OLJ task: An evaluation of ASU Library's use of social media

How well does ASU Library's use of social media achieve the 4C's of social media:

1. collaboration
2. conversation
3. community
4. content creation?

ASU library’s use of the Library Minute and the Library Channel suite would certainly strike up conversation and build community, and these 2C’s are the strongest of the 4. The use of clever humour in the Library Minute, such as a movie reference, makes the viewer emotionally engage and think positively about the library.  It also potentially makes it a talking point and while students were talking about the movie quip hopefully you would also talk about the videos’ content.  

This conversation would be critical to overcome the potential barriers to students finding and viewing these videos. Students would have to find the right place to click and then be bothered to click. Admittedly this is a small amount of searching but it could be enough to stop students viewing the videos and becoming part of the Library 2.0 culture.  However if it was mentioned by another student, either how funny it was or the good tips they got from it, then not only is community built but students enter the Library 2.0 world. The links to social media such as the library Facebook page, and Twitter account, certainly allow users to meet online. 

There is little to suggest collaboration would be facilitated on thelibrarychannel.  This could be achieved though the social media links on the home page, but a quick check saw that it was mainly a form of communication with the library staff.  Collaboration could be possible between the student and librarian in terms of searching for and filtering resources.  Content creation is also an area that does not score highly. The website is mainly a closed site for editing by library staff and viewing by users.  It is a marvellous resource but seems to mainly be for viewing not for contributing to or editing.