I did something today that I swore I would never do. I created a twitter account. I never had any particular (or I suppose good) reason not to connect to twitter except that the anti-conformist bone in me simply told me not to join since twitter is so darn popular. Now you can follow me @ChrissyLJohnson. Oh, library school, how could you do this to me? How could you have shown me how important online branding is to an individual and a business?
As I read this week's articles on branding, I realized just how pervasive social networking is for businesses and organizations right now. Ten years ago, if you didn't have a website, you had nothing; now if you don't have a twitter account and blog, your business is likely not in business, and I can attest to feeling that way toward companies as a consumer.
What? Your restaurant doesn't have a website where I can access the menu? Forget it. No one has reviewed you on yelp? I'll take my business elsewhere.
Now-a-days, a company must be proactive in guarding against their brand being slammed by way of tweets and blogs. I realized that a non-profit organization, such as a library, does not face as strict of consequences as do the for-profit companies, but if libraries want to continue to serve patrons' needs, complaints and all, the library must place itself in the realm of communication, which right now is the blogosphere and twitter.
As a library student and future library professional, I realized it is likely that I will be asked to communicate about my employer to the public and that I better be well versed in blogging, tweeting, and the like. To enter a job in which I am unfamiliar with how twitter works simply will not cut it.
Furthermore, I also need to put myself out there as a prospective employee of any number of libraries by which I hope to be employed. There is nothing on facebook that I would be ashamed of an employer knowing, but who knows what kinds of things exist on old lifejournal or xanga accounts? High school Chrissy was an unpredictable force, and I must guard against anyone developing an unrealistic view of my work ethic and personality.
Great post. I too have been trying to avoid the Twitter-verse much for the same reasons you mentioned. But also, much for the same reasons you mentioned, I intend to create a Twitter account for myself. As much as I dislike the voyeuristic nature of Twitter, there are ways to use it effectively as a personal branding tool.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine works for the Jim Lehrer News Hour as the person in charge of a lot of the interactive graphical/informational aspects of the website. How he got that great job? Twitter. They spotted him on Twitter and liked the work that he was doing on a site he worked on as a hobby so much that they contacted him for an interview and offered him a job!
I felt the same way about Facebook. I just re-joined Facebook a few days ago after realizing that it's where all the SLIS people and local networking groups are and that I could no longer avoid it if I wanted to stay updated. Twitter's great for keeping up with job postings and job hunting advice.
ReplyDeleteI think claiming your own space on social networking sites is important, especially if you have a somewhat common name.
I understand the need for branding in this world and find it fascinating that places like twitter become a central place for marketing one's company out there.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the allure of something like facebook that allows you to make contacts directly to people or companies and being able to see a little of your creative work on that sort of a website is tailor made. But something like twitter would seem to be a running commentary on anything at any given moment. I understand that the pace of the world has increased, but sometimes I just don't care what is going on at every given moment.