youtube

A couple posts ago, I suggested that libraries stop friending other libraries and to focus instead on their local community. (aside - If you need/want to connect with other librarians, that’s great - make your own personal account for that).

Now, on to how? What are the different ways one can friend others in popular social networking sites, and how can you find and attract friends in each? That’s a bit more difficult, and takes a bit more work. I’ll take a couple of posts and give some pointers (and would love for you to join in and suggest your own idea,s too!).

Here are some general ideas that work for most of the new social networking tools:

• Setting goals (have I mentioned this one enough?). You need to figure out what you want to achieve with your twitter/facebook/etc account. Do this first!
• Focus on a target audience - it might help to focus on a target audience, rather than to focus on a generic “patron.”
• Be human, instead of a stuffy organization. @Zappos and @Timbuk2 do this well in Twitter - when you send them a question or comment about their product, you generally get a real, live person replying, being helpful, answering questions, etc. (hmm… that sorta sounds like a reference librarian).
• Good content rules! Make interesting posts/tweets/updates
• Advertise/promote it! Think business cards in the library, articles in the library newsletter, etc.
• Link to it on your website, and explain what it is and why I should care.
• Find out where people who use these tools hang out, and go there. And post flyers, pass out cards with your social networking info on it, etc. in those establishments (I’m thinking bulletin board in a coffee shop here).
• Teach classes on the tool. Show attendees how to set up an account, and how to follow the library. Instant followers!
• Even better - do the same thing at a local chamber brown bag lunch or other business oriented gathering. Show them how the library can meet real needs via these tools.
• Library programs/events? Take the first 2 minutes and push it there.
• Colleges/high schools nearby? Put an ad in their newspapers.
• How about a local newspaper or local magazine? Put an ad there or check into writing an article for them (better yet, a weekly tech column).

You might have noticed that most of my suggestions on getting friends for social networking tools … doesn’t involve using the tool to make friends. Instead, it’s all about YOU leaving the library and meeting your community. Getting out of the building. Actively introducing your community to these tools. Or even talking to peole inside your library that you notice use the tools.

That’s the hard part - lots of walking and talking and meeting people, physically and digitally. But it will pay off.

Next post - I’ll look at some specifics of finding friends by using the tools - Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr.

Now - on to your ideas. How do you get friends with social networking tools? Have I left off anything?

photo credit

Update: This is part of my slowly-growing series on organization-based friending in social networks. Here’s what I have so far:

• Attracting Friends, Part 3: Facebook
• Attracting Friends, Part 2: Twitter
  
• Attracting Friends, Part 1
• More on Friending
• Don’t Friend Me

Tagged as: facebook, flickr, friending, friends, myspace, social media, social network, twitter, youtube

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Think it’s only geeky librarians like me that use social media tools like Twitter or YouTube or wikis, and your community isn’t really there yet? Think again.

Here are two examples of people in my local community (Topeka, KS), engaging with others via new-fangled social media tools (both discovered via the vanity feeds set up for my library):

Example #1: Dancing Teens, Twitter, and YouTube

This morning, I saw Chris Abraham’s tweet saying this: “These super friendly high school dancing girls are going to YouTube to get ideas for dance routines. Social Media rocks here in Topeka, Kansas!”

And his Qik video and blog post of the event (Qik video embedded below):

Yes, the girls were practicing their dance routine at Topeka’s Starbucks (I try to never be seen dancing in public… but that’s another story entirely

So what do we have? One guy, passing through town … creating live video, blogging about it, and twittering about it. About two teenagers that use YouTube NOT for entertainment, but to find dance choreography ideas.

Example #2: Technology Planning in Topeka

A local newspaper columnist asked Topeka techies (using a wiki, no less) this question: “How do we make Topeka a better community by using technology? That is the question I address to you. Join me in a public discussion and offer your suggestions and let’s collaborate to make Topeka a better place.”

Yes, people in your community are already connecting and engaging with others via social media tools. Are you?

photo: http://flickr.com/photos/chrisabraham/2800383966/

Tagged as: live video, qik, social media, twitter, youtube

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