News from the CEO: US Libraries (sharing a blog post)

 

Someone form Yarra Plenty Library went on a trip to America to check out some libraries. Sounds like my kind of holiday. Its a shame that this blog isn't updated anymore.



News from the CEO: US Libraries: Back in June and July I was lucky to be able to tour some US libraries - some of the biggest and most beautiful in the country and indeed ...

Copyright

So copyright issues. One of the biggest things around. Normally copyright laws would be simple. You took the picture so therefore its your right? but oh so wrong when it comes to social media. Generally when you post a picture on a social media site you are agreeing that you give the site permission to use your photo, so is the photo really yours anymore? That would be no.
It's really the same as anywhere, people upload something they have created and sometimes other 'steal' it. It's really hard to maintain what is copyright when it comes to these sites, with all the multiple sharing and reposting.
You should really acknowledge the person that created the item if you are going to re-post it. For example a lot of fan artists create drawings and artworks and post them on Tumblr, where many people then share those pictures around because they are fabulous. But sometimes someone will share the picture and claim it as theirs. It can be really hard to say hey that's not yours it mine because it's everywhere on the internet. So remember if you're going to share something on social media, that you are sharing with the whole world too. And give credit to those who are the ones creating.

Commenting

So I went to check out Kim's awesome blog and her dog is just to cute! So I just had to leave a comment. Go look how cute she is!!
Princess

Sharing Blog Posts to Twitter

It's really quite easy! At the bottom of each post is a bunch of different icons. One of these is a little letter 't' which ask you if you want to share this post on Twitter, it then redirects you to twitter wight the title of the blog post and a link to the post itself all you need to do is hit tweet and you have successfully shared your post on twitter. :)

Libraries using Social Media

As the age of the internet progresses more and more businesses including libraries are using social media to reach out to their customers. From Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to Pinterest and Tumblr.
Using social media is a great way to send out information, keep patrons interested or just to show them what your library has been doing. Are you hosting a special event? Sometimes people just don't think to check the website, but if they're following you on Facebook or Twitter than they are more likely to see that you are hosting an event.
Some libraries that use social media:
SLV uses Facebook as well as a range of other social media to let their visitor know what they are up to: SLV Facebook
YPRL uses Facebook and Twitter too: YPRL Twitter
NLA also has a range of social media accounts including a youtube channel: NLA Youtube

As you can see there are many ways to use social media to promote and maintain customers.

Social Media Etiquette

Social media seemed to start off as a way of networking with friends, family and co-workers but soon became a great way for businesses to share and gain new patrons to there place of work, from restaurants to movies theatres, retails stores and libraries, lots of these places are now using social media to reach out to their customers in this very tech savvy age. But using social media as a personal tool and for a professional setting are very different. Its one thing to make yourself look like a fool afterall and another thing altogether to ruin your workplace, and thats what can happen if you use social media incorrectly. Just look at that resturant in the Hunter Valley NSW, who on their facebook account virtually attacked a customer, well lots of people saw that and then lots of people were angry. The resauraunt started receiving hate mail and threats and lost a bit of business.

Things that you say on social media really have to be thought about and for the professional accounts there is a bit of social media etiquette to follow.

Here are 12 really good steps to having a profession social media account  

12 Steps to a professional account

Privacy and social media.

Privacy is one of the biggest issues when it comes to using social media. You may think that your privacy is guaranteed just because you have set your account to private, but this is not always the case. Even with privacy settings used, advertising still manages to target you personally, to do this they look at what you like, things you say and even purchase, you may think that no one but you has access but you would be wrong. Posting a photo on your Facebook account for example, you may set this to friends only, but what if a friend of yours takes a screenshot of the picture and then uploads it to another site? Bad friend if they do this but the real question is, is it still private then? With most social media sites there is some fine print when uploading photos that pretty much says that once you upload these photos that they then have to right to use the photos in anyway they see fit. It seems so wrong but is apparently very legal.

Its very important when using social media to be careful with what you say, pictures you post and information that you provide, as any of these may be used.

This site has a good overview of the many privacy dangers that there are in using social media.

The absolute best way to maintain your privacy is to not use social media at all, but wheres the fun in that? So remember to be careful, check your settings, think before you post and read the fine print.

Privacy and using social media