DIGG

I think I'm on social media overload. I created a Digg account, looked at the website, looked at some of the articles, reviewed the tutorial (all while the Cowboys were beating the Eagles).

How are Digg and public libraries similar? Well, libraries (at least ones with a philosophy similar to ours) attempt to provide the public with the materials that are the most in demand. Maybe not the most educational, or the most edifying, or the most intellectual, but what people in our community desire to read, hear, learn. I would say that is what Digg also provides in its content.

Does Digg's approach to the news change the expectations of the public about what qualifies as "news"? I don't think it changes the expectations of the public as much as it reflects the public's expectations. Digg's approach seems to be to promote news that is interesting to the public, not necessarily news that is important for the public.

Does that mindset affect the way people might think about public libraries? If the mindset is that the public determines what is newsworthy, it could also extend to libraries: the public determines what is worth reading. Or is it mindset that emphasizes "social media"? It's possible that such a mindset could result in a greater reliance on "wiki" resources than on more credible sources. I think that librarians must recognize the social media trend and capitalize on it to attract and retain customers, but we must also provide and promote the professional credibility we offer in our services and resources that cannot be assured with social/community sources.