Social Networking, Blogging at work

The line between what is work-related and what is not in the social networking world is getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Studies are being done. Results may surprise lots of IT managers/lawyers/supervisors/HR professionals!

Tuesday tech links via Library Bazaar by Fiacre on 9/1/09
Quote
By describing the practices of knowledge workers who blog, this research provides a view into the changing nature of work that becomes increasingly digital, nomadic and networked. It shows the power of individual knowledge workers, who bypass existing authorities and use their networks to stay informed and to get things done. It documents the blurred boundaries between what is personal and what is professional, as well as the growing need to know how to deal with transparency and fragmentation of one’s work.


Social Media Policies from 80+ Organizations via iLibrarian by Ellyssa on 9/21/09


Social Media Revolution via iLibrarian by Ellyssa on 9/21/09 (Video)


The Social Web, Information Overload, and Libraries via Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah Houghton-Jan by Sarah on 9/15/09 Includes connecting with customers online

And speaking of social networking...

If you haven't picked up on the basics of facebook yet, there is a link to a presentation here:
Facebook Pages basics – a Screencast via David Lee King by davidleeking on 7/8/09

Women and Grown-Ups Rock Social Networking Sites

This may look sexist, but it is actually data-driven. Our conclusion? Have your library reach out to these women in some way!

Women's Online Behavior and Social Media Habits via Stephen's Lighthouse by stephen on 7/10/09

Yes, some of this looks sexist but data is alleged to be accurate.

• The top activity for women online is shopping.
• The third most popular activity is social networking
• Half of all women log into social networks everyday. Two-thirds of under 30’s log-in daily, and 41% of 40+ log-in daily.
• When you get a bunch of women together, who most enjoy shopping online and talking, what exactly do they talk about? 62% of all women talk about products, and 71% of those with children ages 13 to 17 talk about products.

Facebook Variations via Stephen's Lighthouse by stephen on 7/10/09

College students Facebook use declines over the summer as many students are in diaspora. However, their parents' usage increases.

The number of Facebook users over 35 are gorwing a lot in the past 30 days.

The number of women over 55 on Facebook grew by 39% in the last month to over 2.5 million.

From iLibrarian:

Stan Schroeder at Mashable reports on the iStrategyLabs study of Facebook’s demographics in Facebook Users Are Getting Older. Much Older. According to their analysis, the social network’s userbase is shifting older, with growth in the 35-54 age range growing 190.2% between January and July of this year and users older than 55 years a whopping 513.7%.

Social Networking and Libraries Presentation

Friending Libraries: Why libraries can become nodes in people’s social networks
via Pew Internet Rss Feed: Front Page Update on 3/29/09

Lee Rainie will discuss Pew Internet's latest findings and why they suggest that libraries can play a role in people’s social networks in the future. Slides are not posted yet.

Social Networking Still Stupendously Increasing!

Social Networking Growth via Stephen's Lighthouse by stephen on 3/18/09
Goodness!
Mashable is telling me that AC Nielsen is reporting that Twitter is growing at a staggering 1,382%, that people are spending 20% more time on Twitter, Facebook time per person has grown 170%, Bebo's by 40%, etc. Amazing.

Generations of Internet and Social Networking Users

Baby boomers tend to be the newest and fastest growing market for internet and social networking. For this group, keeping up with family tends to be the starting point for use.

Discussions and Presentations:

Networked Families via Pew Internet Rss Feed: Reports on 10/19/08

Baby Boomers and the internet via Pew Internet Rss Feed: Front Page Update on 1/10/09

Generations Online in 2009
via Pew Internet Rss Feed: Front Page Update on 1/28/09

Boomers Fastest Growing Consumer Tech Users

Social media anyone?

A couple of interesting links from iLibrarian:

Adult Social Network Users Quadruples Over Four Years
7 Reasons Your Social Media Marketing Failed (and how to fix it!)

Social Networking Takes Over The World!

We all kind of had a hunch about this, didn't we? Now we have the studies to prove it.

Study Shows Social Media Use on the Rise

Whoa baby! Social Media appears to have moved beyond the Early Adopters and infiltrated the collective. It isn't just the kids anymore. After all, how many readers out there are over 26 and have a Facebook account?

For marketing, social media is a whole new venue. And the rules are way different than the old "interruptive" model. Brand yourself and get yourself out there. Make your social content something that makes the reader/viewer want to click back to your brand. Engage and think globally about it.

Don't forget the vicarious consumption inherent in the Expectation Economy discussed in Trendwatching. Opinions are out there. Your users are reading those opinions and makind decisions based on them. Know them. Grab them and use them to market your library and improve services.

Stephen Abram sums it up:
Half of U.S. adults use social media
from Stephen's Lighthouse by stephen
According to study, half of U.S. adults use social media.
Wow! That is, they do according to the latest findings from Universal McCann's "Media in Mind" study. In this particular study "social media" includes text messaging, blogging and social networking. These three technologies combined are used by 50% of U.S. adults for communication purposes.

1 out of 10 U.S. adults now publish blogs (up from 5% last year)
1 out of 5 18-34-year olds publish blogs (up from 10% last year)
22% of U.S. adults use IM (up from 9% last year)
21% 18-34-year olds use IM (up from 14% last year)
57% have joined a Social Network, now the primary mode of creating and sharing content
23% of social network users have installed an application
Video Clips are the quickest growing platform, up from 31% penetration
73% have read a blog
34% post opinions about products and brands on their blog

Read the complete presentation/report (80 page PDF) here.

Interesting. Right or wrong, it's still obviously growing in interesting ways.