CPD23 – Thing 6: Online networks
So for Thing 6 of CPD23 we’re looking at online networks. I’m already registered on most of the networks mentioned in the blog but engage with them to varying degrees and use them in different ways. I tend to be quite passive; lurking in the background reading what’s being said without getting involved myself. However, looking at these networks as part of CPD23 has made me think again about the way I use social media. I realise that I will definitely get more out if I put more in!
Hmm, Facebook…I’m not much of a fan of Facebook. I’m on there, but only use it occasionally now. I use it mainly as a way of keeping in touch with friends and I have been known to reject many friend requests from people I’ve not seen for years. Well, if we really were friends I’m sure we’d have stayed in touch. Call me old-fashioned but I still prefer a text to a wall post! For the moment I prefer to keep my use of Facebook more social than professional.
I really like Twitter. Although I use it mainly as a professional current awareness tool, it’s also a really useful platform for building a professional online network. Twitter benefits from its simplicity and the lack of formality so it is a professional, yet social, space. For me, Twitter is useful as a tool for sharing knowledge with your network through short snippets of information or links, and to tap into the knowledge and expertise of your peers.
I’ve had a LinkedIn account for a while now but my profile was fairly sparse and rather neglected. I had been considering closing my LinkedIn account as I didn’t seem to be gaining anything from it. However, I’ve decided to give it one more go and have finally got round to adding more information to my profile (it’s now 80% complete! – just wish LinkedIn wouldn’t remind me of this every time I log in!). After speaking to my Chartership mentor this week about how I could use LinkedIn as a tool for professional engagement for Chartership, I’ve joined more groups and had a look into some of the discussions. This is one area that I think LinkedIn could be really useful to me.
I joined LISNPN (LIS New Professionals Network) after the New Professionals Conference last year and have to say that I don’t use it all that much, especially as a network. I use the resources area but only ever dip into the forums occasionally and don’t comment much at all. As the platform is the same I think I will probably end up using LAT Network (Librarians as Teachers Network) in a similar way. I don’t do any teaching in my current role, and although this is an area that interests me professionally, I have been putting off joining this network. I’ve taken the plunge and registered now – I just hope I remember to log in occasionally! I follow the Twitter account for both networks so I think I would still catch anything of interest that way. I think I’ll probably skip CILIP Communities. As a CILIP member I have access to this but I rarely check it. There seems to be less activity on the forums here than on the LinkedIn discussion boards, I subscribe to quite a few of the blogs in the CILIP blog landscape and see some of the others from the Weekly Information World bulletin. Again, and this is one of the reasons I like it so much, Twitter often points me in the direction of many blogs and discussions that I’d see on here.
I struggle to keep up with the various online networks that I use now, and though I’m keen to try out new things, I’m wary of signing up to too many. What I really need is an online network that encompasses many areas, combining the professional elements of LinkedIn and the personal, social side of Facebook…and, from SimonXIX’s recent blog post, it seems that Google Plus might be just the thing. I’m really keen to explore this – anyone got a spare invite?! – though of course the main thing about online networks is to be where the conversation is. At the moment for me this is Twitter, it could be Google Plus next. The main thing I’ve learnt from revisiting my online networks is that I need be less passive and get more involved. I’ll aim to be less consumer, more contributor in future.
