The assignment: read two articles (one required the other chosen by me), and write a summary/reflection/comparison for the two articles, being sure to cite all sources correctly in APA format.
The result:
In the article titled "Connecting government to improve it: As the U.S. government steadily loosens restrictions on social media, some agencies are already benefitting from the next era of community and collaboration," Dean Smith (2007) challenged my idea of the relationship between government and social media. Most of us will think about vacation photos posted on Flicker or "liking" someone's Facebook comment when the term social media is mentioned. Even though more professional companies are turning to social media to connect with the public at large, I find it difficult to consider Facebook and its kin to have something of a "professional atmosphere." Perhaps that comes with reading too many stories about people who found their partner cheating on a dating site or reconnecting with long-lost relatives after decades apart--such images of social media sites would certainly make users more biased to see the casual aspect, rather than the professional.
However, we cannot ignore the possibilities that social networking and social media provides. It caters to millions of users. Michael Stephens (2007) even states that millions of Americans are creating and sharing content online via social networking sites, especially the younger generation. With so many users in a central global-wide "location" (meaning the internet), it would be foolish for professionals to not find ways to harness this technology for themselves. In his article, Smith explores some of the ways that the government has harnessed social media for their own uses. He explains that the government is able to utilize social networking tools for sharing knowledge, driving informal learning, and "establishing communities of practice" (Smith, 2010). Facebook, the most-used social networking platform with 500 million users and counting, is included in the tools the government uses. In fact, both the CIA and the EPA have found that Facebook can help them out in very specific ways--the CIA uses it for recruiting new employees, and the EPA has found it useful for employee collaboration, among other things (Smith, 2010). In this way, the government is establishing new connections with the citizens of this country, as well as reaching out to the rest of the global community.
Stephens (2007) characterizes the World Wide Web as a tool for global connection. How conceivable was this idea prior to the establishment of the internet? Now we think nothing of having a conference with business associates in Japan, or playing online games with people in France, or even enrolling in an online program for a school you will never physically see. These things would not have been realistic 30 years ago. Our role as librarians is to recognize the potential the internet and social networking platforms has for our libraries as a means of connection and collaboration with staff and users (Stephens, 2007). Just as the social media has become more proliferate in the government's tools, so must it do with library tools. All of us--government, libraries, professionals--are moving toward the trend of a global place where everyone will be sharing knowledge and content. Stephens and Smith agree that there is a place for professionals in social platforms like Facebook; we just have to find out how we can fit in (Smith, 2010; Stevens, 2007).
References
Smith, D. (2010). Connecting government to improve it: As the U.S. government steadily loosens restrictions on social media, some agencies are already benefiting from the next era of community and collaboration. T+D, 64(4), 24.
Stephens, M. (2007). The ongoing web revolution. Library Technology Reports, 43(5), 10-14.
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