The Running Librarian

Later today I'm going to be talking at the CILIP Graduate Open Day I'm feeling slightly nervous about speaking at this event, not because there are 90+ people attending but because I'm going to be talking about Social Networking and "Getting Published"

Although I've talked about Web 2.0 in some detail before talking about Social Networking and especially about how Social Networking can be used as part of your Professional Development is going to be challenging. Of course when you begin to think about how you use Social Networks you being to realise how much of what you're doing (apart from the poking and the being bitten by vampires) is actually Professional Development.

Still not convinced, okay I'm talking about joining groups that are relevant to your business interests, posting questions and responses to questions, sharing information and building a sense of community from what can be a very disparate group of individuals. These types of tools also expose us to some of the more interesting aspects of Web 2.0, like Photo and Video Sharing, Blogging (look at me go) and RSS.

It raises an interesting question though, should or are Social Networking sites crucial for our Professional Development?