CLIC Social Media event: Using social media for personal and professional development

Mandy Powell (@Minimorticia) kicked things off with a presentation on how she uses social media for personal and professional development. 

She began by introducing herself and what her role as the Policy Officer for CILIP Cymru Wales tends to involve.  She also mentioned that their next conference will be held in Cardiff in May 2012!

 

 

Mandy discussed some of the ways using Twitter helps her, such as allowing her to;

Connect with the wider community

Keep up to date quickly, with no need to wait for write ups of news stories

Contribute to the debate, such as the #savelibraries campaign
Add other peoples conferences notes to her own
Interact remotely and ask questions

“a conference is not a conference without a hashtag”

Other advantages to Twitter that she pointed out were how much more successful for gaining comments and feedback after events it was than traditional feedback forms.  She also pointed out that Twitter helped with putting conferences together.

Hashtags that Mandy recommended checking out included;

#savelibraries

#ukpling

#mashlib

#CILIP

#cpd23

#uklibchat

#uklibcamp11

 

 

She mentioned that anyone new to using social media, and who might like to benefit from some help and advice could check out the Social Media Surgeries  who run regular free training sessions in the Roath, Adamsdown, Llandaff and Canton areas of Cardiff.

 

 

Mandy went on to talk about how Twitter can not only be used for professional development, but also can have a more direct impact on your work life.  She spoke about how useful Twitter is to show heads of departments or council members what you are doing rather than having to wait to do reports and make appointments to be seen, there is an immediacy to it.  It can also help lone workers who miss the chatter you get in an office environment.

 

 

She finished up with discussing some of the issues that need to be considered when using Twitter, such as;

Hardware, whether you will have getting access to it

How to strike that professional/personal balance

Being conscious of how you come across, not swearing etc.

Convincing the boss that it is worthwhile and not just time-wasting