Evaluative Statement
The use of social
networking that happened while doing this subject has meant that the
use of social networking that has been undertaken by the author has
improved. This has been seen throught my use of sites and services
such as social bookmarking and tagging, twitter and bogs. In the past
using blogging has meant that it was used for sharing events that
have happened in my life as well as other things that may be of
interest such as book review and reipes. By doing this subject
discoveries have been made that ensure that through using this
platform, information that is important to the future of the
industry, such as articles about changes and information about useful
technology and social networking tools can be shared with others in
the industry or who are studying to be in the industry. This can be
done through writing posts on these developments and including links
to useful information. The address of the blog can be shared on other
platforms such as facebook which means that the information can then
get out to more people who are interested in the developments in the
area and who want to know more. This can mean that information is
shared on a wider basis and that the information about how to use
developing technologies and platforms to assist with the uptake of
said applications.
The use of twitter that
has been done by the author has also improved through the
participation in this course, in the past this platform was used to
occasionally share updates about the life of the author along with an
occasional retweet of interesting information shared by others. The
following that was done was of people and companies/businesses that
were of interest to me such as libraries and bookshops as well as
bands that I enjoy and shops and online sellers that sell things that
are of interest. Of the retweets that happen more of them are coming
from libraries and other industry related information. Another thing
that has happened has been that more selectivity about who is
followed and for what reason followers are chosen. Twitter also
allows for the sharing of information such as can be done with
facebook, links can be shared through the retweeting of links shared
by other parties or by tweeting for the first time information that
is found by the sharer. This can also be done using share buttons or
by copying and pasting links. It has also been seen that libraries
can use this platform for sharing events with their users and also
use it to share other information with them such as items that are
within their catalogue such as new items or items which are likely to
become popular due to being in the media.
Social bookmarking and
social tagging have in the past been used to remember where websites
that were not wanted to be forgotten so that they could be found in
the future. These were such things as libraries, shops and online
sellers and information to do with studying. Since doing this course
I have discovered in creating these bookmarks and tagging them the
information can be shared so that other people with the same
interests can also find the sites that are helpful to them. For
example sharing and tagging sites to do with libraries will allow
others to see the site and may encourage them to follow tagger and
then find other sites that may also be of interest. In this way new
sites can also be found by the original person by following in return
the person who has started following them. This encourages the
sharing of information and means that information about developments
that are happening can be shared to a wider audience as more people
with the interest start following this. In using these social
networking and social media applications and others like them it is
ensured that the sharing of information such as developments in
libraries and other information agencies can be shared with others
who have the same interests. This can include the use of just one
medium or a combination of these. The ability of the author to do
this has improved over the course of this course, as well as the
ability to use these media in everyday life.
Refelctive Statement.
Through doing this
subject the skills that have been picked up have meant that social
networking skills have improved this has been done through the
discovery of how better to use applications that were already used
and to start using platforms that had not previously been used. While
blogs had been used in the past they can now be used to a different
degree to share important information in a dedicated blog on a
particular subject. Facebook and twitter can also be used in the same
way to share links to information that others in the same industry
can easily find. The use of social bookmarking incorporating social
tagging has improved has well so that information can be shared with
others and information can be more easily accessed and can then be
shared on more easily as well. Understanding how other social
networking and social media applications can be used has also
occurred especially understanding about what they are such as
mashups and hosting sites. While these are new to the author and have
not been tested fully by me with the understanding of what they are
and how they can be used can be built on in the future and thus be
improved. The willingness to explore other platforms that are in
existance has been brought about as well as the idea to keep on
seeing what will happen in the future.
While completing this
course some of the unfamiliar platforms have been tried such as the
3D virtual world Second life. This was tried but it was not gotten
very far on as everytime it was tried after about five minutes the
computer crashed. While the value of thes type of platform can be
seen it is therefore not necessarily the best platform for everyone.
This type of platform can make places more accessible to people
around the world especially for people who may not have the means to
get there. It also is a way of bringing new ideas to people. However
to make this more acceible to people then by making the virtual world
2D would be advantageous.
Other online
connections that I have made include web confrencing through my work
which has started doing video conferencing to have their morning
meetings with the branches. While there have been issues from time to
time with different branches not being sure which connection to
connect too, this works on the whole quite well as it allows for the
members of staff to connect and share issues as well as to ensure
that important information is shared. This has also been used by my
work to have educational conferences with such places as the zoo and
the aquariam. This means that the users of the library are able to
find out information without having to travel to these places. There
have also been conferences with other libraries to share information.
In being involved in this I have been able to see how these kinds of
services can work well.
As has been seen the
different types of social media and social networking tools can be
used not only for personal purposes but also for the sharing of
industry related information and within the industry. My ability to
do this has improved over the course of my studying this subject as
well as outside the subject. This has been done through reading and
exploring the options that are out there and by improving the
existing skills that I had. This was also done by seeing what had
been done by other people to view what kinds of resources were
available for use. By being involved in the online world through
these kinds of platforms the resources that I have available have
been improved and my ability to share with others has also improved.
