The Data Dude on Social Media Use

men_social_mediaToday’s post will be a little blip about social media use. A recent Pew Research Center study took a look at gender and social media use and compared it to findings from previous years. While there once was a noticeable gender gap between men and women (with women being more likely than men to use social media), there is no longer such a noticeable difference. Does your library use social media? If so, what do you use and for what purpose? If you are interested in setting up social media sites or pages are you aware that there is help from the Nebraska Library Commission? If you’ve been meaning to do this but need some assistance, contact the NLC Technology and Innovation Librarian, Craig Lefteroff. According to the Pew survey, there are some differences in the type of social media used by gender. As the chart indicates, Facebook, while still used more by women than men, remains the most frequently used site overall. Pinterest is dominated by women, and men are more likely to use discussion forums and slightly more likely to use Twitter. The point to this is to have a better understanding of the various social media options for your library, and to understand the benefits of using social media to reach your community. Of course, this is only the starting point in gathering data on the demographics of your local community. Another great source for information to help with setting up and maintaining a social media site is the Nebraska Libraries on the Web site and blog. Check it out and you might come away with a fresh new idea or two. Shaka.
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