarian contacted me because she wanted to discuss a situation that had occurred at her library.  After hearing her story, I asked her permission to recount it here (and to keep identifying details confidential). In essence, here…
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Building social capital

If your library is on Facebook, Twitter or other social media site, congratulations.  You’ve started down the road to helping your library engage in new forms of communication and public relations.  However, just being there isn’t enough, and it may…
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Time to join the Twitterverse

There are seemingly a million Web 2.0 applications out there. You wouldn’t believe how many are popping up daily–just add Mashable to your RSS reader (you’ve got one, right??) to keep up with the latest. Twitter started out as one…
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Laura Solomon

© Laura Solomon 2008-2023