Investigative Exercise 1 : What is Social media / Web 2.0?

Library 2.0 is the cognate social media platform of the more general/user-focused Web 2.0. This, then, places Library 2.0 within the context of a broader, user-based model of content creation that sees not only the author driving information trends, but also the reactive force of users/consumers taking center-stage. Consisting of a variety of platforms, Library 2.0 allows the creator to adapt to a variety of different communication/content imperatives as demanded by not only the needs of the author but also of the audience. Facebook allows for a wide variety of interactions, from updates and advertisements to rich interaction with the customer (though over the last year the premium placed on facebook advertising and the arcane nature of the 'reach' algorithm seem to have made this a difficult tool to use when attempting to predict audience reach). Whilst facebook is excellent for sharing links and ideas, the more direct 'creation' sites, such as flickr and Instagram allow for more reliable (eg all subscribers will receive immediate access to content) distribution of media (in the case of Instagram, this is modeled on a graphic/hash-tag continuum that seems to be increasingly popular with younger users). This suggests a desire for both easy access and consumption of social media, which facebook has become increasingly unstable in delivering. Regarding text based formats, twitter has shown great success with 140 character 'tweets' often developing into wider conversations, with user interaction driven by @s and #s to link them to a wider discourse. This allows the broader scale of information distribution. Finally, video hosting services such as Vimeo and YouTube allow for perhaps the most popular form of communication (video media), although the comment section is often to be dreaded. These services have become an intrinsic part of not only delivery method and brand awareness but further allow for brands/organisations to express a certain collective personality in a way that traditional advertising was often unable to produce. Being that universities, banks, private, public and government agencies utilise these services, it is unsurprising that libraries are likewise caught up in a social-media arms race, where consumer interaction is at a premium. Share if you agree, comment if you don't. #web2pointoh Facebook, twitter, instagram et al.