“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies” social media trends that inform emerging technologies
| Pages | 1-5 |
| Published date | 04 April 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2016-0004 |
| Date | 04 April 2016 |
| Author | Peter Fernandez |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Library & information services |
CONTENTS
Viewpoint
“Through the looking glass:
envisioning new library
technologies” social media trends
that inform emerging
technologies ..................1
Technical Paper
Librarians prepare to help patrons
overcome the digital divide in
Northeast Florida ..............6
Features
Embedded librarianship: questions and
answers from librarians in the
trenches...................... 8
SCOPUS reflected study of selected
research and higher education
institutions (HEIs) of Chandigarh: a
city of education and research. . . 12
Column
What’s trending in libraries from the
internet cybersphere – digital
clutter ......................15
Implementation of information literacy
programmes in public libraries . . . 17
“Through the looking glass:
envisioning new library
technologies” social media
trends that inform emerging
technologies
Peter Fernandez
Modern technology is not only connected
but also social. Recently, Wired ran an
article titled “You’re Probably Not Rich
Enough to Opt Out of the Internet”
(Hempel, 2015). The article highlighted
how, in many places, access to the
Internet has become so integrated into
daily life that it functions more like a
utility than an optional commercial
interaction. Many of the examples the
article gave were drawn from the various
social media platforms that mediate the
personal and professional lives of their
users. Social media enables people to
establish and maintain relationships that
were previously inconceivable, and for an
ever-growing number of users, the
benefits provided by social media mean
that opting out of them is comparable to
“opting out of modern life” (Gibbs,
2014).
This column will explore recent
developments in a number of relatively
well-established social media platforms –
Google⫹, Facebook, Twitter and Yik
Yak – to highlight the trends that are
emerging within social media. These
trends have implications beyond just the
social media space as a host of
technologies take on social attributes.
Technologies such as video games,
which previously functioned more or less
as stand-alone pieces of software, are
increasingly embracing many of the tools
of social media platforms. As a result, it is
increasingly difficult to distinguish social
technology from other communication
technologies (Papacharissi, 2015). By
examining trends in social media, we are
able to not only better understand these
important platforms but also acquire
insight into developments that can affect
a wide range of related technologies, all
of which are of interest to information
professionals.
The current ecosystem: from
MySpace to Facebook
In June 2006, MySpace was not only
the world’s most used social media site,
by some accounts it briefly eclipsed
Google as the most visited Web site of
any kind in the USA (Cashmore, 2006).
With hindsight, it is easy to see that
VOLUME 33 NUMBER 2 2016
MARCH
AN EMERALD PUBLICATION
LIBRARY HI TECH NEWS NUMBER 2 2016
Library Link
www.emeraldinsight.com/librarylink
LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 2 2016, pp. 1-5, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-01-2016-0004 1
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