After last week’s post, which admittedly was thrown together at the last minute in order to meet the one post a week deadline (yes, I’m playing a self-inflicted weekly match-it game with Lori Sailors), the Dude got to thinking more about libraries and social media. If you look at the library markers on the
public library maps from the NLC website, there are links to selected social media sites for each library (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr). The bar chart to the right uses the data from the map, showing the distribution of social media sites used by Nebraska libraries. The data comes from the NLC
supplemental survey, and after looking at the supplemental survey, some revision might be in order. How many of you have active Delicious accounts? LibraryThing? These are both options on the supplemental survey but not Pinterest or Instagram. Well, perhaps we will work to revise the supplemental survey so that these might be options. Are there others? If so, let me know.
Now, as the chart illustrates, Facebook (or is it facebook?) is the dominant force here (if you don’t understand why, check out
last week’s post (or just look at the bar chart) for a better understanding of the dominance of facebook. Perhaps you could also double check your marker on the aforementioned maps to make sure that they provide the correct link to your library’s social media pages. If they don’t, you can update that information via the
supplemental survey. This can be done at any time, although reminders are sent around the time of the public library survey.
Arguably, what’s more important is keeping your social media sites updated. Having a twitter account and only tweeting once a year is neither worthwhile nor effective at getting your message out there. Which brings the Dude to the next point and that is what icon to use for these various sites. Facebook isn’t too difficult, anything with the lower case f on a blue background. Twitter, however is a bit trickier. Do you use the lower case t or one of the variations of the little birdy? Do we assume that everyone knows that the birdy represents twitter? For Pinterest, the cursive p will do, but should you choose the circle or square background? Flickr’s are a bit more complicated, with numerous blue and pink dots and various renderings of lower case fr’s. The Dude imagines that someday we will have throwback icons similar to that of baseball uniforms and soda packaging (if we don’t already). Shaka.
After last week’s post, which admittedly was thrown together at the last minute in order to meet the one post a week deadline (yes, I’m playing a self-inflicted weekly match-it game with Lori Sailors), the Dude got to thinking more about libraries and social media. If you look at the library markers on the public library maps from the NLC website, there are links to selected social media sites for each library (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr). The bar chart to the right uses the data from the map, showing the distribution of social media sites used by Nebraska libraries. The data comes from the NLC supplemental survey, and after looking at the supplemental survey, some revision might be in order. How many of you have active Delicious accounts? LibraryThing? These are both options on the supplemental survey but not Pinterest or Instagram. Well, perhaps we will work to revise the supplemental survey so that these might be options. Are there others? If so, let me know.
Now, as the chart illustrates, Facebook (or is it facebook?) is the dominant force here (if you don’t understand why, check out last week’s post (or just look at the bar chart) for a better understanding of the dominance of facebook. Perhaps you could also double check your marker on the aforementioned maps to make sure that they provide the correct link to your library’s social media pages. If they don’t, you can update that information via the supplemental survey. This can be done at any time, although reminders are sent around the time of the public library survey.
Arguably, what’s more important is keeping your social media sites updated. Having a twitter account and only tweeting once a year is neither worthwhile nor effective at getting your message out there. Which brings the Dude to the next point and that is what icon to use for these various sites. Facebook isn’t too difficult, anything with the lower case f on a blue background. Twitter, however is a bit trickier. Do you use the lower case t or one of the variations of the little birdy? Do we assume that everyone knows that the birdy represents twitter? For Pinterest, the cursive p will do, but should you choose the circle or square background? Flickr’s are a bit more complicated, with numerous blue and pink dots and various renderings of lower case fr’s. The Dude imagines that someday we will have throwback icons similar to that of baseball uniforms and soda packaging (if we don’t already). Shaka. 
We have a pinterest account.