PewInternet.org
Libraries as social networks
Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project5.6.11San Francisco library system Email: [email protected]: @Lrainie
The rise of networked individualsBarry Wellman – University of Toronto (my co-author)
New social operating system (1):Networked Individualism
• Groups and bureaucracies give way to networks
• Social networks are more influential
• Social networks are differently composed
• Social networks are more vivid and tied to creation of information/media
New social operating system (2):New kinds of communities
• Explosion of group activity and group niches
• Rise of social posses
• Advent of just-in-time, just-like-me peer-to-peer (support) groups
• Fifth Estate of content contributors
5
Revolution #1 Internet and Broadband
70%
66%
Demographic factors correlated w/ broadband adoption
Positive correlation(in order of importance)
Negative correlation(in order of importance)
Household income of $75,000 or more per year
Having high school degree or less
College degree Senior citizen (age 65+)
Parent with minor child at home
Prefers speaking Spanish in our interviews
Married or living with partner Disabled
Employed full time African-American
10/5/2010 8Trends in Home Broadband Adoption
Consequences for info ecosystem
Volume Velocity
Vibrance Valence /Relevance
Consequences for info ecosystem
Explosion of creators and niches
Networked creators among internet users
• 62% are social networking site users
• 55% share photos
• 33% create content tags
• 32% contribute rankings and ratings
• 30% share personal creations
• 26% post comments on sites and blogs
• 15% have personal website
• 15% are content remixers
• 14% are bloggers
• 12% use Twitter
• 4%-17%??? use location-sharing services
Big challenge for librariesAtoms bits
Collections
are
disrupted
Big social networking add by libraries1 – Cover access divides
• 44% of those living below the poverty line used library connections
• 61% of those ages 14-24 used them for school
• 54% of poor senior citizens used library connections for health/wellness needs
• 63% used library connections to help others
Source: Opportunity for All, Univ. of Washingon, Gates Foundation, IMLShttp://cis.washington.edu/usimpact/documents/OPP4ALL_FinalReport.pdf
Big social networking add by libraries2 – Cover participatory divides
• 2/3 of library connection users sought assistance from library staff
• 60% of library connectors use them for social purposes
• 42% for education purposes
• 40% for jobs/career purposes
• 37% health and wellness purposes
• 33% for community engagementSource: Opportunity for All, Univ. of Washingon, Gates Foundation, IMLShttp://cis.washington.edu/usimpact/documents/OPP4ALL_FinalReport.pdf
But there is more libraries can do: Relevance & digital literacy are primary factors for not going online
Relevance48%
Price21%
Usability18%
Availability6%
Other7%
Source: Pew Internet Project, May 2010 tracking survey
10/5/2010 15Trends in Home Broadband Adoption
16
Revolution #2 Wireless
Connectivity
Cell phone owners – 85% adults
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Jan-05 Jul-05 Jan-06 Jul-06 Jan-07 Jul-07 Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10
All adults Ages 18-29 Ages 30-49 Ages 50-64 Age 65+
96%
90% 85%
58%
Urban-84% Suburban-86% Rural-77%
2/22/2011 18
Mobile internet connectors – 57% adults
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
All adults Whites Blacks Hispanics
62% 59% 55%
Urban-60% Suburban-60% Rural-43%
Demographic factors related to mobile connectivity
Positive correlation Negative correlation
College grad Less than high school education
$75,000+ household income
<$30,000 household income
Parent of minor child Rural
Republican ??? Spanish dominant in language preference
10/5/2010 20Trends in Home Broadband Adoption
Cell phones as social tools
2/22/2011 22
% of cell owners
• 54% send photo or video
• 23% access a social networking site
• 20% watch a video
• 15% post a photo/video online
• 11% have purchased a product
• 11% charitable donation by text
• 10% status update service such as Twitter
85% use cell phones
35% have apps
24% use apps
All adults
May 2010 and Nov 2010 surveys
1 in 4 adults use apps
55% of adults own laptops –
up from 30% in 2006
45% of adults own MP3 players –
up from 11% in 2005
50% of adults own DVRs –
up from 3% in 2002
42% of adults own game consoles
7% of adults own e-book readers - Kindle
7% of adults own tablet computer – iPad
doubled in 6 months
Consequences for info ecosystem
Anywhere Any device
PresencePlace
Any time
Alone together
Big challenge for librariesPeople came to us We go to people
The library as
place becomes
the library
as placeless
resource
Big social networking add by librariesHelp navigate and “make peace” with info
• Apps vs. web vs. traditional resource locators
• Access to real-time information
• Context of information – augmented reality
• Sanctuary – quiet space
28
Revolution #3Social
Networking
The social networking population is more diverse than you might think
2/22/2011 29
5x
5x
7x
5x
Demographic factors correlated w/ SNS use
Positive correlation Negative correlation
Under age 30 Senior citizen (age 65+)
Female (overall)Male (frequency)
Rural
Parent with minor child at home
Non-cell user
Some college Disability
Urban
10/5/2010 30Trends in Home Broadband Adoption
Online video
2/22/2011 31
What You Need to Know:
• 69% of internet users (half of all US adults) watch videos online – and not just funny cat videos
• 14% of internet users have uploaded their own video content (up from 8% in 2007); sharing as likely to occur on social networking sites as specialized video sites
Video creation
2/22/2011 32
What You Need to Know:
• 14% of adultinternet users have posted video online
• Up from 8% in 2007
• Biggest growth among older adults, women
Online social networks + ubiquitous mobility
• Allows for immediate, spontaneous creation of networks
• Gives people a sense that there are more “friends” in their networks that they can access when they have needs
2/22/2011 33
Social Dashboard
Pervasive Awareness
Big shift for librariesExpertise and influence shifts to networks
Share the
stage with
amateur
experts
Big social networking add by libraries1 - Can be embedded in …
Attention zones
Continuous partial attention
Deep dives
Info-snacking
Day dreaming???
Media zones
Social streams
Immersive
Creative / participatory
Study / work
Big social networking by libraries2 – Can be nodes in social networks
• As sentries – word of mouth matters more
• As information evaluators – they vouch for/discredit a business’s credibility and authenticity
• As forums for action – everybody’s a broadcaster/publisher
Cosmic social networking add by libraries1 – Can be teachers of new literacies
- screen literacy - graphics and symbols
- navigation literacy
- connections and context literacy
- skepticism
- value of contemplative time
- how to create content
- ethical behavior in new world
Cosmic social networking add by libraries2 – Can help fill in civic gaps
- the big sort among institutions: public, private, non-profit reimagining roles
- the big sort on news and information landscape
- the big empowerment and move to networked individuals
Meta issue 1: The future of knowledge
•How is it created?
•How is it disseminated?
Meta issue 2: The future of reference expertise
• How to you search for info?
• How to you assess it and aggregate it?
Meta issue 3: The future of public technology
• What is the future of knowledge “containers” and access points?
• What divides does that create?
• What “lending” and “access” models are possible?
Meta issue 4: The future of learning spaces
• What fosters collaboration?
• What is the role of solitary focus? (and quiet space?)
Meta issue 5: The future of community anchor institutions
• Does local matter?
• What does our community need?
Practical question - 1
• What’s the franchise vs. commodity?
–What’s the aggregation play? Do what you do best and link to the rest
Practical question – 2
• What’s the social networking play? What alliances can we strike to do distributed versions of our mission? What’s the word-of-mouth, viral play?
Practical question - 3
• What’s the mobile play? How do we understand and exploit real-time information with our patrons?
Practical question - 4
• What’s the gift economy play?
– Another way to say it: What’s the API play? What can we pry loose that OTHERS can exploit?
– What feedback do we want from our stakeholders?
Practical question - 5
• What’s the definition of success that is based on outcomes NOT outputs?
• How do we measure it?
Key questions for any organization - 6
• What’s the gamer play –immersive, compelling, skills building
Be not afraid