Week 3 Questions

Look at how productive I'm being!

Week 3 done already. I guess that's what happens when you're getting ready for vacation and know how the next couple of weeks will be.

Anyway, the questions:

• How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members

I think that these sites are very useful tools. I already belong to all three sites (though my MySpace account is languishing) and I've found that they have easily put me back in touch with folks I haven't seen for a while. They also help keep existing connections thriving. I will say that I'm not sure how useful these sites are at forming new connections.

• Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?

We already have a Facebook page. I think it makes the library staff happier than anyone now, but it doesn't hurt anything. I work the medical students, and I don't think they care too much about it now. It'll be interesting over the next couple of years to see if that changes.

• Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites.

You just need to keep in mind how public these pages are. Don't include information that you don't want everyone (or even just your work colleagues) knowing about. Don't hold a private conversation on your walls unless you want an audience. Just use common sense.

• What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace.

I enjoy them. I'm not living on my pages like people said I might - maybe there's a longer incubation period than I originally thought.

Week 2 Question

The question for Week 2 is: What is the difference between a blog and a wiki? What sort of things might be better suited for a blog and better suited for a wiki?

For me, the two major differences are the nature of the construction and its interactive nature. Blogs are more linear by nature. Each post sequentially follows the one previous, where a wiki is much more dynamic. Any part of it may be adjusted at any time, and new material doesn't need to be at the end. It is also much more interactive - if you open up the parameters, any person with access to your wiki can change anything. A blog tends to be centered around one individual or institution and their interactions with their readers (though of course readers can interact with each other through the comments as well).

In the library world, blogs are best for announcements, news items or updates. Wikis are better for committee work, procedural manuals or any documentation that needs continual updates. In general, I think of blogs when library staff communicate with the greater community and wikis when they are communicating internally.

Monday

Well, it's Monday again, isn't it? The weekend kind of sucked; I had a headache again. Today, I'm playing catch-up on my MLA course (where did last week go?) and preparing for a series of classes I'm giving in May to preceptors throughout the state. I'm covering the world of Evidence-Based Medicine as painlessly as possible. Should be fun. At least I get vacation next week. My little sister is getting married and I'm the maid of honor. More details on that to come. For now, I must go create a wiki.

Sick of Being Sick

Well, I'm home sick again and I'm tired of it. I have work I need to get done, but it's slow going at best. Tomorrow I'm teaching at the Pediatric Fellow noon conference about... stuff. The good news is, I'm getting some blood tests done tomorrow. Hopefully something will come out of it.

Week 1

I'm finished with Week 1 of the course. I created a LibGuides page including my RSS feeds, which http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/playground. Very cool.

RSS Feeds

So, this course of mine wants to know:

"How do you think you could use RSS feeds at your library? How do you think patrons could use RSS feeds?"

I think maybe that's the wrong question. The right question might be "How do we get non-tech savvy clinicians to recognize the potential of this technology?" I think part of the answer might be by hiding them, by doing things like embedding feeds into resource portals like LibGuides (see my playground page at http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/playground.

Do you see how I shamelessly promote myself - that can be another way to use RSS feeds.

Why I am blogging?

I've never been much of a stream of consciousness writer. I've never had a journal (except for some reason during a childhood trip to Washington DC). I've never had the need for strangers to know my every thought - hell, sometimes I don't want to know my every thought. But, work has intervened and a continuing education class has demanded that I create a blog, and I thought that maybe this would be a good way to keep in touch with my family and friends. I'm also inspired by Julie Powell of the Julie/Julia Project (http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/). She seemed to have a lot fun and wrote a book that I'm enjoying reading, so what the heck?