Happy birthday, library@orchard

The library@orchard will turn eight this month. You might want to leave them a happy birthday greeting.

In a recent talk I gave, about one-third said they didn't know library@orchard had a blog. And they thought the library was already closed.

I'm not surprised relatively few Singaporeans are aware of the library@orchard blog (and all the NLB library blogs, for that matter). But that's the nature of blogs, if you ask me. Generally speaking blogs are good for attracting a specific niche of audience. Not everyone who go online are interested in say, what's happening to library@orchard.

But for those are want to stayed informed after the library closes and moves to a new site, the blog is a useful information source. It's an official source, but not official-sounding.

OK, what's the Return-On-Investment (ROI)? (as some would inevitably ask).

Let's say the library@orchard blog gets around 50 unique visitors a day (just my guess and not an official statistic). That number may not be fantastic but that's 50 more people the library wouldn't be able to reach once the library is closed (the NLB website is too cluttered and not easy to post frequently).

Even if that number is halved for the next two years (during the relocation), we're talking about 18,250 unique visitors in total (25 visitors x 365 days x 2 years). That's a good number, relative to the costs of maintaining the blog.

Costs like staffing and hardware are Sunk Costs. There are no specific costs just for that one blog (at least to my knowledge). So there ought not to be any additional expenses to maintain the blog once it's up.

In fact, there's also the continued library@orchard branding, the "online presence" and the goodwill being sustained with the blog. If we factor that all in, the costs are even lower.

One more thing -- my colleagues and I have this idea of inviting "citizen-reporters" to cover news leading up to the day of closure. Details are still being worked out but I can share that those who volunteer will get an inside-look and access to areas normally out of bounds to the public.

We're not looking for "Top-bloggers" (they are always welcome, but not our aim). We're not that particular if you "can't write well".

We're more interested in those who are passionate about promoting reading and learning to Singaporeans.

If you're residing in Singapore and you're interested (or know of someone who might be), please email me - ivanchew@nlb.gov.sg or ramblinglibrarian@gmail.com.

Why we have library blogs

[The following story has been embellished but it was based on a true encounter.]

"Why do we (the library) need to have blogs?" a colleague asked.

All eyes in the room looked at me expectantly.

It was a logical, valid and innocuous question. It swept me off my feet. I felt my credibility at stake. It was a fundamental question that determined the outcome of the rest of the meeting (I was trying to show them that their blogging efforts -- for the library blogs -- was making a difference).

I mumbled a few words but shut-up almost immediately. Their eyes told me I was losing them.

Went over to the laptop on the meeting room table. Fired up Google. Typed in "spicy chicken broth". Hit 'Search'. Mentally crossed my fingers. Wasn't quite sure what to expect.

There was a noticeable tension in the room. It got so quiet that I could hear the soft mechanical whine of the laptop fan.

"Come on Google, don't let me down," I prayed.

Then Google spoke.

It displayed the first ten results (of the one million eight hundred and sixty thousand items it found, in zero point four seconds).


The fifth item. The link brought me to our blog.



I turned around and faced the room.

"That's why."

Podcast: Once Upon A Star

It's been weeks since I've touched my keyboard. Not the computer. The musical one (but they are both powered by electricity, heh).

Finished dinner. Went into the study room. Removed the dust cover from the keyboard. Played a few notes... C-G-F. A simple tune developed. Sounded kinda nice. Decided to record it to the Mac. Before I forgot the tune.

Switched on my Mac, fired up GarageBand, plugged in the MIDI cable, started recording. Before I knew it, it's five hours later and the song's done.

powered by ODEO
[or listen/ download at Archive.org]

I'm dedicating this song to the children at Tumaini Kids!

... a blog written by kids at the Tumaini Children’s Center in Nyeri, Kenya. The kids are part of the Hope Runs project, started by two Stanford University students to provide an understanding of personal health, social entrepreneurship, and technology to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) through running. The kids write about running and other events in their lives—they are inspiring, hilarious, and will steal your heart.

The above quote is from Tara (aka DIY Librarian). I learned about the Tumaini Kids! blog from her Happy Blog Day post (gee, I ramble? No!)

Read the first post at the blog. Then the second, and third, and devoured a few more until I reached the very earliest one. Loved every one of the posts. The typos and all.

Learned from the Hope Runs video that "Tumaini" (pronounced "Tu-ma-ee-nee") is Swahili for "Hope".

Thanks for your posts, you Tumaini Kids.

(Incidentally, I titled the song before I learned about their blog. Hmm...)


RamblingLibrarian's Podcasts:


[update: thanks to Shel for blogging about Tumanini Kids]

Post-course reflections - Session 1: The "W" & "H" of Blogging

Training is not my full-time job. It's about 10% to 15% of my time in a given year, but I derive more than 50% of my job satisfaction from such opportunities.

Stayed up till 3am to finish my slides for the talk. With a 3.30pm slot and a predominantly lecture-style session, I anticipated that participants would have a tendency to fall asleep. Hence, I redid the slides with the famed "Lessig Method". Total slides came up to about 250. One participant told me later that it worked out very well (although I wonder if the effectiveness of this presentation style would be diminished if every trainer or speaker started adopting it).

The talk covered the usual things like "Definition of a blog", "Difference between a Blog, Website and Discussion Forum" and "How to create a blog" (this was done with screenshots of Blogger.com; the Internet connection was slow so I couldn't do a 'live' demo).

On the part on "Related Technologies", I showed how one could subscribe to RSS feeds. I also showed the "Add Notes" feature (using this example) in Flickr.com, which was well received as usual. From the positive-sounding murmurs, I think the teachers in the audience could appreciate how they could use something like Flickr.com in a classroom setting.

Bearing in mind the profiles of the audience for this talk, I emphasised less on "What's a Blog" and more on areas like "Why do people blog", "Why is blogging" and "How are the resultant conversations relevant".

For today's participants, I felt it was more relevant for them to have more insights to the mindsets and intents of bloggers. Then they might be better informed on why their students, children, and colleagues blog.

I specially quoted Minister George Yeo, from his interview on BlogTV.sg (Jan '07), where he shared that:

"The emotions connected with blogging are very different from that in giving a speech... For some reason there is an intimacy you associate with going into the Blogosphere, which you don't associate with a public meeting."

I didn't share my blog URL with the participants because the course was not about my blog or my blogging efforts. One participant did ask for my blog URL after the session. He said he was from the Singapore Police Force! Gee, did I say anything that I shouldn't have? LOL.

Nah, he was just sharing his thoughts that government employees should not feel they were discouraged from blogging, so long they were aware of organisational boundaries (e.g. not to blog publicly about things that they should not).

Which reminded me of an excellent discussion at one point during the talk, on "Blogging Guidelines" and "government employees blogging". A lady in the front row felt that more government agency employees should be allowed to share details about their work, e.g. how certain policies were formulated. She said something like "sometimes we feel like responding to some errors in public perception, but because we're not allowed to make public statements on policy, we can only sit back in frustration".

I ended the talk by highlighting comments generously contributed by David, Victor, Chun See, Melissa, and Walter. Thanks so much, all. Couldn't have used a better example to illustrate the point about the camaraderie, sharing and constructiveness in the Blogosphere.

Self-assessment of my overall performance today -- including content work --
on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being "poorest"): 6.5. Maybe a '7', but I don't want to be cocky. Wished I'd taken a video recording of the session, so that I can watch where I could have done better.

The good folks at CSC said they prepared 110 seats, and it seemed like a full-house where I was standing. I'm fully aware that the 100 plus participants might not rate it as high. The best reality-check is to compare my self-rating against their perceptions. I more than welcome comments on areas that could be improved (content & speaker's effectiveness), if they manage to find their way to this blog.

I didn't have my camera with me, so no pictures of the session. I'll post some of the pictures when my colleague sends them to me. Oh, did I tell you that on the third day of my Beijing trip, my camera conked out? It's still in the repair shop : )

More thoughts on MPs blogging

Thanks to Vanessa for the heads-up on this blog by one of Singapore's Member of Parliament -- or specifically, a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).

The blog belongs to Mr. Siew Kum Hong. For his first post, he shares an essay he submitted as part of the NMP selection process. I didn't know they had to submit an essay, and I wonder how many did (just try to measure this as an outcome of blogging, heh).

From that essay, I also learned that Mr. Siew is a lawyer by training. That explains the comprehensive manner (bordering on the obsessive*, LOL) of the various disclaimers and statements of transparency:

• The concise "About Me" that quickly points out his comment and contact policy;
• His statement that inclusion of links in his blogroll doesn't consitute endorsement ("I don't endorse or agree with everything on the above links. In fact, for some of them, I strongly disagree with most things said. But it's important to know what people are saying. So use or visit these sites with an open and critical mind.");
• The disclosure statement after that statement, on the use of a site statistic tool;
• The legalese at the end of this post, explaining his right to reproduce a Straits Times article in full

* In case Mr. Siew finds his way to this post, I'd like to assure him I'm not making a dig at him. My apologies if otherwise misconstrued. In fact, I think he's setting an excellent example of what it means to respect intellectual property laws and transparency (most people might not need to go to that extent, but that's a different matter).

To paraphrase my own words in this previous post, whether these MPs will be successful in connecting with their constituents -- their voters -- is entirely a separate issue.

Mr. Siew wrote, in his blog header, that his blog was his attempt to demystify his NMP experience for the public. I think that aim will be solidly achieved. One other resulting effort, which Mr. Siew did not state but I felt was obvious, was that his thoughts would potentially reach a wider audience than attendees in the Parliamentary session. As a representative of a constituency (voted or nominated), letting your constituents know your thoughts is just as important as knowing their needs and concerns.

Take for instance his essay, he doesn't hide or shy away from his background:

"... even though I do not claim to represent anyone, my views will inevitably be representative of what a young, single, 30-something Internet-savvy professional of an archetypal “elite” background (Gifted Education Programme, Raffles Institution, Raffles Junior College, National University of Singapore law school) might think. After all, that is exactly what I am."

He is quick to add this:

"But at the same time, my views are tempered by my upbringing. I lived in a 3-room HDB flat until I was 21, sharing a bedroom with my brother and sister. My dad had a business that failed in the aftermath of the 1985 recession, after which he worked in a SME. My mum held various blue-collar jobs, including being a factory worker and hawker."

So now we have a NMP blogging... in a way, he (and the rest that might follow soon) are benefiting from the efforts set by the MPs who started p65.sg. The "benefit" isn't about who started blogging, or political mind-share. It's that the voters are getting used to the idea that politicians have another voice.

If more politicians or organisations leverage on blogs as one more platform (certainly not the only one) to allow others to post respond via comments or trackbacks, then overall it's likely to bode well for social and political discourse in Singapore.


[See also: "Thoughts on Singapore Members of Parliament (MPs) blogging", 4 Oct '06)

Thoughts on Singapore Members of Parliament (MPs) blogging

Well, not all of them are. The "Post-Sixty-Fivers" (p65) Members of Parliament (www.p65.sg), to be exact.

The launch of the blog follows news like MPs performing Hip Hop dance moves. Which made me curious how the Singapore blogosphere would react.

While waiting for the Technorati page to load for my search for "p65 MPs", I half expected the results to show the Singapore blogosphere erupt in a frenzy of bash-the-politicians/ government tirade. I mean, Hip-hopping MPs? That's just asking for it, isn't it?

Surprisingly, the results were pretty tame. I've found only four references to the p65 blog: this blogger feels it's "an interesting experiment"; this one didn't comment much but the title (probably pun-intended) hinted at some skepticism; this was a comparatively muted post by Singabloodypore (when compared to previous posts on the Singapore political scene).

I thought maybe those were the early posts and the cynical ones have yet to come. However, I began to question myself, particularly the assumptions I seem to have made. Without saying as much, my initial reaction was, "Aren't they (the p65 MPs) trying a little too hard?". I'd expected others to be skeptical. Turned out I was the one with preconceived notions of how others would react, based on my unconscious gut reaction.

I've softened my stand now. In fact, I should say I was wrong in my initial view.

Let them (the p65 MPs) try. It's really their perogative to try. Is there such thing as trying too hard? Even if they are "trying too hard", that is also a sign.

Whether these MPs will be successful in connecting with their constituents -- their voters -- is entirely a separate issue. Do I think they are credible politicians because they are now Hip-hoppin' and bloggin'? No. My assessment of the MP comes from what they've done with, and for, the constituent.

But for now, I would simply credit them for trying. At least they recognise they have to do something to connect with post-65s like myself (and those even younger).

Maybe my empathy comes from having experienced the horrors of learning and performing Hip-hop dance moves when I cannot dance to save myself (a story for another time). I take my hat off to those who feel they don't have a dancing bone in them but they do it anyway. That takes some gumption, if nothing else.

Also, as a public service librarian, I should know about trying. Just ask any public librarian who've tried getting teens to participate in a reading programme; or who've gone on stage to conduct booktalks in a bid to convince adults why that book is worth reading. Many times, we don't even know if we've succeeded in connecting with the customer -- let's just say if you were a pessimist, you probably won't survive very long as a public librarian.

I'm a post-65 Singaporean, i.e. born after 1965 . I am of the generation who've only known Singapore after Independence. I do not know, first hand, what life was like during the Japanese Occupation, the Racial Riots, Merger and Separation.

What I do know is that each generation have their particular challenges. I know as post-65 MPs serving post-65 voters, they don't have an easy task. The post-65 voters will be increasingly an opinionated lot.

So let these post-65 MPs try. I wish them luck, in all sincerity. Especially those without a dancing bone in their post-65 body.


Technorati Tag: p65 mp

A job interview, from the perspective of the Interviewee (or Blogging is Storytelling epitomised)

Just read Roxanne's post on her recent job interview. She notes a disparity between what she was told about the company culture, and what she actually observed.

In NLB public libraries, one popular collection would be those relating to the "Job Interview" -- on the conduct, protocol, tips and techniques for interviewers and interviewees.

But I've not come across any books (or websites even) that offers a perspective like what Roxanne posted. It's not that she's pointing out something radically new (i.e. interviewees should also observe about the office environment when choosing a company). To me, it's the conversational tone that makes her point more stark.

Her observation was rather subtle actually. She didn't say, "Listen to what the interviewer say. If he mentions "Teamwork" as a buzzword, observe for yourself whether people greet each other in the office." This was what she wrote:

"When we get a project from the client, the whole team brainstorms together to get the concept out... we work very much together as a team."

A guy hurries from the door, with briefcase in hand, to what is presumably his own office desk. No "Good Morning" or "Hello" from him. Nobody deigns to turn their head to notice him either. Nobody talked to anybody for the whole time I was there.

Buzz. Team spirit. It's a lot of spin on words sometimes. But you recognize it when you see it.

This company is out.

She was reflecting on something she observed... very cluetrain-ish. It's posts like Roxanne's that makes me return to trawl the blogosphere for information. It's not just stating a fact or theory or concept.

She was telling us her story!
Blogging is Storytelling epitomised.

One more reason why librarians should blog.


Tag: blog advocacy

Sunday afternoon essay: Observations about the AcidFlask-A*STAR incident

I've avoided posting about the recent AcidFlask-A*STAR episode until now, because (1) it had little to do with libraries & librarianship at the beginning, and (2) figuratively speaking, the whole issue was getting so murky that it was better to let the smoke clear.

But this afternoon, a serenditipious search brought me to the Singapore National Education (SNE) website that detailed the Maria Hertogh Riots (11 Dec 1950). That's when I drew parallels between the two events.

The way I see it, the Maria Hertogh case was essentially a child-custody case, albeit alleviated on a political/ religious pedestal. Back in 1950s, the environment was ripe for dissention to be created.

Fast-forward to the AcidFlask-A*STAR incident: The news first broke in the SG Blogosphere (not mainstream media) with a posting from AcidFlask that only alluded to some legal action being taken by no less than a government agency against him.

Like any community (online or physical), a perceived "attack" on one of its member is easily seen as an attack on the community as a whole. Same thing for the Maria Hertogh case, and same thing for AcidFlask-A*STAR.

In the 1950 riot, I could only guess that rumours and anger spread among the people by word-of-mouth. The masses did not have access to information to keep themselves informed. In the absence of information, emotions were easily stirred.

Same thing for the AcidFlask-A*STAR incident. The SG Blogosphere only had scanty information (from a blogger in their community), and none from A*STAR directly. It didn't help A*STAR that it's position was presented indirectly by the mainstream media, which was largely perceived (by SG bloggers) as the mainstream media not "getting it". More smoke to the fire.

In my opinion, the 1950 riot and the AcidFlask-A*STAR incidents have three commonalities:

1. In essence, they concerned matters between private parties;
2. There was imperfect/ indirect access to information;
3. The results was a lose-lose situation for both sides.

You might have played this "game" before: A bunch of people standing in a straight row, one behind the other. The message is passed down the line one person at a time. End of the line, the message always gets distorted.

Frankly, I think A*STAR was the bigger loser (see this). If A*STAR had posted it's own position on its website, perhaps things might have turned out differently. The world media would have had direct access to what it has to say, rather than rely on indirect sources. AcidFlask had a direct voice to the SG Blogosphere. A*STAR didn't, and it was the mainstream media that carried the story. No surprises why there was a further "Them Vs. Us" divide.


What's my point to all this? And what has it got to do with libraries & librarianship? I refer to this statement from this webpage (last line of the page) reporting on a talk by an actual witness, Mr. George Seow (teacher, journalist, diplomat) to the 1050 riot (btw, read the whole article for the full context):

The message of his talk was clear - that we must preserve racial and religious harmony in a multiracial society. Food is a uniting factor among races.

So I wondered if information could have been a uniting factor among the parties involved -- namely the SG Blogosphere, individual bloggers, mainstream media, and foreign media. And libraries could be neutral platforms for rational public discourse and discussion.

Of course, having information and discussions might not guarantee "harmony". But we intuitively know that without either of them, misunderstandings and disunity would be a given.

---------------
Note: Here's a useful reference for a chronology of the AcidFlask-A*STAR episode (by Huichieh Loy), but by no means the only version.

[Tag: singapore, role of libraries]

Youth blog site - eGen.org.sg (or, the case for NLB libraries to get blogging)

For all the talk I've done on libraries and blogging to my colleagues, I was sorely unaware of a youth blog site, eGen, by our Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) -- proof that I don't know everything (so what's new?)

eGen is "Singapore's first local youth blog community with an e counselling component." The site was launched on 29 Jan 2005.

The youth agency under Fei Yue Community Services, Project 180 (Youth Services) recognising this trend, came up with the concept for eGen slightly more than a year ago. Based on their awareness of the popularity of blogs overseas and their interaction with Internet-savvy Singaporean youth, they came up with ideas of using blogs to engage young people and social workers and counsellors providing e counselling services to youth who need guidance.

In his official speech, Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman highlighted 5 observations that impressed him about the site:

1. Young people need an outlet to write their thoughts and feelings.
2. Young people can really write their thoughts and feelings. They feel comfortable and see the avenue as a way of ventilating their thoughts.
3. There is a community of support providers in cyberspace.
4. Young people stay up late at night.
5. <>It was an excellent opportunity for parents to understand issues that young people are struggling with.

Points 1 to 3 alone would make a good case for libraries to engage youths/ teens -- and adults -- via blogs. Intuitively, we know writing and expression goes hand-in-hand with reading, books, learning and libraries. But "how to do it" won't be so straight-forward.

The way I see it, the intent behind eGen is to create an environment for teens who blog (or want to start blogging) to congregate and get connected, and in doing so, the counsellors also get involved or at least appear on the teen's radar screen.

A possible issue with this approach is that most teens don't want a "structured environment", i.e. be forced to use blogs as provided by the site, when they have other choices out there (blogger, live journal etc). I randomly picked 10 blogs from the eGen user list and found only 3 with any posts. I think the teens have their own blogs already, and are just signing up to eGen out of curiousity. I could be wrong.

Anyway, unless the library has a budget to support the maintenance costs, I won't suggest the eGen model, where the library provides a blogging platform. I'd assume teens would want to find some other blog tools. Instead, I'd probably have a library-blog that blogs about teens who blog.

My proposed library-blog would be to:

1. Feature teens who blog
2. Have librarians-who-blog (liblogarians) engage in conversations with them (if the teens wish to do so)
3. And where appropriate (but not necessarily always) , the liblogarian's role is to act as an Information Counsellor -- where we point out books or information on the web that's relevant during the conversation. Even upcoming programmes or new arrivals (like comics)
   

Any other ideas or suggestions?


[Tag:blog advocacy]

No easy answers: Getting management buy-in for Blogs (part 3)

I'm posting like there's no Tomorrow* 'cos I'm going off to a week-long training course. So... this follows part 1 and part 2:

I'm watching the development of a "private discussion in a public square"(Vic Gundotra). Very interesting. I picked it up from Scoble (btw, Scoble was hired into Microsoft by Gundotra).

As far as I can tell, it goes something like this (from Scoble's blog):

1. Steve Ballmer writes to Microsoft's employees over anti-discrimination bill (Steve Ballmer is Microsoft CEO)
2. Steve Ballmer's memo posted, my reply
3. My boss's boss responds to my earlier post about Ballmer's response
4. Adam Barr sees suspicious part in Ballmer's memo
5. Vic wonders about arguing corporate issues in public

And the story will continue... We had Reality-TV. And now, welcome to Reality-Blogs! Geek-soap opera in the making.

And what's the relevance to my "Getting Management Buy-in" post? For one, I'd say the above example represents the very extreme of a "organisational blogging culture".

I don't see such microsoft-like openess happening in Singapore in the near future. For government agencies, we definitely can't be as liberal like what Microsoft is doing. Employees might get carried away and blog about information that might say, give a potential vendor unfair advantage in pricing its products or services. Information is potential power. The line can be grey.

Maybe such openess would be the norm in 5 - 8 years time. But by then, people may find it no longer a novelty, especially when every company is doing it.

----------------------
* But there is! And here's Tomorrow (a SG blogger community effort. How can the library get into the act, I wonder?)

[Tag:blog advocacy]

No easy answers: Getting management buy-in for Blogs (part 2)

This follows the previous post:

I read this from Librarystuff, about pushing librarians into public awareness (quoted from Marylaine Block). That's what I'm after. Not to promote Blogs or Blogging per se, but to use an available technology to enhance what libraries and librarians do.

But recent events have made the pitch to management and colleagues more difficult, specifically the "CZ incident" (scroll to the section header "The first posts").

It's unfortunate that the public is conscious (via the traditional print media) of only the wacky and fun stuff, but not bloggers who write "serious" stuff. I've observed that blogs make local headlines when: (1) they are quirky stuff, usually associated with teens who are hip and happening, or (2) when blogs are involved in some controversy, like the CZ thingy.

And probably this incident in Nov 2003 -- "Bloggers go unplugged" (by Eugene Wee , Straits Times, 17 Nov 2003). About a student who captured, on his PDA, a scene of his teacher berating a classmate and then posting the video clip to his website. The clip got circulated and eventually attracted media attention and raised "the ire of students, parents and teachers alike."

Here's another (early) instance -- Bon voyeur: Go online and tell the world what you did last summer -- or last night. By Chua Hian Hou, Computer Times, 18 Dec 2002.
In fairness, the article was pretty balanced and informative, but people tend to remember headlines more than the actual content.

So to most Singaporeans unfamiliar with Blogging (like I used to be), there certainly is varying degrees of negative connotations towards blogging. I'd hazard a guess that to Singaporean non-bloggers, they think blogging is:

• Something that only kids & teens indulge
• Content-wise, there isn't any to speak of, because it's basically any mundane thoughts and teen-angst. That much of it is "verbal diarrhoea".
• Adults see it as a kind of voyeurism, i.e. peeking into the thoughts of others (note: another guess is that we all like to peek, but don't like being peeked at).

I'm not the only one who thinks that the local media depicts local bloggers poorly. Like cynics.info.

SingaporeAngle says our local mainstream media doesn't understand blogs. I tend to agree. Maybe local journalists ought to be blogging, so that they get linked up with the more coherent bloggers (I stand to be corrected because who's to say our local journalists aren't blogging already. Except maybe they do it anonymously).

It doesn't help that the internet is rife with news about people getting fired for blogging (nevermind what was the real cause -- the headlines is what people tend to remember).

As of 25 Apr 05, when I googled for fired for blogging, the search returned 523,000 hits. The google search for promoted for blogging only returned 141,000 hits. That's rounded up to a ratio of 4 to 1 (i.e. 4 "fired for blogging" articles for every 1 "promoted for blogging").

Ok, the search might not be precise, so I used quotation marks for "fired for blogging", which returned 33,400 hits. Surprisingly, "promoted for blogging" did not match any document. I then tried "rewarded for blogging" and there was effectively 1 hit.

So there's definitely alot more issues to consider before making any pitch to management. Ah well, "if something is easy, it's probably not worth doing".


[Tag:blog advocacy]

No easy answers: Getting management buy-in for Blogs (part 1)

After my piece on employer intervention (19 Apr 05), I was wondering about effective ways to promote blogs to management, or address some of management's concerns.

I got in touch with Shel (the guy who introduced me to blogging). Shel and Scoble are writing a blogging-related book over at RedCouch, so I thought Shel might have a clue.

Shel very kindly referred me to Scoble, who promptly replied. I asked if I could quote Scoble. Sensing that Scoble might be tied up, Shel wrote to "go ahead" because Scoble's "the world's most transparent guy. They call him Mr. Cellophane".

Of which I confirmed with Scoble later (his permission to post his reply, that is. I don't know about the Cellophane bit). Here's Scoble's comment to my questions:

Subject: RE: Any advice for employees trying to convince mgt that blogging has more benefits than risks?

That's a very tough question.

One way is to just take a risk and start one without asking for permission. That's sorta how it happened here.*

Another way is to get permission to start one blog as a trial to show it can bring some benefits to the company. That's a lot safer, but then everyone will probably get involved and try to PR control it.

Another way is to get an entire group to blog. Say 10 people. This makes it a little less likely that PR will get involved in everyone's life. But, many people will wait until their competitors start one, take over the #1 spot on Google (user research shows that's the only one that matters)
and then they'll be forced to start one up to compete.

Robert

* Scoble works at Microsoft.

Shel added: "One other possibility may be to start a private blog, and let the employers see what its about and that it's safe."

Thanks guys, for the advice. Now for me to translate some of those ideas into action. As the saying goes, "Nothing worth doing is ever easy" (something like that).

P.S. In case anyone wonders -- I'm nowhere near the league of those two guys when it comes to blogging. To borrow a quote (from saecker), "in the blog world, no one knows how small you are".


[Tag:blog advocacy]

BusinessWeek: Blogs will change your business (of libraries)

I'm about to logout of Bloglines when this post (or the magazine cover, rather) from Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion* hits me in the face -- BusinessWeek's May 2005 issue has a cover story on blogs.
[* I like how he included an info page on "My Employer" on his blog.]

Yet another example of the power of blogs. Or maybe a "threat" to libraries, depending on how you look at it. Here I am, a librarian, supposedly at the forefront of the information wave. I used to be the first to know what magazine arrives in the library. Not anymore.

Readers with the know-how can bypass libraries. They might even be the first to ask librarians, "How come the issue hasn't arrived yet?"

But I see opportunities for libraries rather than threats. By subscribing to the right blogs, the librarian can get alerts faster (or just as fast) as the readers we serve. Today is 23 Apr 2005. I am blogging about a BusinessWeek issue coming out a week later. Anticipating that blogs are hot-topics, I have a week's notice to plan for related book displays, tracking of statistics, preparing simple readers' survey...

I should really title this post "Blogs will change the business of libraries -- in positive ways".

Related:
>>BusinessWeek - highlights of 2 May 2005 issue (Asia Edition)
>>Six Tips for Corporate Bloggers
>>Why you can't ignore blogs any longer - Frank Barnako (MarketWatch, 22 Apr 2005)

[Tag: businessweek]

Thinking Aloud; Blogging Allowed - "When the blogger blogs, can the employer intervene?"

My longest blog post yet:

Received this email from Chonz: "Ivan, I am one of those people who use the NLB a lot and enjoy your blogs." Thanks, Chonz! It's always nice to hear from a library user.

I don't know Chonz personally. He or she probably decided to email me after reading my blog. Chonz also alerted me to this NYT article*, "When the Blogger Blogs, Can the Employer Intervene?" (Tom Zeller Jr., 18 Apr 05)
* Register for free access, or check out other alternative links at the bottom of this post.

Thinking aloud, from reading the article:

1) The article mentioned Niall Kennedy, who works for Technorati (he still does, as of this post!). Hey, I know Niall. He was the guy who replied to my suggestion to Technorati;

2) It reinforced my view that while Blogging Guidelines for employees are important, common sense and respect are more critical;

3) When we blog, we are in effect writing for the Whole Wide World;

4) Freedom of speech does not mean irresponsible speech. Blogging is about personal accountability. Expect to be taken to task if the majority feels you have posted something unacceptable -- as shown by this "Racist post" episode (do check out the excellent compilation of related posts by Huichieh);

5) If you want to keep something secret, don't email it. Certainly don't blog about it. As explained here in the 4th para;

6) Like it or not, as employees, we have to follow the rules set by the organisation. Either we follow those rules, or we leave the organisation. That's today's reality of work;

7) As an employee, the organisation has a right to stop me blogging. I'm obligated to comply, regardless of what I think;

8) In the long run, we're all better off NOT being anonymous when we blog. I stand firm on this, even if it goes against what's espoused here (related article here).

Right... I'm not sure if you agree with the above, particularly points 6 and 7. I did not make them on a whim.

I make no secret that I work for the NLB. I do this because I find blogging a good way to extend the reach of the physical libraries, run by NLB, to the online world. My belief is that public libraries are about connecting people to people, and people to ideas. Not merely connecting people to information. There are good people with excellent ideas in the Blogosphere.

But should my organisation disagree with my blogging activities for whatever reasons, and wants me to stop or modify my blogging activities, then I will respect that decision.

Quote from NYTimes.com article:

"As the practice of blogging has spread, employees like Mr. Kennedy are coming to the realization that corporations, which spend millions of dollars protecting their brands, are under no particular obligation to tolerate threats, real or perceived, from the activities of people who become identified with those brands, even if it is on their personal Web sites."

Quite a few of my colleagues know I blog. So does my immediate boss and some bosses a few layers removed. So far, nobody has told me to stop, although some did express concerns about employees blogging in general.

I did ask myself, "What if I was really asked to stop my blogging?"

First, I'd be very disappointed. I believe in librarians blogging. When you believe in something strongly and your views are not accepted, then disappointment follows. Especially when I've experienced first-hand how a librarian blog can engage and interact with people, like this, this, this, and especially this one, this one, and this, this, also this, plus this one. It's also a way to promote NLB libraries and services, like this and this. So far, there have not been any rude or vulgar comments. I've not removed any comments to date.

I'd probably feel sad too. I've met many interesting and intelligent people (some who've become fast friends, even though we've not met face-to-face) in the Blogosphere, like Kevin, Preetam, C. Callosum, Calm One, Roxanne, Idler, Huichieh, GadgetDude, Shel... just some of the bloggers whom I've had protracted conversations (in the blog or off). Through blogging, I've conversed with librarians from the Philippines - Clair, Von, Mal'akh, Marj... lots more other people. I can still stay in touch with all of them if I don't blog (via newsfeeds subscriptions), but it wouldn't be the same.

I may feel angry, but it might be more of an ego issue, i.e. things don't go my way...

So in conclusion, if my organisation insists that I stop blogging, regardless of whether I accept the reason or not, then I have two options: (1) Stop blogging, or (2) Continue to blog.

Obviously, option two will get me dismissed. It's that simple. Do I have a case? Maybe. But to what end? Let's say I fight the dismissal and the court agrees that the organisation was wrong. Would it make me feel better? Totally lose-lose situation. The organisation gets negative publicity, and I won't feel comfortable working for the organisation anymore.

Does that mean I've sold out if I stop blogging? That I've given up my right? Not really. My reasons for blogging is to demonstrate the potential of blogs for advancing librarianship. If the organisation does not agree with that view, then it's the organisation's loss.

I'm not a crusader or evangelist for blogs. I'm a librarian who's passionate about what I do, and wants to provide not just good but great services for users ("Wah! Sure or not?", I hear the skeptics say. Nevermind lah, you take me at face-value).

Apart from knowing more friends, there are other positive benefits for me from past 10 months of blogging:

• I articulate my thoughts better. I notice this when I speak with staff and colleagues.
• I've always liked to write. I have an outlet for this hobby on the blog. I would like to think that my writing and communication skills (so important as a librarian and manager) have improved.
  
• My self-confidence has increased. When you post your thoughts to the world, you'd better be confident!
• I've learnt to take myself less seriously. You can get slammed in the Blogosphere. Big deal. If you're wrong, apologise and get on with life (fortunately, I've only been "gently let-down" rather than slammed. People are kind to me).
  
• Of course, I've also learnt to be more humble. There's a greater sense of humility. I have to be when there are so many superb bloggers out there. Read them, and it's clear they are much more intelligent than me. So much to learn from them.

The only downside is that my home electrical bills have gone up from using the PC and modem... ah, you win some, you lose some. At least I'm reading (blogs) and writing rather than playing online games.

Last thought for the day: Let's say I'm the boss of my own company, and I know that my employees are blogging. Because I have personally experienced the positive power of blogging, and I also understand better the accompanying risks when employees blog, I'd definitely encourage responsible blogging among employees.

I'd develop guidelines, organise training for staff who are interested (no need to force those who aren't), and then have a strategy to utilise blogs to enhance my business and the bottom line. I'd reward employees who show how they've utilised blogs to create better value to customers.

The other option would be this: Stop my employees from blogging, resulting in some dissentation among some staff (especially the younger ones, who are also usually the more passionate ones who will work wonders if you push the right buttons). And I'll end up driving them to blog underground.


See other related articles/ posts:
IndianExpress 19 Apr 05)
The ledger.com (18 Apr 05)
jennydavidson (17 Apr 05)
NewZealandHerald.com (28 Mar 05)

[Tag: singapore, blog ethics]
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It's hit the fan, but may turn out to be a good thing: "Scholar under fire for racist blog entries"

Updated 18 Apr 05:
- Compilation of related posts/ conversations at From a Singapore Angle
- Huichieh's a He, not a She. I apologise for the mistake.

I was having a brief IM chat with Preetam earlier, on how blogging is viewed with suspicion and uncertainty by some people. Like him, I've been trying to promote blogging as a legitimate tool to fellow colleagues. Most are receptive, though some are still rather wary.

I asked Preetam if we should start a blog conversation to share experiences on this, and he said OK. As a lead-in to that blog post (coming up soon), I refer you to Huichieh Loy's (From a Singapore Angle) post - The storm over CZ breaks on print media. You might also want to read the comments over at her his post. The views are pretty balanced there.

That case illustrates a few points I've been trying to get my colleagues to see:

1. The organisation should take the lead to educate staff on blogging Dos and Don'ts, before staff do anything deemed as inappropriate by the organisation.
2. You cannot stop staff from blogging; some already have, and more will follow.
3. There are "risks" involved in staff blogging. But those "risks" can be managed, provided the organisation is proactive and forward-looking.

To anyone who feels that their children or employees should not blog because of potential negative fallout, that's akin to saying we ban Singaporeans from accessing the Internet because it cannot be controlled, ad because it has porn and misinformation.

Blogging is just a technology. What's more important is how we make use of it.

In a way, it's good that the PSC scholar case has made mainstream news. It would register Blogging in the consciousness of those who have not heard of blogs. The not-so-good part is that it possibly illustrates a negative aspect of blogging. But I believe rational voices will prevail eventually, i.e. people will see that blogging has more potential for good than otherwise.

BTW, I hardly have time to read the local papers. If it weren't for bloggers like Huichieh Loy blogging about it, I wouldn't have known about the controversy. So that's another example of the positive potential of blogs.

[Tag: singapore, blog ethics]

Blog ethics for librarians

Is it just me or is Bloglines having a problem? I just couldn't login to my account to read my feeds. So I resorted to the encoded links on my blog (justifying my reason to leave them encoded, although it's only a small sample of what I subscribe)...

Went over to Joho the Blog and got redirected to Karen Schneider's (a.k.a Freerange Librarian) article in the Library Journal, about "The Ethical Blogger". Here's the outline of her article, including some points worth pondering:

#1 - Being a standard bearer
"Every blog produced by librarians, no matter how casual, represents librarianship to the world."
Well put. I was explaining to my colleagues that a "Liblogarian", i.e. "Library + Blog + Librarian", was not a blogger per se, but a librarian who blogs about library-related stuff (plus or minus some personal stuff). Not that I'm trying to compartmentalise anything. It's more of a gentle reminder to my colleagues who wish to blog as librarians (that is, if they accept my explanation).

#2 - Follow the codes
Karen suggests that librarians who blog should state any bias upfront. Also, she points out that "one of the most subtle but effective forms of fact-based bias is to link only to the sources with which you agree, not to sources with which you disagree." Well, yeah I take her point although I think more often than not, we blog to prove a personal standpoint. Blog posts aren't really academic papers.

#3 - Cite it
Absoutely. That's the most basic principle. It's plain common courtesy to acknowledge where you obtained the information. Besides, if you've read the information from another blog, it's far better to include a link 'cos chances are the other blogger might trackback to your blog. And blogging is about connecting people and ideas.

# 4 - Admit mistakes
"If you do get it wrong, own up to it, with a revision to the post..."
Very sound advice. You improve your credibility by doing so.

And this paragraph from the beginning of her article is something that's been keeping me occupied recently:
"As I watch librarians blog, I hear warning bells in my head similar to the "filtering wars" of the 1990s, when librarians opened their libraries to Internet access without fully understanding this new technology. In some ways, the stakes are even higher, because we're creating highly visible, globally available content."
I wanted to write more on this but I'm mindful about rambling. So maybe some other time...


[Tag: blog ethics]

Common sense and respect above a Blogging Policy

About 6 weeks ago, I discovered some blog posts about people getting dismissed from their jobs because of their blogging. My impression then: there were a lot of indignant bloggers out there. Most weren't fired but shared a common sense of injustice to the whole issue. Someone even came up with an International Blogger's Bill of Rights, and apparently there's even a term called "dooced" as reported in BBC news.

Ok, that was a few weeks ago. Reading the recent posts and comments, my impression was that the initial sense of indignant righteousness has mellowed and replaced by something more... reflective (for want of a better word). And more rational as well (Hmm... an example of the self-correcting nature of the Blogosphere?). You'd know what I mean if you follow the comments from the same Blogger's Rights blog.

Majority of the recent posts suggest an agreement that the real issue wasn't about blogging, but about how people were seen to conduct themselves as employees. Shel's post "Fired for Blogging or Cause " sums up what I consider as the "reflective and rational" view. I quote:

"People are getting fired for the same reasons they've always gotten fired--for conducting too much personal business on company time, for lying about their employers, for revealing too much about a company's internal mechanizations and so on. Blogging is just another delivery mechanism for making the same employee mistakes. "

I support the view that employers should make their view towards blogging clear to employees who blog. But really, it's a matter of the employee exercising common sense over any written or verbal policy, isn't it?

I mean, if I choose to blog, then I have to be responsible for whatever I post. If I choose to rant over work issues and blog about it, I have to realise that there's a record of my views posted on the Internet. That's equivalent to me standing outside the company headquarters and complaining to any passerby.

Putting it in another way -- would we like our employer to post their complaints about us on a website?

I'm reminded of these wise words from Og Mandino (he writes on self-inpirational and self-motivational stuff) which goes something like this -- "If you have nothing good to say about someone, then say nothing". This is similar to a common advice in books on job interviews: Never bad-mouth your (previous) employer.

As a consumer, I can blog my views (good and bad) about a company, its products and policies. But if I feel like complaining about work issues, I must not forget that I'm doing so in a employer-employee relationship, rather than as a consumer of the company's goods or services.

Some people try to hide behind the veil of anonymity and blog about what they don't like about their employer. Anonymity wouldn't work, really. Things, especially words, have a way of catching up with us whether we like it or not. What we say is a reflection of ourselves. What makes the Blogosphere any different?

My next job could depend on my blog!

Just discovered that my blog post on Professionalism is an Attitude, not a Definition has been listed on LISjobs.com

What is more interesting is the article titled Interviewing: Beware Blogging Blunders. Apparently, my next job could very well depend on what I blog!

I wrote to my bosses about the above. See, I'm trying to make a case to get my colleagues to blog, and naturally, I have to get buy-in from my bosses.

So far, three of my peers have responded and have started their own blogs (I'm not exactly betting the farm that my bosses would start). Anyway, my take on blogging has come a long way. I used to think they are a waste of time, but now I realise that the usefulness of blogging, like everything else, depends on what you use it for.

If I could, I'd make every NLB librarian maintain a blog. I believe the blog would be a window to their professional minds. We could learn more about what each of us is thinking. It could be library-related, or it might not. It could be about books read. It could be about something we heard read and we'd like to share. It could be about our thoughts on our profession, our customers.

It's not easy writing for a blog (that is, to write something intelligent). It takes time and effort. But that way, it makes us THINK. To write well, we librarians have to read more, and read widely. It would give us that "presence" on the web, and allow other people to know what librarianship is about. Librarians tend to complain that we are not appreciated for what we do. People are often surprised when I tell them that the minimal professional qualification in NLB right now is the MSc in Information Studies (Singapore does not have a degree course).

So rather than continue to lament the fact that people don't know what we do, why not blog? Start a blog, submit the URL to various search engines and directories. Then read, think and write. Let the world know what you do.

Tag: blog advocacy

Little ado about Blogs - Part 1

Ever since Shel's post on Blogging comes to Singapore, I've been thinking a lot about blogs. Initially I felt pretty smart after commenting his post, where I posted examples to back my argument that blogging already came to Singapore.

My smugness was quickly snuffed, in a nice way of course.

I'm glad I was corrected. It forced me to look around and ask. I conducted an informal survey among colleagues and acquaintances. I'm still in the midst of compiling their responses but one thing's pretty consistent. Where blogs are concerned, it's true that Singaporeans don't really care about blogs. Relative to the rest of the Blogosphere, the number of blogs by Singaporeans is insignificant.

The general consensus (among my respondents) is that most know blogs as "personal web diaries" but beyond that, there isn't much interest about blogs. Blogs aren't seen as productive or "legitimate" tools for work or personal development. Most of my respondents, in my very unscientific and informal study, seemed to care little about blogs indeed.

More on the survey results later.

So thank you, Shel, for correcting me. I'm seeing possibilities now, when all I used to see was a myopic and blinkered view of the Blogosphere.