Comments on: Personal Accounts, Work Accounts – What To Do?

By: verizongowtham

verizongowtham — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:10:18 +0000

By: Julian

Julian — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:51:50 +0000

An easy way to log into multiple accounts at the same time (twitter, facebook, or many others) is to use different browsers. Say, work stuff in IE, personal in Chrome, ham radio club twitter in Safari (there is a Windows version), and your local “Library Folk in the Pub” group in Firefox or Opera.
Ubuntu / Linux also allows various browsers, so have @LFIP in Galeon @VK2YJS (me) in FF, @VK2MA (club) in Epiphany.

By: Colleen Greene

Colleen Greene — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:49:21 +0000

I agree about not wanting to sound impersonal, but I don't require our library faculty and staff to first have a personal Twitter account and get familiar with that account prior to Tweeting under our organizational account. If I required that, I'd only have 3 Tweeters in our entire library.

I encourage Twitter-curious library personnel to monitor our library account for a little while, then sign up for a CoTweet account so that they can Tweet on behalf of the library. Then, if they like it and see value in it, they're more willing to try opening up their own account.

I chair our Social Media Team (all active social networkers), who work with personnel new to social media, to help teach them how to use the tools and craft a more personable voice.

By: boycetrus

boycetrus — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:43:39 +0000

I think organisational accounts are the way to go, providing anyone that posts to them does so in a personal style. We want to make sure that the voice of real people shows through in the public face of our libraries.

I do, however, encourage anyone starting out in a new social media space to sign up for a personal account. That way you can get to know the culture of the space before you start using that service as a way to present your library.

I guess what I am trying to avoid is a situation where someone starts an work account on something like twitter and comes across as an impersonal, bureaucratic organisation – rather than as a human being trying to make connections on behalf of their library.

By: Colleen Greene

Colleen Greene — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:55:26 +0000

I use my Twitter and Facebook accounts for both personal and professional purposes, although anything I post officially on behalf of the library goes on our library Facebook page and Twitter account. I'm fine with patrons contact me via my personal accounts — I even have students friending me on Foursquare now.

I'm very aware of what I post online and am comfortable with mixing persona and professional content together, but then I tend to have a personal policy of never posting anything I'd be embarrassed for a) my mom, b) my kids, c) my employers, or d) my pastors to see — because they're all Facebook (and some, Twitter) pals of mine.

By: Jeff Ingram

Jeff Ingram — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:20:52 +0000

Interesting and relevant question. Where I work, it's all a bit of a gray muddle. We're not supposed to view personal email/facebook/twitter etc accounts on work time, but my FB/Blog posts/email are mixed in: ie some work email goes to a personal account, personal FB account often promotes library events, etc. Some supervisors understand, some don't care, and others don't want to know.

By: Justin Hoenke

Justin Hoenke — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:51:49 +0000

I'm a fan of opening things up. I feel like it allows me to connect with the teens I serve a lot more. I don't have anything to hide so...why not?

I just posted this article over at Tame The Web on this subject!
http://tametheweb.com/2010/03/17/using-social-m...
Enjoy!

By: Jenny Reiswig

Jenny Reiswig — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:03:57 +0000

We actually got a written complaint from a patron seeing library staff on Facebook, suggesting that people who don't have enough work to do should be fired. We have no idea if they were working on the library's facebook pages or personal ones, but the Facebook site is recognizable at a distance and carries the perception of goofing off. Social media tools have a lot of mixed social baggage – I'm constantly struggling with finding the right balance.

By: Houston Librarian

Houston Librarian — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:17:27 +0000

If you are still at the library and not on duty, then shame on ya. I think you need to answer the questions. If you're off duty, stay in the work room, go home or go to a different library.

By: davidleeking

davidleeking — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:34:51 +0000

Good point, Aaron! And I think you're right – do your #3 well, and you will
look like a real person behind the Twitter account.