Mattering in the Blogosphere
Hi all. As others who were featured in the article have already done (Nicole Engard, Jessamyn West, Rochelle Hartman, Josh Neff, Kathleen de la Pena McCook), I am posting my full answers here (better a week late than never) to the "Mattering in the Blogosphere" survey (featured in March’s American Libraries). I was short in my responses, so most of it made it in anyway… First, here are the full list of the 10 librarians who responded to the survey sent by AL.
- Blake Carver, LISNews
- Nicole Engard, What I Learned Today
- Rochelle Hartman, Tinfoil+Raccoon
- Sarah Houghton-Jan, Librarian in Black
- Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian
- Kathleen de la Pena McCook, Librarian at the Kitchen Table
- Mary Minow, Library Law
- Joshua Neff, Goblin in the Library
- Jack Stephens, Conservator
- Jessamyn West, Librarian.net
What does it take for a blog to have an impact on the biblioblogosphere?
One word: content. If a blog has original content, commentary, or finds resources that other bloggers aren’t finding, then it’s a site that others will want to read. The content has to be consistently produced as well. If a blogger only produces a couple of times a month, readership will fall off quickly.
What do the readers of your blog value about your posts (i.e., “voice” as an online columnist, value-added news coverage)?
From what I’ve been told by my readers, they appreciate the practical resources that I point to—things that can help front line reference and technology staff (and the line between the two is constantly blurring). I have also been told that people appreciate my, err, honesty on all issues. What I write often angers certain vendors or groups within the industry, but I call ‘em like I see ‘em. Give me a great product, and you’ll get a great review. Do something useless or harmful to the profession, and my review will not be forgiving.
How do you decide when to post—inspiration, obligation to keep the blog fresh and readers engaged, or what?
I try to post 20-30 times per week, mostly on weekdays. People read more on weekdays when they’re at work, and I give myself the weekends to be computer-free if I can.
How do you determine what the right length is for a given post?
I don’t think about length—I write until I’m done saying what I have to say. If something looks like it’s going to be pages and pages I think about turning it into an article or conference presentation instead.
What has surprised you most about the process of blogging?
I’ve been surprised about how many people care what I have to say. I’ve never thought of myself as someone who others would look to for advice, but I am glad to have stumbled into that role.
What lessons can libraries learn from your experiences as an individual blogger?
If you have something to say, say it. If libraries have something to say to their users, blogs are a perfect way to say those things.
What’s missing from the LIS blogosphere that you’d like to see someone take on?
I would like to see more people blogging about librarian salaries and benefits. Michael McGrorty (Library Dust) does an excellent job of covering that issue, but I think more voices would lend strength to that important issue.
How will the blogs of today be regarded a decade from now? Should digital libraries collect them?
I think that digital information of all kinds needs to be preserved. Due to proprietary systems and vendors, much of the information in blogs today is proving to be very difficult to preserve and migrate. Digital libraries should be looking at collecting information of all kinds, including blogs. I think that blogs of today will be looked at as an early step into mass online communication and professional development. I think there will be aspects that will be scoffed at, like the blog reader/feed counters that we see on some blogs—as silly tomorrow as those web hit counters are today. I think, by and large, though, they will serve as a knowledge base for people researching aspects of the profession, much as listservs, articles, and books already are.
March 20th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Awesome, congrats. Ya know, you were the first librarian blog I ever heard of…I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone in the library world that hasn’t heard of your blog.
March 21st, 2007 at 8:57 pm
We have many wage/benefit issues in my library, including compensation for performance issues and lack of any benefits at all for half the staff. And this is under a union! Sorry to blatently advertise, but I’ll discuss these issues more fully on my blog (www.eeyorelibrarian.blogspot.com)
March 25th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Re your comment “If a blogger only produces a couple of times a month, readership will fall off quickly.”
I wonder if this can still be considered as true as it was even a year ago. With the advent of RSS feeds–I think we have a lot more opportunity to hear from people who don’t blog all the time. It allows them to share when they can without the pressure of constantly keeping up readership to get people to visit the site.
Just a thought…
March 25th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I don’t know. I get really annoyed still when any of the content-providers of my 350 RSS feeds doesn’t post for a while. I have to filter somehow, and I’ve started deleting those feeds that A) post less frequently and B) haven’t provided good content on a consistent basis.