Social Networking Strategies and Library 2.0

Social Networking Strategies
and
Library 2.0

Your Presenter: Peter Atkinson

What’s So Great About Web 2.0?
• Allows people to connect more deeply than
other communications tools; distance doesn’t
mean separation
• Sites offer free access to drive usage, charge
for additional services; barriers to entry fall
• Allows artists, writers, artisans, businesses,
not-for-profits to connect with new and
existing customers around the world; location
becomes almost irrelevant

Why Does Web 2.0 Matter?
• 2 billion people online worldwide; 28 million in Canada, or 84.3% of the
population
• 71% of Canadians average 45 hours/week online - more than they spend watching
television
• CheckFacebook. Com; almost 17 million, or just over 50%, of Canadians have
Facebook accounts
o There are almost 800 million Facebook users worldwide; if it were a country, it would be
the third largest in the world.
o The fastest growing segment of users is those 55 years of age and over
• Approximately 24 hours of video is added to YouTube every minute; it is the
second most popular search engine after only Google
• In 2010, an average of 43 new articles were added to Wikipedia every hour
• Wikipedia: 14.6 million articles in 260 languages, (3.4 million in English )
o Encyclopædia Britannica Online:120,000 English-only articles
• Just watch...

The Opportunities for Libraries
1. Contact, Connect Engage
o Patrons
o Not just a Facebook page, a way to communicate and tell our story
o Non-Patrons
o Not just a Facebook page, a way to get more teens into the library
o Community
o Not just a Facebook page, a way to partner with local groups to promote your
community

2. Library 2.0 in Your Community
o Enrich community by driving innovation, communication,
creativity
o Local small business, entrepreneurs, cultural organizations, artists &
artisans, local government

3. Libraries Create Their Own Future

Putting Library 2.0
to Work for You

Contact, Connect, Engage
o Marketing!
• Understanding what patrons want and communicating
the products and services that best match that
o Branding!
o Channels & Content
o Increase patron knowledge and understanding of,
and their affinity for, the library
o Limitless opportunities to communicate with your
patrons; new channels and lots to share

Contact, Connect, Engage
• Tell your story!
o Announce new arrivals AND link to:
• The book in your catalogue
• Read-alikes and other works by the same author in the
catalogue
• Online print reviews
• A YouTube video of the author doing a reading or an
interview
• A Flickr photo tour of the book setting or the author’s
hometown
o Facebook – respond helpfully to comments

Keys to Success
• High quality content: Timely, authentic, relevant,
useful
• Organization!
o Consistent online presence: knowem.com,
namechk.com
o Security: LastPass.com
o Create a content calendar
• Add guidelines if multiple posters
• Establish a consistent schedule whenever
possible, (day of week, time of day)

Channels: The Big 3
• Website: Digital Core
o Design – poor design reflects on organization
o Search ‘Web Design Best Practices’, make any
changes possible
• Facebook
o Has become a must-have
• Blog
o Easier if you are/have a writer
o OK to post links to other relevant content

Other Channels
• Twitter: Twitter-Lite?
• Video; YouTube, Vimeo
• Photos; Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa
• Geo-Location; Foursquare, Gowalla, Google
Places, Yelp, Scvngr
• QR Codes; deliver depth to your info

And in Conclusion…
• You don’t compete, but you are in a
competitive environment
• Tell your story before someone else does
o You tell it best
• Don’t leave a vacuum for other people to fill
o Often negatives
• Connect to engage patrons

Library 2.0 in Your Community
• Share Web 2.0 tools
o Help people achieve dreams, goals
o Library drives artistic, business, tourism, cultural
development
• Puts the library at the heart of the community
• The smaller/more remote your community
the bigger the potential gains

• Artists & Artisans
o Build a website with
Wix, Weebly, Moonfruit, Flavors.me, Wordpress or
Tumblr
o Sell handicrafts on Etsy, Ponoko
o Build a webstore with Payvment, Goodsie or Storenvy
to sell on Facebook
o Create art with Aviary, Sumopaint, Inkscape, Gimp
o Design and create your own fabric with Spoonflower
o Create product designs at Flip, SoleCreator or
SneakArt, NikeID
o Print and sell your art on anything from t-shirts to
skateboards at Cafe Press and Zazzle

• Photographers
o Promote a portfolio on Tumblr, About.me or with a website
o Sell prints on Etsy, Ponoko
o Sell photos as stock images on iStockphoto and Shutterstock
o Build a webstore with Payvment, Goodsie or Storenvy to sell on
Facebook
o Store photos on Flickr, Photobucket
o Edit photos with Fotoflexer, Flickr, Picnic
o Add fun effects with Dumpr, BeFunky
o Add paint-type effects with psykopaint
o Create photobooks on Flickr, Blurb, Lulu
o Create tilt shift effects with Tiltshift
o Create photo mosaics at AndreaPlanet
o Create seamless panoramic images with Autostitch and Clevr
o Resize multiple images for uploading with Fotosizer or SmushIt

• Writers
o Write with and organize with Storybook, Protagonize
o Self-publish on Lulu, Blurb
o Create a blog on Wordpress, Six Apart or Blogger; use Zemanta to find
free images
o Create illustrated children’s stories with Storybird, MeeGenius,
ePubBud
o Build an audience at Scribd
o Hone your craft at Fickly and 50WordStories
o Upload books as e-books and sell on Amazon using the Kindle Direct
Publishing tool or use Calibre to convert to ePub for Kobo
o Create your own comic strip with Strip Generator
o Publish your own magazine with issuu or Press Jack
o Contribute to Kibin to access their free editing service

• Businesses
o Create a listing for Google Places, Four Square, Gowalla, BrightKite
o For restaurants, let customers pay with their cell phones via Tabbed Out, list restaurant menus on
MenuSpot.ca or build a website using Bistro Square
o Let customers schedule appointments on Tungle
o Create a loyalty program with Punch Tab or Punchd
o Manage your business with free web-based tools at Google Docs, Microsoft Skydrive or Zoho
o Manage your books with FreshBooks or Mint
o Create professional invoices with Billable.me
o Collaborate online with Notable, Flowdock of Freedcamp
o Deliver professional looking business proposals with Proposable
o Create electrical or system diagrams, flow and organizational charts with Gliffy and LovelyCharts
o Create PDF forms at FillanyPDF
o Create memorable presentations with Prezi
o Create e-business cards and e-flyers with Hyplet
o Accept payment online with Payvment, Pay Pal
o Build a webstore with BigCartel, goodsie or storenvy
o Accept payments by mobile phone with Zong
o Stay organized with Todo.ly, RemembertheMilk and Evernote
o Host webinars and remote presentations with Vyew, Tokbox, Skype
o Organize your trips with TripIt
o Backup and share important documents with Dropbox, SugarSync or Box.net
o Create customer surveys with Survey Monkey
o Use Mail Chimp to manage, build and send marketing emails

• Music and Video Financial
o Create a TV show at Viddler, ubroadcast backers &
o Create a YouTube Channel Product Design:
o Edit videos with Clip Converter or Lightworks Kickstarter
o Edit and convert file formats or create ringtones with Audacity Quirky
o Compose at JamStudio or Ujam
o Write music using MuseScore
o Create and share a radio station on Last.fm
o Build an audience by adding music to Last.fm
o Sell music on iTunes, Amazon and more with Tunecore, Bandcamp and Nimbit
o Build custom Facebook pages with RootMusic
o Build a webstore with Payvment to sell on Facebook, goodsie or storenvy
o Create web tutorials with Greenshot, 5min, Screenr, ScreenJelly, Screentoaster

• Heritage & Cultural Organisations
o Build your own website with Wix, Weebly, Google Sites, Wordpress, Moonfruit
o Create online maps of local sites/cemeteries/historical architecture with Google Maps
o Build your own website with Wix, Weebly, Google Sites , Moonfruit
o Accept donations online with CanadaHelps.org
o Sell tickets with Eventbrite
o Share photos, videos, interviews online through the many channels available

Building Support
• Identify a problem/opportunity
• Identify a solution
• Craft a vision
• Build a plan but sell the sizzle
o Elevator Pitch

Evaluate Resources
• Simple approach for small projects, more
detailed for larger
• Resources are finite but not necessarily fixed
• Include the abilities and interests of both staff
and volunteers

Beloit College Survey
• Each year provides a comparative review of the
world/arts/culture of the freshman class
• For the class of 2014:

 Czechoslovakia has never existed
 They have never worried about a Russian missile strike
 John McEnroe has never played professional tennis
 ‘Viewer Discretion’ has always been a warning on TV shows
 American companies have always done business in Vietnam
 Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess
 They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around
their wrists while chatting on the phone

Change!
• People Don’t Like Change!
• Rate of Change is accelerating
o Medieval peasant wouldn’t have a hard time adjusting to 1900; still an
agrarian society, limited pervasive technology
o Someone from 1970 would struggle today; HIV, human rights
advances, terrorism, Internet & computers, recycling
o William Gibson; future is here, there is no present time
• Constant state of mild anxiety; what’s unknown? What’s coming next?
• People Don’t Like Change
o Really?
• Got married
• Went to school
• Moved
• Changed jobs
• Had children

Dealing With Change
• People don’t like IMPOSED change
• Change Management; considered one of the most important skills
today
o Regain Control:
o Educate yourself; get the facts
o If possible, become part of the process
o Make an informed decision, avoid pure emotional evaluation
o Reframe:
o How critical is it that you like this new thing?
o Does it improve a process?
o Learning new things keeps work interesting
o Accept:
o Only way to improve something is to change it
o Decisions are made for many reasons; understand the big picture
o You will get comfortable with the new thing in time

Building Your Plan
Ready, Fire, Aim?
or
Ready, Aim, Fire?

Choosing Projects
• Answer the 5 Ws:
o What is the project and what resources are needed?
o Why are you doing this? (The outcome)
o Who is involved? (Who this is for - e.g. Staff, Teens,
Local Historians - and who will actually do it?)
o Where will it be?, (Where will people experience it,
e.g. your website, Facebook, public computers login
screen)
o Make sure the channel fits your target audience
o When does it need to be ready? (Any time constraints,
e.g. a connection to a particular event, a start and an
end date?

Planning
• Define the scope!
1) Set Goals & Objectives
2) Identify Tools
3) Evaluate resources
4) Decide how you’ll measure success
5) Build and implement your plan
6) Evaluate and communicate

Goal Setting
• If we know what’s important we can prioritize
• If everything’s important, nothing’s important
• Don’t ignore the big picture of what’s
important to your library, your community

Decide How You’ll Measure Success
• Try to control this – match the outcome to
your project vision
• Use data over opinion whenever possible, (“A
lot of people said they liked it” vs. “85% of our
responses were positive”)
• Multiple measures is ok; e.g. visits & shares,
views & requests for a copy
• Time element is ok, (X after 30 days, Y after 60
days, Z after 90 days)

Evaluate and Communicate
• You’ll have sceptics to overcome and
interested parties to encourage
• Use your measures of success
• Don’t leave a vacuum
• Keep stakeholders informed; communicate
even small wins
• Even bad news means you understand your
project

Pilot Projects
• Can be useful, low-pain ways to gain support
• One at a time
• Keep it simple
• 90 days max: end it, change it to a new pilot
project or make it official

Next Steps
- Go play; Experiment with free stuff connected to
something you’re passionate about
- Experiment to understand website design
principles; click on logo for homepage, search in
top right, right-click, hover- overs
- Worried about privacy? What are you really
giving away? (compared to say, the phonebook)
- Figure out what level of tech is right for your
library & resources
- Find a local artist/student/charity/business to
mentor/partner with on a project

And Finally…
• The best way to predict the future…
• Just because you can’t do everything…
• If you feel uncomfortable, you might be on the
right track
• Ask for help; use resources
• Do something

Social Networking Strategies and Library 2.0

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