Week 12: The Sharing Trend

This week's topic is one of my favourites, as I believe that visual media such as photographs and videos can speak to people in different ways than print, and I think it speaks loudly that online media sharing software such as YouTube and Flickr have exploded over recent years.  They have creating vast communication channels that began as just entertainment at first, but upon exploring them, it seems they can be used for a wide range of uses in addition to fun (because who doesn't like fun?).

The foundation of these programs being free and openly accessible to everyone with an internet connection, as well as being easy for the average person to use, explains their widespread popularity, and also supports what the library stands for, so it seems natural that we are exploring ways to implement them into library work.  But I think one of the greatest benefits of creating and sharing videos and photographs (among other things, such as music files) is that this provides an outlet for creativity. There is unquestionably a slew of untapped creative talents that has been opened up from YouTube and Flickr becoming more widespread.  This is especially important for people who have difficulty expressing themselves in writing, such as those with learning disabilities. For example, people who have trouble reading (eg. those with dyslexia) can now access information verbally, which may facilitate in a way that just fits their learning styles better. Further, identification with a fellow group of users visiting the same media can going a step further and connect with each other (via commenting, similar tagging, video responses, etc.) to develop specific interest groups...a valuable opportunity to create a community of those people with the same problems and life conditions. The Educause article on YouTube also touches on the concept of "heighten[ing] students' visual literacy - an important skill in today's electronic culture." I hadn't considered this, but it makes sense that people should be adapting to new formats of learning as media formats are changing, and active listening (such as being selective and sifting out less important information during videos) would be a part of this.

It is in this sense that I think media sharing tools offer many great opportunities for libraries, and librarians should encourage patrons (or expose them at the very least) to find their niche.  This could indeed give someone the chance to increase their social skills, interest in a particular subject, or better understanding of a concept. Some potential problems I could see happening using such tools in the library is that users might very well use the software inappropriately.  This could include patrons leaving harassing comments on other people's posts, giving out too much personal information, or even misunderstanding the concept of tagging their uploads (As the Get Flicker-tastic article stated, "Patrons become the source coders of the next generation of taxonomies.").  That being said, responsibility sometimes falls under the institution that is hosting, so librarians instructing the usage of this software should address such concerns.