Catchup week, and some reflections

This week is catchup week - and I am soooo glad of it. It has allowed me a chance to finish and upload some of my blog posts, and to do a little more playing around with a couple of apps that I particularly like.
So, after 6 weeks of learning & playing, what do I know now that I didn't before I started the program?

• I know a lot more than I thought I did. Only a couple of the things have been completely new to me - even Vine (which I had never installed or played with before) was vaguely familiar because of the chatter when it was introduced. And that's good. 
• Most of them have been pretty easy to instal and play with without ever reading or viewing any introductory material. And that's very good!
• There are a lot more things that can be done with most of these apps than I had thought. There are many incredibly creative people out there using these apps to connect with their community - I particularly liked some of the YouTube examples that were shared. 
• It can be overwhelming when trying to use many of these apps. By this I mean that to do some of  them well, you need to put in the time to learn them and to learn the possibilities associated with them. For individuals, this can be a case of trying things and discarding them if they don't bring the benefits that we were expecting. But for organisations (in particular libraries) this input of time can be a big impost. We need to be willing to try and discard if something doesn't work, but resourcing may not be available for more than one or two social media forays. ROI needs to be considered by each library before committing too much (although the idea of starting off small and regularly reviewing seems most appropriate). 
• The take-up of apps varies with different client groups - some are likely to be more interested in specific apps (local history buffs and HistoryPin), but others will stick with something like Facebook that meets most of their current needs. And that's fine, but something to be considered when looking at what each organisation should be involved in. We need to be in touch with our community enough to know (or at least guess at) what will be of ongoing interest. 

Thing 6 - Video bits!

Well, I've seen my share of YouTube videos on my phone - mainly links that others have shared with me via Twitter or Facebook. I rarely go looking for videos and if I am wanting to do that, it's usually something specific - like a Ted Talk - and I have TED mobile installed for that :)

Making videos is something I have really only done for myself/my family using the video option on the built in camera on my iPhone. It's been an extension of my happy snaps of my family, and not for sharing with those outside. So, although I see the benefit of these apps for libraries, I'm not likely to become comfortable with them in my personal life.

That being said, I did install Vine and shot a couple of sequences. Which I won't post as once I had a look at the editor's picks for the day (and the wonderful example posted during anz23mthings discussions with a city street and 'giant' fingers playing with the cars) I see that there are some wonderfully creative things that can be done. And mine is not!

Thing 5 - Photos & Maps

This is a completely new thing for me. I downloaded the HistoryPin app, did a quick look at a couple of the guides, and then had a play. Such potential, but nothing within about a 15km radius of me - I initially thought I was doing something wrong, but realised that it was just a lack of uploads. I love the idea though, and think that local history collections and small museums have a great opportunity to get in and really enhance their reach into the community.

In the catchup week I want to photograph a couple of local sights and pin them - and hopefully other people in my community will do the same.

I didn't try any of the other apps - I sometimes feel that I wish there was 'one app to rule them all' - I know I've downloaded great apps in the past but I forget that they are there because I'm not needing/using them regularly. However, I also don't want everything to be on the one platform 'cause I think that stifles innovation. Sigh. First World Problems...

Thing 4 - Maps and checking in

I've been a regular user of Google Maps for some time, mainly for when finding out where a new location is, and about how long it will take me to get there. The bloke did install a turn by turn voice navigation system for me, but I tend to just click on the address that I will have popped in my Google Calendar and normally can't be bothered copying & pasting into the nav system. (It is a freebie so not always fantastic on the exact details but I should use it more often!)
I've also used Facebook checkins and Foursquare - but privacy concerns means that I tend to use them very selectively. For example, I never check in at the kid's school, and I have the photo location tracking turned off for the same reason. I also have the bloke reminding me that he doesn't want me telling people that I'm not at home, for obvious reasons.
My Foursquare checkin's are fairly safe - I've only connected with one person, and I use it sometimes for the special offers. A cafe near MPOW has had a 'check in five times and get a half price hot drink' deal that I have used very happily in the past. But this week I was told that they were no longer honouring it - even though it is still showing on Foursquare itself. Which got me wondering, if the person who sets up these deals from a business moves on, what is requirement that the deal is honoured? And is the first flush of some of these location specific deals wearing off - was the uptake not great enough (the staff always looked quite bemused when I handed over my phone to take advantage of my offer) or too great for some businesses.
I helped a friend set up a Facebook page for his small business, and we discussed using offers for checkins. But very few of his customers have ever checked in at his location, and it wasn't something he tried. In his case, his core client base is not that tech savvy but for others (such as Academic libraries) it would be quite different.  I'm interested in seeing how different libraries use these options to connect with their communities...