Social Media Club | Columbia If you get it, share it

Ashlie Conway originally from Kingston, TN. She attended Troy University (Troy, AL) where she received her bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education. She attended the University of South Carolina, where she was a graduate assistant for the band program, earning a Master’s degree in music education. In December 2007, she completed a second master’s degree in library and information science, specializing in music librarianship. She joined USC’s library faculty in January of 2008.

She is a member of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), the Music Library Association (MLA), and its Southeast chapter (SEMLA). She also serves as SEMLA’s archivist and chair of the public relations/outreach committee.

How do you define social media?

Librarians have a different outlook on social media. We typically don’t even call it social media…we call it web2.0, typically. To me, social media/web2.0 is any website that allows instant feedback or discussion with the author and other website participants. It can also include more in-depth levels of participation, such as subscribing to RSS feeds, Digging or Stumbling upon articles, etc.

Which social media tools or applications do you use, and why these in particular?

I use facebook, twitter, flickr, imagekind, various blogging platforms, forums, and LibGuides (web2.0 library subject guides for students). I have my own personal facebook and I admin three different library/research fan pages. I personally dislike facebook and try to limit my time there, but since it is part of my job duties, I keep my personal account. The main benefit I get from facebook is catching up with people from undergrad, family members, and my friends’ parents. I only have a personal twitter, and it is my favorite form of social media. I like it most because it is quick and very informative. I have a personal flickr account and I run the Music Library’s account and assist with the University Libraries’ account. Flickr and imagekind are places where I store and sell photos. I’m not really invested in either of those sites for the community aspect only because that can be so time consuming. I currently only blog on behalf of the Music Library, and it’s a great way to get out detailed information in a static place. I help my husband admin the forum on his website. Like a blog, a forum is a great place to communicate all sorts of information. LibGuides is a very library-specific thing. The interface reminds me of facebook in a way, and is easy to load content for students.

With increasingly busy schedules, Where do you find time for social media?

I’m lucky enough to have social media responsibilities as a part of my job duties. I usually keep TweetDeck running in the background and I’ll pull it up when I need a quick break from whatever I’m working on. I usually save facebook for when I have more time to spare, because you never know what you’ll find once you log in. I only do the other sites as needed.

What advice would you give to local businesses wishing to effectively embrace social media?

Try it! Find someone who uses social media both personally and professionally and ask them for guidance. Not every type of social media is right for each person or business, but you won’t know the many ways you could profit from social media unless you try!

Where do you see the future of social media?

Evolving. Social media by definition is an animal of change. Things will come, things will go. I’m really excited to see what the next “big” thing is!