{"id":105,"date":"2018-07-02T09:55:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T09:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisp1.epgpbooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/?post_type=chapter&p=105"},"modified":"2018-12-04T10:16:29","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T10:16:29","slug":"social-media-in-a-knowledge-society","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/lisp1\/chapter\/social-media-in-a-knowledge-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media in a Knowledge Society"},"content":{"raw":"
\"epgp<\/a>\r\n<\/span><\/div>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n \r\n

I. Objective<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

This unit is aimed at introducing the reader to the concept of social media, available social media tools, and the role of social media in an information \/ knowledge society and in library services. This unit will help you to understand:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What is Social Media?\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are the social media tools available for information exchange?\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How can I use social media tools for library services?\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nII. Learning Outcome<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

On completing the module you are expected to have an idea of the various social media tools that are available today and their scope and purpose. You should also be aware of how social media have been effectively employed in libraries and should be able to formulate ideas of employing social media in libraries of different kinds in India.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

III.\u00a0<\/strong>Structure of the Module<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\n1.\u00a0 Introduction\r\n\r\n2.\u00a0 What is Social Media?\r\n\r\n3.\u00a0\u00a0 Social Media\r\n

3.1 Blogs<\/p>\r\n

3.2 Micro-blogging<\/p>\r\n

3.3 Social Networks<\/p>\r\n

3.4 Media-sharing<\/p>\r\n

3.5 Social Bookmarking<\/p>\r\n

3.6 Rating \/ Voting Review sites<\/p>\r\n

3.7 Forums<\/p>\r\n

3.8 Virtual worlds<\/p>\r\n4.\u00a0 Library 2.0 and Librarian 2.0\r\n

4.1 What is Library 2.0?<\/p>\r\n

4.2 Librarian 2.0<\/p>\r\n

4.3 Use of Web 2.0 in libraries<\/span><\/p>\r\n5.\u00a0 Strategic implementation of Social Media<\/span>\r\n\r\n6.\u00a0 Summary<\/span>\r\n\r\n7.\u00a0 References<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n1. <\/strong>Introduction<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Libraries are experiencing technology transformation. Right from the typewriter to cloud computing libraries have used technologies to improve service and visibility. These technology transformations have been reported, recorded and read by librarians to understand how to position ourselves in this ever-changing technology-driven society. Information society demands the strategic positioning of information in - content organization, information services, knowledge dissemination and archiving of resources. This demand has elevated the position of librarians from \u2018information provider \/ facilitator\u2019 to the \u2018custodians of facts\u2019. These demands have made it imperative for librarians to learn, implement and use the technology which is in force for effective and efficient service delivery.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Libraries are among the early adopters of social media in order to connect with their patrons. Libraries will continue to be a community hub in this network world just as they were in the traditional environment. As Michael Stephens (2006) said \u2018to remain viable, interesting and relevant, libraries should seek methods to get out into the community, engage users with services and conversations, and offer collaborative spaces both online and in beautiful physical buildings. But here\u2019s the other side of the coin: Librarians should embrace the social tools as well on a professional and even personal level. It\u2019s the logical first step to put us on the way to Library 2.0\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

2. What is Social Media?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Social media is a blurred term that is used to refer to different technologies in different ways. As a norm we consider any online platform which provides options for collaborative content development and sharing as social media. On the whole, the general understanding of social media is all about a platform which facilitates sharing, collaboration, and conversation. It is a platform for creating content - called \u2018user-created content\u2019 - directly and often collaboratively. Social media has to be understood through the technology on which it is developed; what makes social media? Let us understand the technology first and then its applicability.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

In the next section, we will look briefly at Web 2.0 technologies, the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technologies and finally we will focus on understanding what makes social media.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

2.1 Web 2.0 Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Web 2.0 is the buzzword of all the conferences, seminars, discussion forms and literatures published on technology adoption in libraries during 2002 to 2012. Web 2.0 could be thought of as the set of ever-evolving tools that benefit online users (Stephens, 2006) and used by them to connect, communicate, collaborate, converse and create content. Further, Web 2.0 can be considered as the upgraded, improved, and modernized World Wide Web. It is a term used loosely to apply to everything from the explosion of social networking websites like MySpace and YouTube, to the rich, interactive software applications being served online, and even to the specific programming languages and technology tools that make the \u201cnew\u201d web possible (Funk, 2009).<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The term \u2018Web 2.0\u2019 was coined by Darcy DiNucci (DiNucci, 1999) who said: \u201cThe Web we know now, which loads into a <\/span>browser window <\/a>in essentially static screenfuls, is only an <\/span>embryo <\/a>of the Web to come. The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we are just starting to see how that embryo might develop. The Web will be understood not as screenfuls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether through which interactivity happens. It will ...\u00a0<\/span>appear on your computer screen, ... on your TV set ... your car dashboard ... your cell phone ... hand- held game machines ... maybe even your microwave oven\u201d (Wikipedia, 2014). Tim O\u2019Reilly and Dale Dougherty of O\u2019Reilly Media popularized it by comparing the monotype web technologies (old) which they term as \u2018Web 1.0\u2019 with the dynamic and interactive web technologies. It was an attempt to describe the web technology in business models which demanded the interactive, dynamic, real-time and transparent (O\u2019Reilly Media, 2005). Web 2.0 is also seen as Tim Burners -Lee\u2019s vision of collaborative information space, which is the base for technologies such as blog, wikis, RSS feeds, etc., where an online user is able to add, edit and create content (Anderson 2007). These help us to get the layman definition: \u201cWeb 2.0 is the second stage of development of the Internet, characterized especially by the change from static web pages to dynamic or user-generated content and the growth of social media\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Tim O\u2019Reilly (2005) explains Web 2.0 as \u201cWeb 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; web 2.0 applications are those that make the most\u00a0<\/span>of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating network effects through an \u2018architecture of participation\u2019 and going beyond he page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experience\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

For our study, let us consider the definition given by Michael Stephens in his post \u201cWeb 2.0 for Librarians\u201d defines it as \u2018Web 2.0 is the next incarnation of the World Wide Web, where digital tools allow users to create, change, and publish dynamic content of all kinds. Other Web 2.0 tools syndicate and aggregate this content. We will all be publishers and creators of our own information and entertainment channels with these applications\u2019 (Stephens, 2006).<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

In Web 1.0, the users were the consumers of content, whereas in Web 2.0 users are content creators and consumers. To get more clarity, let us study the key differences between these two technologies. Tim O\u2019Reilly while defining Web 2.0 has tried to draw an imaginary line between these two technologies. The differences identified by Tim O\u2019Reilly are shown in Table 1.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Web 1.0<\/strong><\/td>\r\nWeb 2.0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
DoubleClick<\/td>\r\nGoogle AdSense<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Ofoto<\/td>\r\nFlickr<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Akamai<\/td>\r\nBitTorrent<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
mp3.com<\/td>\r\nNapster<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Britannica Online<\/td>\r\nWikipedia<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
personal websites<\/td>\r\nblogging<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Evite<\/td>\r\nupcoming.org and EVDB<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
domain name speculation<\/td>\r\nsearch engine optimization<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
page views<\/td>\r\ncost per click<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
screen scraping<\/td>\r\nweb services<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Publishing<\/td>\r\nparticipation<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
content management systems<\/td>\r\nwikis<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
directories (taxonomy)<\/td>\r\ntagging (\u201cfolksonomy\u201d)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
stickiness<\/td>\r\nsyndication<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n

Table.1: Difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Source: O'Reilly, T. (2005, September 30). What Is Web 2.0? Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Let us consider Britannica Online and Wikipedia for our discussion. Wikipedia\u2019s entry for Web 2.0 itself gives the history, development, improvements and revisions that happened in Web 2.0 technologies. The community collaboration in content creation \/ development, interactive features, tags, RSS feeds, is how Wikipedia took shape. This collaborative effort has made Wikipedia more informative, robust, updated and a popular source of information. Britannica Online being a publisher site acts as a source of information but does not allow user participation. Another example is the photo gallery website listed in Table 1. Ofoto from Kodak provides option to upload photographs and share with friends. This website is compared with Flickr which provides rich features to share photographs with assigned privileges, allow comments, tagging of images to describe the image, RSS feeds, etc. These additional features allowing the user community to interact and inform is what makes Web 2.0. The features of web 1.0 and web 2.0 are listed in Table 2.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n \r\n

Table.2: Features defining Web 1.0 and Web 2.0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nThere are some YouTube Videos that give an idea of the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 (http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YXFYkbQRgY4)<\/a>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Web 2.0 (http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w<\/a>)\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 EvolutionWeb 1.0, Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 (http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A5d61xYzdv0<\/a>)\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n2.2 Web 3.0 Technologies<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Having experienced the collaborative web, the users are demanding new look, feel and richer experience. In response to this innovative of web technologies like 3D visualization, real web, etc have come up. This experience is certainly the extension or the next level of Web 2.0 technologies. Technologists suggest these developments as the third generation of the World Wide Web, Web 3.0. John Markoff of the New York Times coined the term \u201cWeb 3.0\u201d and defined it as the third generation of internet-based web technologies which emphasize machine-facilitated understanding of information in order to provide productive and intuitive user experience. This rich experience comprises the use of semantic web, microformats, natural language search, data-mining, machine learning, recommendation agents, and artificial intelligence technologies. John Markoff calls Web 3.0 as \u2018Intelligent Web\u2019 (Markoff, 2006).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Nova Spivack in his article (2006) says: \u2018Web 3.0 will be more connected, open, and intelligent, with semantic Web technologies, distributed databases, natural language processing, machine learning, machine reasoning, and autonomous agents\u2019 gives a holistic picture of Web 3.0.The visual comparison of web technology by Nova Spivack is presented as Figure 1.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n

Fig.1: Visual Comparison of Web technology development<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

(Source: Spivak, N., & Tucker, L. (2007). Developing Web 3.0 (Session BOF 6746). JavaOne Conference 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2014, from\u00a0http:\/\/bblfish.net\/work\/presentations\/2007\/BOF-6747.pdf<\/a>)<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nAgain there are some interesting videos \/ presentations on Web 3.0:\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nova Spivack \u2013 Making sense of Semantic Web (http:\/\/vimeo.com\/684381<\/a>)\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Developing Web 3.0 (<\/strong>http:\/\/bblfish.net\/work\/presentations\/2007\/BOF-<\/a>6747.pdf<\/a>)\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n3. Social Media<\/strong>1<\/strong><\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Social media are the websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (2010) say: \u2018social media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundation of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content\u2019. This suggests that Social Media is the collective term for Web 2.0 applications for information exchange. The Conversation Prism presented below as Figure 2 presents the different social media universe available for different activities. The prism is organized based on the category to which the social media belongs and how people use.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n \r\n

Fig.2: The Social Media Conversation Prism<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Source: Doyle, M. (2013). The Conversation Prism. The Website Marketing Group. Retrieved July 12, 2014, from http:\/\/blog.twmg.com.au\/the-conversation-<\/a>prism\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n

The conversation prism gives the holistic view of social media which comes in many forms. We will focus here on eight most popular forms, viz.,: blogs, micro-blogs, social networks, media-sharing, social bookmarking, voting and review sites, forums, and virtual worlds as listed by Dan Zarrella (2009) in his book \u201cThe social media marketing book\u201d. (Zarrella, D. (2009). The social media marketing\u00a0<\/a>book. Beijing: O'Reilly.<\/a> http:\/\/danzarrella.com\/Social_Media_Marketing_Book_ch1_3.pdf<\/a>). For each of the eight forms we will briefly examine the purpose, a brief history and the most popular tools available for service.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n3.1 Blogs<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

History: <\/strong>Jorn Barger coined the term \u2018Weblog\u2019 during 1997 for a personal website or web page on which an individual records opinions, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis is posted. Later it was called \u2018Blog\u2019 for convenience by Peter Merholzby breaking \u2018Weblog\u2019 to \u2018We Blog\u2019 (Economist, 2006). Since 1999 blog became popular with LiveJuournal and reached a wider audience with the entry of \u2018Blogger\u2019 by Evan Williams.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Purpose: <\/strong>A blog is a type of content management system (CMS) that makes it easy for anyone to publish short articles called posts. A \u2018Blogger\u2019 is someone who blogs or writes content for a blog; and \u2018Blogging\u2019 is the act of writing a post for a blog. It is generally introduced as an online personal diary or online journalism. Blog software provides a variety of social features, including comments, blogrolls, trackbacks, and subscriptions. Blogs make great hubs for other social media services as they can be easily integrated with nearly every other tool and platform.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nUse of Blogs in Libraries<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To update on the upcoming releases in publishing and entertainment industry\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To post select book reviews and encourage the user community for discussion and share their thoughts\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To introduce users to subject specific information available on collaborative weblogs.\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To announce news, events, activities, etc., related to library.\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To answer user queries and to share available information resource to the user.\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To link to online resource, information gateways, knowledge portals and other information repositories<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To get feedback, suggestions on specific service or for acquisition of title<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To make library staff members to interact and collaborate<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To provide online reference services. By identifying the online resources freely available or accessible on campus, libraries can provide reference service<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To promote library services through regular post on usage, services offered, users remarks, etc.,<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To provide necessary guidelines, tutorials and instructions on services and use of services.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Blogs act as channels to offer Information Literacy Programmes.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPopular Blogging sites:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Blogger (<\/strong>https:\/\/www.blogger<\/strong>.com\/start<\/a>)\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tumblr (<\/strong>https:\/\/www.tumblr.com\/<\/a>)\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTo know more about Blogs:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blog<\/a>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.economist.com\/node\/6794172<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n3.2 Micro-blogging<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

History: <\/strong>Like \u2018Xerox\u2019 is the pseudo name for \u2018Photocopying\u2019, \u2018Twitter\u2019 is for \u2018Micro-blogging\u2019. Political protest carried out in 2004 using online tool called TXTMob which sends SMS to the cell phones of a group of people was the idea trigger for \u2018Twitter\u2019.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Purpose: <\/strong>Many surveys have found that online users don\u2019t spend reading long texts, long emails, and lengthy advertisements or product presentation. Publishers also want to reach the users without much time, investment and content. The best solution is \u2018Twitter\u2019. The Micro-blogging which limits the size of a post to 140 characters demands the user to convey the message in as short a manner as possible. This is the widely used social media tool to reach large audience in a very short time.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

To Know more about Micro-blogging<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gfsYBMt4vqk<\/a>\r\n\r\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Microblogging<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nUse of Micro-blogging in Libraries:<\/strong>\r\n