2 Peas in a Podcast, Libraries and Podacsting

Personally I'm a podcast fan I listen to one weekly and enjoy them while I work, however I found myself a skeptic when it came to library podcasts. Why? Well because I hadn't really come across any good ones... when you think about it being an "entertainer" isn't necessarily something that has gone hand in hand with library staff. Sure there are library positions that require you to be a good public speaker but the essence of a podcast is essentially YOU without much other than your voice. The volume and tone of your voice and your ability to be personal are stretched to the max. You really are under a great deal of expectation when breaking into such an entertainment form as podcasting. Educational tutorials may have additional visual aids but for the most part you have very few tools other than your own wit to capture your audience and that is a lot to demand of anyone.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the podcasts suggested in our class material, but still found enough audio issues or poor projection of voices that I personally wouldn't have listened all the way through to a couple of them unless there had been some educational value to come out listening with.

If you don't have a natural "entertainer" on staff your ability to run a successful podcast for your library is slightly limited at the very least the host must be an above average public speaker to pull of even a dry educational tutorial.  The alternative is to have authors and storytellers make up the bulk of the broadcast... this however gives the podcast less of the consistent feel that tends to draw in users. The purpose of hosts on TV and Radio throughout history and into the present, reflects a constant, that the public often looks for in an entertainment program.

In regards to educational podcasts and tutorials. The value of having audio tutorial available on your site is defiantly there. However I'm not sure I would call these "podcasts" so much as online tutorials and  seminars. The difference being that podcasts kind of carry a "series" or "ongoing" implication by definition. Where online audio tutorials, or seminars refer more to stand alone events. The thing I caution with in audio tutorials or educational podcasts is that having a clear speaker is key, as the audience will not have text to refer back to. A podcast it lacks some level of audience interaction that a real life seminar or class would have. It gives people the luxury of listening any time they want but they must wait to have questions about the content answered. Live web meetings through software such as "gotomeeting" and"BlogTV" allow for live webcast events in real time, but that is a little outside the scope of "podcasting" however is a real time comparison.

I think a podcast project with the right personalities can be amazingly successful for  a library, but I think that the talent for that kind of an undertaking is lacking in the general population. While podcasts may be amazing tools the talent to run a successful one might be lacking in your organization. In which case I think you can do just as well with text based information. Many people have issues with public speaking and for some reason (those of you who know me know I don't shre that particular afflication, but I do note that many do) having a mic in your face seem to make those issues even worse. Podcasts are a difficult, more costly undertaking requiring equipment purchases and bandwidth, compared to many forms of free social media.

It is vital to weigh the needs and wants of your patrons, the skills of your staff and scope of your budget before undertaking the creation of the more advanced social media format of the podcast. While they can be valuable tools podcasts come with costs associated and are demanding in creation time. The end results in what they can do for providing information to your patrons and drawing interest is however, impressive.

A Little Bit of S&M

The topic of today is Social Media (get your head out of the gutter this is a library blog sheesh) I’ve read some articles suggested by my instructor on the pros and cons of social media and come back with the conclusion that it really isn’t about “pros and cons” it’s about the fact that social media is a reality of communication in the information age. That being stated people shouldn’t assume that there are rules of using it, ethics certainly but no rules. 

If you can use a social media tool as an internal tool, or for the functionality of improving your operations or works space I say go for it! So would anyone in the technology industry. Finding new ways to use software is what makes it even more popular and the developers will thank you for it. I will too since it gives me a job. The only caution I will give is when using social media be aware that it is intended to be “social” that means it may be lacking in privacy controls in many cases for internal use.

One thing I noticed when I started my Library studies is that the program falls under the heading “arts” social media actually has placed the expectations on us to get creative and find new, effective and exciting ways of using technology, web 2.0 and social media (overlap applies in these terms and I use them loosely)

There are a lot of types of libraries with very different needs and librarians have to have the technical education and awareness to make these technologies work for their needs or they have indeed missed the boat. If they aren’t getting what they need out of the technology but are still using it they fell overboard a few islands back. Keep in mind many social media tools are free, and all are customizable. Every artist has looked at something and gone “ok back to the drawing board” or we wouldn’t have that expression. Libraries need to apply the same logic and attitude.  I know we like to hold onto things but sometimes we need to let go if something isn’t working for us and try again.

One of the cons that I had a bit of an issues with being listed, in regards to the use of social media was that the audience was too broad. Yes the average public library in Manitoba doesn’t need users from Japan. However the library is a huge resource for newly immigrated families and could use social media as an outreach resource to people planning to come to Canada, even allow them to feel they are part of the community before getting here. Range isn’t the issue.  A lot of the negatives I hear about social media I can't help but relate to someone using the wrong end of a screwdriver and then complaining the tool doesn't work right. Social media doesn't necessarily have the same rules or instruction manual of conventional hardware tools, but their are effective and non effective ways to use it. You can turn a screwdriver using all the proper methods and following of instructions you want but if your turning the the wrong way the screw still isn't going to grip. A lot of "negatives" listed for social media seem to be from people who couldn't get the screw to grip they way they wanted, or like in my garden reference in my first blog entry, didn't put in the time needed to get the results they wanted.

Like doing a resource search in a database it’s about narrowing your audience to who you want then marketing it. If you want local people on your face book page, youtube or twitter account. Then you have to put it the marketing to let them know your accounts are available and open to them and give them the information on how to use them. Holding social media instructional sessions at the library where people can learn about the tools and how to use them are an idea. Plain old fashioned posters on the cork board of the library or at local schools that students may drift over from are another possibility. This gets you the users you want on your page not some random button mashing spam bot encouraging you to join the latest S&M site. (Don’t be fooled that last S&M defiantly is not refereeing to social media. )