Day 8: Comment on a blog outside of your niche

My husband is definitely a car guy. He watches car shows, reads car magazines, and follows several car blogs (I’m actually a big 50’s classic car fan, but he’s more of an 80s Porsche, Lamborghini car person). He constantly talks to me about one particular car blog called Jalopnik which has a feature called Project Car Hell where you can vote on which horrible old car you’d rather have (and disastrous old French, Italian and British cars are often among the options). I try to humor Adam when he talks about this stuff since I probably bore him to death with talk about OPACs and library blogs and weeding and the like.

So, for this activity, I decided to visit Jalopnik myself. I saw a post about Nick Bollea (son of Hulk Hogan) who has been sentenced to 8 months in prison for driving a 700 hp car at over 100 mph on a residential street and crashing it, leaving his passenger in a vegetative state. I’d watched the Hogan’s reality show on VH1 and was completely disgusted by the way they spoiled their kids, didn’t teach them any responsibility, and even encouraged their son to race cars before he knew how to drive responsibly on the road. So, since I had strong opinions on this, I decided to comment. First, I had to create an account. Then, when I decided to post the comment, it didn’t show up. I looked at my account and it says that it hasn’t been approved yet and it won’t show up until then. But what I said basically was that I hope young people who’ve grown up watching people like him and the people from The Hills learn that money cannot insulate you from everything and that no responsible parent should give a teenager a 700 hp car since even I drove like an idiot at 16/17.

The comments there: definitely a lot more testosterone than I see on most of the blogs I read. A lot of the comments on this post talked about what they hoped would happen to Nick in prison in language I will not repeat on this blog. On other posts, it’s obvious that most of the people here really know their stuff about cars and that these people have been faithful readers for a long time. It’s definitely got a strong community spirit there, but the sort of environment where people will slam you for saying something stupid and where most newbies would not feel comfortable commenting. Most posts get lots of comments, more than 20, sometimes more than 50, and the comments are almost always short and frequently snarky. It’s not an environment I would feel comfortable posting a comment unless I was an expert on what they were writing about.

Day 9: Should We Be Commenting on Blogs?

This is a really interesting question:

Now that we’ve spent several days trying to build up conversations through blog comments, I’m going to challenge you a little with a question–should we be using the commenting capacity to generate conversations between bloggers, or should we be interacting through our blog posts?

Check out this article and the many references to bloggers who think that comments should be disabled on blogs. Read through those posts and consider whether or not you think it’s better to build community through comments or through conversations occurring across blogs–or maybe a combination of both. What, to your mind, is the purpose of comments on blogs and are we better served by encouraging people to respond to ideas on our blogs or over on their own blogs?

I’ve noticed three groups of people who think we shouldn’t have comments on blogs (and there may be other reasons not to have comments, but this is what I’ve noticed):

1. People who don’t get comments and thus think that comments must be “so five minutes ago”
2. People who want to write their opinions on things, but not have them challenged
3. People who are afraid of what commenters might write

I think it’s ok for someone to turn off comments if their blog is more informational and doesn’t encourage conversation. It’s also ok if the person is afraid of comments or just wants that one-to-many communication vehicle without being questioned. It’s their choice and I respect their choice. The one blog that I get really frustrated with for not having comments open is Caveat Lector. Dorothea often writes really opinionated posts that inspire me to comment, but the comments are turned off. If I’m motivated enough by what she wrote, I write a blog post in response. Otherwise, I might email or IM her about it. Most times, though, I just wish she had comments open and do nothing, because I just want to write a short comment. And I’d bet that a lot of other people feel that way, and that some terrific conversations could be happening on her blog if she just opened up comments. When she wrote a post about not being as big a rock star as me (um, whatever), I privately suggested to her that it might have more to do with her not allowing open and easy conversations on her blog through comments than with how she looks. I think that early on, I gained a loyal readership on my blog because they could become part of the conversation instead of just reading me and forgetting about it. Commenting, reflecting, disagreeing, conversating… all of that makes one’s blog stickier. I respect her choice to not have comments on her blog, but I do believe it has had an impact on her readership.

As to limiting comments only to blogs, I think that’s a terrible idea. It limits conversation only to those who have blogs. Some of the best conversations I’ve had with people on my blog didn’t have blogs at all. Some people started by commenting on people’s blog and then started their own later on (Ryan Deschamps is a great example — he used to bust my chops regular before he had his own blog). I don’t want to write an entire blog post every time I have an opinion about what someone wrote. Sometimes, all it takes is a few sentences or two paragraphs-worth of writing. When my thoughts get too big for a comment, it’s nice to know that I can comment on my blog. But I really see those spaces as both being distinct and critical for conversation. And unlike David Winer and others, I feel like blogs are about conversation.

Day 10: Do a Comment Audit on Your Own Blog

This is so not a place where I have problems. I tend to be shocked by the number of comments I get on a lot of my posts. But anyways, I’m supposed to look at this post, Six Reasons People Aren’t Commenting on Your Blog, and see how my blog measures up:

1. You sound like a press release.

I don’t know that every blog is designed to create conversation and that’s ok. There are some blogs I read that I learn a lot from. Steven Cohen’s and Sarah Houghton-Jan’s blogs are perfect examples and are two of my favorites. I learn a lot, but I rarely feel compelled to post a comment because their posts are usually about pushing useful information out to us.

While some of my posts are informational, a lot of them are more about my ideas and feelings, and so are more the type people might want to comment on. Doesn’t make the informational blogs less useful; they just serve a different purpose.

2. You sound like an infomercial.

I rarely promote things on this blog, so I’m not too worried about that one.

3. You sound like a know-it-all.

I don’t know if I sound like a know-it-all. I think usually write what I think and make it pretty clear that my view isn’t the be-all-end-all on things. I often ask people to share what they think about things, which hopefully also helps to make me sound less know-it-all-ish. But I’m sure I have my moments, especially when I feel really strongly about something. It’s definitely something I try to avoid though.

4. You haven’t showed them how.

You all know what comments are, right? You know you can comment on any post I’ve written right at the bottom of the post. Given that the majority of my readers consume my content via an RSS reader, I’m going to guess that you’re a pretty blog-savvy bunch.

5. You haven’t created the right atmosphere.

I get a lot of comments on this blog, so it makes me think I must have created the right atmosphere where people can feel comfortable posting comments. We’re no Jalopnik here. No one will tear your head off for what you write. And it’s definitely not cliquey here; I see a lot of first-time commenters here all the time, and everyone has just as valid a voice as everyone else. But if you can think of anything I can do to make the atmosphere of my blog more conducive to conversation, I’d appreciate the suggestions.

6. You just don’t seem that into it.

If there’s one thing you can say about me, it’s that I’m very into it. There are periods of time when I don’t write much because I don’t feel like I have a lot to say. I tend to write when I feel inspired, and I hope it comes out in my writing. I have a real passion for this; otherwise, I’d be working on the article I’m supposed to be writing for Library Journal instead of working on this post!

Day 11: Write a Blog Comment Policy

This is something I’ve already done in response to some issues I’ve had on this blog with commenters in the past advertising their products, writing offensive things, and posting under another person’s name. It’s short, sweet and to the point:

The author reserves the right to delete any comments she deems offensive, irrelevant, or blatant advertisements. Any fraudulent comments will be deleted and every effort will be made to publicly expose the perpetrator(s).

I really take pains to avoid deleting comments, but sometimes it’s necessary. I feel like I want to make this as open a forum as I can, but, in the end, this is “my house” and I have to make rules about the types of behavior I will and won’t tolerate. Offensive or fraudulent comments only serve to discourage conversation, so my policy is all about encouraging conversation and discouraging creeps.

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I definitely didn’t do all of these activities “by the book” but my goal with this is really to be a better blog citizen and think more about my commenting than to win something. So, as far as I’m concerned, I’m right on target.

Day 2: Comment on a Blog You’ve Never Commented on Before

I did this on Marianne Lenox’s blog, as her passion quilt post really touched a chord for me. I’m a big believer that we have a lot of control over how we feel and how things affect us, so I thought that would be a good post to comment on. Marianne is also taking part in this challenge and I’ve been wanting to get to know her better since she’s a Twitter friend (not that I’ve been on Twitter much lately).

Day 3: Sign up for a Comment Tracking Service

I signed up for coComment as this is where we were supposed to sign up when we’re taking part in the challenge. Since it’s the first comment tracking service I’ve ever used, I have nothing to compare it with, but I’m pretty happy with it. It makes it easy to keep track of where you’re commenting thanks to a nice Firefox extension that I installed on both my work and home computers. And it’s nice to be able to see in a single space where you commented and what comments have been posted to the blogs subsequently.

Day 4: Ask a Question in a Blog Comment

My friend Iris wrote an interesting post inspired by the comment challenge about how she rarely bothers to check if other people’s posts have generated a conversation in the comments. In my comment, I mentioned that some people subscribe to comment feeds (though I don’t) and then asked people who do to describe their experiences with them. I got some useful answers from several other bloggers, which made me realize that I didn’t have my own comment feed on my blog’s sidebar. It’s there now. I also think I’m going to subscribe to the comment feeds of a few of my favorite blogs. I’m sure I’m missing a lot by not doing that.

Day 5: Comment on a Blog Post You Don’t Agree With

Oh boy. This is an area I could use some improvement in. One blog that I have recently unsubscribed from, but read for about a year was the Brazen Careerist. She writes a lot of posts that get people up in arms, including me, which is why I decided finally to unsubscribe. My last act was a comment on her post last week. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I wrote what I did, but I found this post so horrendous that I couldn’t be polite about it. I really shouldn’t have written it, but it was the culmination of reading a lot of posts on her blog that I found offensive and/or misleading. I feel like someone who offers advice — who people listen and look up to — should be more responsible. But still, I regret the tone of what I wrote. And I will be more careful about this in the future.

The other place I’ve disagreed with people is on my own blog. I’ve been taking part in a debate about speakers and how they are treated at conferences, and I have disagreed with a number of the people who have commented. However, the entire tone of the discussion is different. We all are coming from a place of mutual respect, and it has led to an interesting and illuminating discussion rather than an angry and defensive discussion. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the better discussions I’ve taken part in through blog comments.

Day 6: Engage another Commenter in Discussion

I commented on a commenter at Stephen Francoeur’s Digital Reference blog who made the assertion that students now knowing that reference services exist isn’t a reason why people don’t utilize reference services. My comment is still awaiting moderation. I argued that students may not understand what reference means and what the librarians can do for them. I certainly didn’t when I was in school.

Oh, and I also poked fun at Steve Lawson on Iris’ blog, which I suppose could be seen as an attempt to start a discussion with him.

Day 7: Reflect on What You’ve Learned so Far

I’m happy that I’ve done the commenting I’ve done this week. I read a lot of posts every week; too many to really focus on most of them. Feeling like I needed to comment has actually made me read some posts more closely than I would have otherwise. I haven’t found many posts this week that I felt strongly about (either positively or negatively), so I did feel a little challenged to find ways to fulfill the requirements. It’s funny, because other weeks I see tons of posts that I’d love to comment on but I feel too busy to make the time. Oh the irony!

I guess the most important realization I’ve made (which probably seems obvious) is that a blog debate where everyone is coming from a place of mutual respect is far more satisfying than a blog debate where people are coming from a place of anger. When I write an angry or snarky comment, I feel like an ass afterwards. When I take part in a conversation like the one happening on my blog right now, I feel positive and energized. I’ve vowed to unsubscribe to any blog that makes me angry. Life’s too short to waste on negative feelings for people you don’t even know.

I’m really enjoying this challenge so far! Can’t wait to see what comes next!

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I got accepted to present at the 2008 California Library Association conference, which came as excellent news. That’s the good news in this e-mail.

The not-so-good news is this: “All conference related expenses, including registration fees, travel and hotel, are at your own expense. As a courtesy to speakers, the early conference discount rate will be offered regardless of when we receive your registration. We expect to have registration materials and hotel information available in mid-July. Be sure to check the CLA website for this information.”

Is this normal? I didn’t expect them to pay for anything, really, but I figured free admission/registration to the conference is the least they could do considering I’m presenting at their conference and providing content. I’m not surprised to have to pay travel expenses, but the fact that they also want me to pay registration fees kind of makes me mad, and certainly makes me a little less enthusiastic about spending my time, money and vacation days. My employer is not very forthcoming with conferences/educational opportunities, so this is all on my own time. The fact that they expect me to cover EVERYTHING just doesn’t make me feel particularly valued as a professional or a participant in the conference, and almost makes me want to pull out of the whole thing.

Is there anything I can do about this? Do you think it would do me any good to send an e-mail stating my case here? Should this bother me as much as it does? I know I’m not at the level of getting paid for this, but at least a free pass to the conference would make me feel a lot better. I know you’ve probably been down this road before, so any insight would be much appreciated.

This story just makes me sad. It’s sad that someone who is talented and enthusiastic about contributing to the profession is getting a bucket of cold water thrown in his face. He has so much to offer the profession, and yet, he is being discouraged not only by his own library, but by the organization that is going to make money from his contribution. While I do understand not paying residents of the state to speak at a state conference, those people should at least be given the privilege of not having to pay for the pleasure of hearing themselves speak. Free registration on the day you’re speaking should be a given at any conference.

To me, it’s less about the money and more about respecting the role that speakers play at the conference. This sends the message to speakers that their contribution is not appreciated. It makes them feel that they’re being used. And for someone who is paying for the whole thing out of their own pocket and is contributing to the profession for the love of it, it is extremely discouraging. For people from have-not libraries, this is an impossible situation. Really, is this how we encourage people to contribute?

I’ve been treated very well and very badly when I’ve spoken at conferences and state conferences in particular do not have a great track record of treating in-state speakers well. What I told my friend to do is decide what is acceptable to him and what isn’t, but also to consider what he might lose from not speaking at this conference (future speaking invitations, job offers, etc.). We all have to decide for ourselves what our minimum level is and not tolerate anything that dips below that. But also, we have to make sure that we’re really willing to walk away when we don’t get what we want.

Once I’ve agreed to do something, I suck it up and do it, but I’ve learned to get all of the information ahead of time. This year, I got bitten again; this time by my own state library association. I’m still giving the talk, but I made it clear that I wouldn’t speak there ever again until they changed the way they treat their speakers. In Vermont, that might actually make a difference. In California, one person is a drop in the ocean.

Why are we willing to put up with paying registration to hear ourselves give a talk? How can we change things like this? If my friend refuses to speak, it won’t make a great difference. If 20 or 30 people refuse to speak, they would be a force for change. The problem is that when it comes to speaking, we tend to act as individuals. We never know how much the other guy gets paid or if other people get a different deal because they complained about it. There is so much that is hidden behind the curtain to the point where we’re rarely told everything until we’ve already agreed to speak. How can we make the process more transparent? How can we band together, share information about this stuff, and become a force for change?

Also, what would you tell my friend here?

• How often do you comment on other blogs during a typical week?

  It is so variable. Probably on average I comment on three blogs a week. Sometimes I don’t comment at all, sometimes I comment a lot. Sometimes my comments are a sentence or two long, sometimes they’re more like a manifesto. It all depends on how busy I am and how compelled I feel to comment on the posts I’ve been reading that week. Three isn’t much. I feel like I should be contributing more.

• Do you track your blog comments? How? What do you do with your tracking?

  I don’t, and this is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I rarely see what happens in the comments after I’ve commented unless my comment was particularly impassioned and I’m eager to see the response. So I’m happy that subscribing to coComment is part of this project. I’d like to keep up with these conversations better, because it’s so easy to forget where you commented when you’re keeping up with hundreds of blogs.

• Do you tend to comment at the same blogs or do you try to comment on at least one new blog per week?
  I don’t think I comment at the same blogs, but since I don’t keep a close watch on my comments, I may just not be noticing a pattern. I usually comment when something catches my attention in a positive or negative way. When Ryan wrote about how he’s been using social software to grow his local network, I commented because I thought it was awesome. When I read a post on Penelope Trunk’s blog that really bothers me (which is frequent… that’s why I’ve decided to unsubscribe… I don’t need to read blogs that raise my blood pressure), I comment and express my disagreement. If someone is asking a question that I feel like I have an answer to or an opinion on, I’ll comment. Sometimes I’ll just comment to say “congratulations!” or “great post!” I haven’t seen any pattern to where I comment and I frequently do so in places where I’ve never commented before.

Next I’m supposed to look at how my commenting measures up to what is suggested in the Lifehacker guide. Here are their suggestions and my thoughts on how I’ve done:

Contribute new information to the discussion.
Don’t comment for the sake of commenting.
Know when to comment and when to e-mail.
Remember that nobody likes a know-it-all.
Don’t post when you’re angry, upset, drunk or emotional.
Do not feed or tease the trolls.
Make the tone of your message clear.
Own your comment.
Be succinct.
Cite your sources with links or inline quoting.
Be courteous.

I feel very strongly about only writing comments that contribute something to the conversation. I usually avoid commenting if someone has already said what I wanted to say (which inevitably leads to less commenting), but I don’t like to write something on someone else’s blog if it’s not going to add to the discussion in some way. The only exception to that is when I’m adding my congratulations in response to someone’s good news. In that case, I think redundancy is a very good thing.

I’ve learned my lesson about when to write a comment and when to either hold back or email the person. With emails, I usually wait 24 hours before sending something if I feel there is any chance I might regret that. With blog comments, an entire conversation can take place in the space of a few hours, so waiting 24 can make your comment as good as useless. So it adds to that sense of urgency. Still, it’s better to wait than to react. I have made some big mistakes in this area in the past, and it’s probably led to my reticence in commenting in the first place. I’ve learned from people like Walt Crawford and Karen Schneider that when in doubt, it’s much better to send someone an email than to comment publicly if it might hurt them or might be too personal for the blogosphere. Being “right” publicly may be great, but it doesn’t feel good to know that you made someone else feel like crap. I don’t comment anymore when I feel bad or angry. And I’ve learned not to comment on sites like the Annoyed Librarian because it’s futile and just feeds the bad behavior of her “usuals”. Letting go has been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I feel a lot better when I do .

As far as being succinct, well… if you read this blog, then you know that’s pretty much impossible. But I’ll try to do better next time.

We would like to have a month of focused commenting for those of us that are interested in becoming better blog citizens (thanks to Martin Weller for the phrasing) by actively participating in conversations and sharing your learning, especially with those new to blogging.

We would like to challenge participants to be better blog citizens tracking who is the commenter with:

* The most comments on a wide range of blogs (not just the “top” edubloggers)
* The most high quality comments that thoughtfully reflect on the topic
* The comments that provoke and promote the most learning

Sue has even managed to secure monetary prizes from coComment and other sponsors (more details on the prizes soon).

This challenge really speaks to me. I’ve been dealing with some pretty major family issues over the past six months that I wouldn’t dream of writing about on this blog, but have left me much much more focused on the homefront and also much more in my own head. And it’s definitely made me a bad community member. While I’ve continued writing blog posts, I haven’t commented enough, haven’t taken part enough in Twitter, IM, etc. And yes, it was (and is) necessary because there are only so many hours in the day to get things done. But I want to be a better community member.

I love the conversations I’ve taken part in over the past 3 1/2 years in the blogosphere and the friendships I’ve made. Conversation is what makes this a community enterprise rather than just a bunch of random people writing (shouting?) into the void. We write posts. We comment on posts. Sometimes we comment on posts in our own posts. The conversation flows from blog to blog, from comment to comment. There’s something amazing about this, because I know when I started blogging I didn’t think I was joining a community. What a pleasant surprise.

So, it’ll probably take more than 31 days for me to accomplish this, since I have a lot going on right now (and will be in Puerto Rico for the last three days of May), but I hope this project will remind me of what it means to be a good citizen of the blogosphere. You all are my community, though I’m glad it’s not the sort of community that calls when you miss going to church one weekend. I’ve always been the sort of person who feels alternately pulled towards sociability and solitude. Each one ebbs and flows at different times and it’s nice to be part of a community that is accepting of that ebbing and flowing (thanks RSS!).

The annual LOEX conference is trying something new as an experiment this year: three of their breakout sessions will be presented as live, interactive webcasts a few weeks after the conference: http://www.loexconference.org/2008/virtualsessions.htm
I think this is a terrific idea, and addresses two distinct issues with LOEX: first, the number of people who want to go but can’t because registration is capped at a certain number of attendees; and second, the inevitable problem of too many good sessions scheduled against one another at the conference itself. It’s also great for anyone who can’t go to the conference due to funding or travel restrictions, library school students, etc.

The virtual sessions will take place between May 20 - 22nd, and registration for it will open up tomorrow (April 29th) at 1pm ET. Registration is reserved for LOEX members or those who are attending or were wait listed for the LOEX conference this year.

It’s really nice to see conferences experimenting with the development online components for those who are unable to attend, and it’s especially nice to see opportunities like this offered at such reasonable prices. LOEX is definitely a conference I hope to get to next year in my new role as Head of Instructional Initiatives.

Here’s mine:

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Vikings

Originally uploaded by librarianmer

When I was in high school, I had a best friend I was pretty much joined at the hip to. She and I both had part-time jobs, though hers was for money to pay for college while mine was just for spending money. As a result, I always had more spending money than she did. So, if I wanted to do something with her that involved money, I had to pay for both of us. I never felt like that was a sacrifice, because spending time with her was so much more important to me than money. But my mother used to get really angry about it, saying that she was taking advantage of me and whatnot. She felt that things like this had to be “tit-for-tat” and if she wasn’t paying me back, then I was being taken advantage of. I didn’t buy that argument then, and I don’t buy it now. I realized then that sharing was rarely going to be tit-for-tat, but that people were more important than things or money. And frankly, I was benefiting. Sharing my money with my friend made me much happier than if I hadn’t. I wouldn’t give up the memories of that summer before college for anything.

I feel the same way about sharing in the library profession, but of course now it’s ideas. I really believe strongly in sharing knowledge. I do it on my blog, on wikis, through Five Weeks to a Social Library, in my column, in my LIS class, etc. Lots of people hold on tightly to what they know and don’t give it out unless someone’s paying. I believe strongly that my willingness to share has been a driving force in my professional success. It’s not always a direct “tit-for-tat” but I believe all the good I’ve given has come back to me ten-fold. I even found out late last week that I won a Nintendo Wii for attending a feedback session at Computers in Libraries. Wow! I don’t know if all this is luck or karma or what, but I know that I’m going to keep sharing because good things seem to happen when I do.

So maybe you think your knowledge wouldn’t be useful. I used to feel that way too, and I’ve learned how wrong I was. Maybe you feel it’s not worth sharing. I assure you, it is and it will help others. Maybe you just don’t want to make the effort to share. I promise you, your sharing will benefit you; maybe not immediately, but it will. You can’t look at sharing in the short-term what’s in it for me? sense, because the benefits are much more long term and much less direct. Sharing will help others. Sharing will make you feel good about yourself. Sharing will help you make friends. Sharing will make others see you as someone “in the know.” But most importantly, sharing will encourage others to share. And when there’s a culture of sharing, when we’re all sharing knowledge, we will all benefit.

But I’ll give it a try anyways.

I may be wrong, but I think that most of the people who end up “movers and shakers” in the profession (and I mean that not in the Library Journal sense, but it certainly also includes many of the LJ Movers and Shakers) didn’t explicitly try to become movers and shakers. I started blogging because I had strong opinions and a lot of ideas about the profession, and I wasn’t having the sort of discussions I’d hoped for in library school. Blogging helped me process my own ideas and, eventually, got discussions started between me and other people interested in the same things. I think when you do something out of a passion for it, it shows. When you do something because you want to get noticed or you want accolades, there’s a very strong possibility it won’t happen. I don’t think Helene Blowers created Learning 2.0 to get named a Mover and Shaker or get countless speaking invitations around the world. She did it out of a real passion for lifelong learning. Similarly, Casey Bisson didn’t create Scriblio to get famous. He was frustrated with the OPAC as it was and had an idea for doing it better. I could be totally wrong and perhaps every mover and shaker is an Eve Harrington in disguise, but my experiences with these people tells me that most of them are extremely genuine and committed to contributing to the profession.

Casey and Helene’s cases also point to something else: seeing an unfilled need and filling it. Learning 2.0 was so huge because it filled a need for lightweight staff training on Web 2.0 stuff. I created the ALA Chicago Wiki in 2005 because I was frustrated by the lack of information about the conference other than what ALA was putting out (which didn’t tell me much). ALA 2004 in Orlando had been really overwhelming and confusing for me, and I just wanted to figure out a way to collect knowledge about the conference and the city in which it would be taking place. I would have been tickled if just a few librarians had added their two cents (better than me just putting in what I know), but the wiki received thousands and thousands of edits by hundreds of librarians. It ended up becoming this incredibly rich guide to the conference because of the efforts of so many people. It exceeded my wildest dreams. That wiki (and the Library Success Wiki) led to my being noticed by a number of influential bloggers and folks at WebJunction. Creating a similar wiki for Computers in Libraries 2006 led to my invitation to give a Cybertour at the conference as Jane Dysart was so grateful for my creating it. I certainly hadn’t expected it; I just wanted to know what restaurants people thought were good near the DC Hilton. But that speaking gig led to several others and it just snowballed. There are still so many unfilled needs in the profession. It just takes someone who notices a need and is willing to put in the time.

And time is what all this takes. Read the profiles of Movers and Shakers in Library Journal and read about a lot of the big name librarian bloggers and you will see a lot of people who are really passionate about what they do. Many of us spend lots of time outside of work on these projects. We spend our free time writing, speaking, and networking online with folks who have similar professional interests. We often spend our own money to go to conferences in our areas of interest. The woman who wrote me last week mentioned that she doesn’t get many opportunities to publish or contribute to the profession. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve mostly made my own opportunities and I’ve done all of it on my own time. Sometimes you just need to do something and hope for the best; you can’t sit around waiting for someone to drop opportunities into your lap.

The woman who wrote me last week mentioned that she felt like she was spinning her wheels toiling in obscurity in rural America. So I asked her what she was doing to connect with others. There are so many online communities one could be involved in that bridge the distance, no matter how rural a location you’re in. Look at Laura Crossett. She lives in rural Wyoming and doesn’t have the funding to attend national conferences, but still, she is part of a vibrant community of librarians as a result of her involvement with the Library Society of the World, Twitter, and her own blog. Many of those friends she’s made online she hasn’t even met in person, yet any of us would probably love to give a talk at a conference or co-author an article with her (I know I would — she’s awesome!). So when I hear the “but I’m rural” excuse, I don’t buy it, because the only limits these days on being part of a professional network is the time we want to dedicate to it. And I love that!

That woman also mentioned feeling like she couldn’t start a blog because most of the niches have been taken. I don’t think one necessarily needs to write a blog on a topic that is totally unique. Obviously, you have to have some interest in the topics they’re writing about, but I certainly wouldn’t mind reading yet another blog about library technologies if what they’re writing (and how they write) captures my interest. Some of my favorite blogs aren’t actually “about” anything, but are just a person’s musings on the topics they’re passionate about. When someone writes in a really honest and interesting way, it makes all the difference. So focus more on writing about something you’re passionate about.

So I guess my advice is to focus on what you are passionate about and have the guts to put yourself out there. I wouldn’t have a column in American Libraries today if I didn’t tell several people in ALA Publishing (including the head of ALA Publishing) that they should hire me to write a column. When the worst thing that can happen is rejection, it’s totally worth giving it a try. I submitted a couple of writing proposals early on that were rejected, and I didn’t let that discourage me from trying other things. Rejection isn’t fun, but it’s not that bad.

Most of all, be great at your job. While I’m happy with all the things I’ve done outside of work, I’m most proud of the things I’ve accomplished at my 9 to 5 job. I feel very good when I look at what I’ve done for our patrons over the past 3 years. This is why I became a librarian. Being great at what you do and balancing that with other contributions to the profession is what will make you advance. It’s wrong to think that my having written book and done a lot of speaking and whatnot really has an impact on my day job.

But I’m just one person speaking from my own admittedly unique experience. What advice would you offer a new librarian looking to start speaking, writing and networking on a national level?

This Wednesday evening (7pm), I’m giving a talk on Web 2.0 and the Future of Libraries at the Aldrich Public Library in my hometown of Barre, Vermont. The talk is free, so anyone in the area who wants to come is welcome. It’s an interesting presentation for me (and a little scary) because the intended audience is not librarians, though some will probably show. The talk is actually geared towards the public as it’s the first in a lecture series on the future of libraries. I was extremely flattered to be asked to speak at my hometown library and hope I do them proud. I’m particularly excited to go to the third talk in the series on the Espresso Book Machine that the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont has (first indy bookstore in the US to have one — go VT!).

On May 14th, Jessamyn and I will be giving a talk at the Vermont Library Association’s Annual Conference on Top Web Trends. While we’ve seen each other speak, we’ve never actually given a talk together, so I’m very excited about that.

As much as I enjoy gallivanting around and giving talks, it’s really nice to give a talk and still be able to come home to my husband that evening. I have some awesome trips coming up this year (Puerto Rico and Iceland being the biggies), but I’m now a lot more selective about what I do. While I do enjoy speaking, it can be exhausting especially when you’re also balancing a full-time job, writing, teaching a graduate-level class, and oh yeah, having a life (as if). Balance is one of those things that has been in short supply over the past few years and I’m determined to change that. So I’ll be doing a lot less speaking and will focus more on projects I can do from home.

Here’s the ad:

Distance Learning Librarian, Norwich University, Northfield, VT

The Kreitzberg Library at Norwich University seeks an energetic, tech-savvy and service-oriented librarian to join the library team in developing and providing services to our distance learning population. Norwich University enrolls 1800 online students in 10 master’s degree programs.

Position Description: The Distance Learning Librarian develops procedures and implements programs for library distance education services. Develops and maintains library web presence, web technologies and instructional materials for distance education. Serves as a liaison to campus units involved with distance education. Provides support to distance learners and faculty teaching distance education courses. Coordinates activities of library staff in their work associated with distance education. Collaborates with faculty, library staff and departments to develop collections and services to support distance education programs. Provides reference services and instruction in a broad range of subject areas. Some evening/weekend hours required. Reports to the Head of Instructional Initiatives.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications

• ALA-accredited master’s degree in library and/or information science
• Knowledge of current and emerging trends in instructional technologies
• Demonstrated ability to design web pages using HTML and CSS
• Ability to speak and write knowledgeably and effectively
• Strong customer service orientation
• Ability to work with various stakeholders and in team environments
• Excellent organizational and time management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in learning and applying new technologies
• Experience with server administration
• Knowledge of scripting languages and database design
• Experience with online course management systems
• Experience developing online tutorials
• Experience providing reference assistance and instruction

Salary: Minimum salary of $40,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience. This is a faculty rank, non-tenure track appointment commensurate with academic achievements. Compensation includes a benefits package of medical, dental, group life and long term disability insurance, flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care, a retirement annuity plan, tuition scholarships for eligible employees and their family members, and generous professional development support.

Deadline: Review of applications will begin on April 28, 2008 and will continue until the position is filled.

To Apply: Send a cover letter (including the URLs of any websites you’ve designed), resume, and three references to:

Distance Learning Librarian Search
Human Resources
Norwich University
Northfield, VT 05663

or via email: jobs@norwich.edu

Environment:

Norwich University enrolls a civilian and military student body of 3,700 FTEs in undergraduate, professional and graduate programs. Most of the graduate programs are offered exclusively in an online environment. The library is a beautifully designed, sixteen year old facility with six floors. It contains more than 175,000 volumes and receives nearly 33,000 periodical titles in print or electronic formats. The library is part of a statewide library network and participates in several consortia.

Northfield, a New England village with population of 5,800, was founded in 1781, and is ten miles south of Montpelier, the Vermont state capital. It is 150 miles north of Boston and 100 miles south of Montreal.

More Information on Norwich University:

Institutional Profile http://www.norwich.edu/
Kreitzberg Library http://www.norwich.edu/academics/library/
School of Graduate Studies http://www.graduate.norwich.edu/
Official Vermont Tourism Site http://www.1-800-vermont.com/