My first reaction to this session is .... why are there so many of these things and do we need them all? But I guess it's like most things in life, if you get something that's popular and successful, then you're going to get competitors coming up with similar alternatives ... a bit like yoghurts! (Every time I go shopping it seems like there's some other variety on the shelves and all I want is the plain natural stuff).
I've already got a Pinterest account although I haven't used it for a while. When I was creating my genre booklists I was making corresponding lists on Pinterest (and I've also got a couple of other list detailing more personal items) but, as every school librarian will know, it's a never-ending job keeping genre lists up-to-date which means that task is on my to-do list so I guess when I get around to it, I'll also update the Pinterest list as well.
The email for Thing 8 states that Pinterest is like a glossy magazine and that's certainly true. You could spend hours browsing it, finding links to all your interests and hobbies. It's also very visual so I can see it's usefulness in that respect.
I had a look at Flipboard but was put off by the fact that I had to register to even have a glance at it. I don't want to sign up for another site. And none of my librarian colleagues (at the moment) use it so it doesn't really feature in my online life. The blurb on the website says that it's a way of following stories and people so what's the difference between Flipboard and Facebook?
The social networking sites I use have different security settings. Twitter is open access. Unless I get somebody offensive following me then I'm happy with anybody doing so. But I tend to use it for more professional items, which means I'll link to reports on reading and literacy, write posts about libraries or retweet relevant information. Facebook, on the other hand, is restricted to friends and family. There are a few people who are more acquaintances but they are still people who I would recognise and talk to if I was stood next to them in the supermarket queue. And my posts on there are more personal, I might put photos of my family, talk about the grim day I've had, etc. They are not things I'd put on Twitter on a regular basis.
Yet Flipboard (along with other such sites as Scoop It) link everything together ... which could be a problem with my different security settings and what I want people to see. I also can't help thinking ... how many social media accounts do I need? Or want? Because each one demands time from me, time to look it, respond to and keep up-to-date with ... time that I would rather, if I was being honest, be spent reading or pursuing one of my other interests.
Finally ... Storify. I have experienced this via colleagues gathering together tweets about an events and I can see it's usefulness. But my school has just introduced a no mobile phones policy which is going to impact student's accessing websites, QR codes, etc. during the day. I know there's a problem with phones being a constant distraction to young people, I know they have this obsession with constantly checking texts and their social media accounts, and that there is an increase in using social media for bullying but you cannot ignore technology and it can play a fantastic role in teaching today. That said, this is the school policy so I need to ensure that my promotion of resources and information is compatible with what is acceptable ... and this means not relying on online resources.
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