PewInternet.org Libraries as social networks Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project San Francisco library system

The rise of networked individuals Barry 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 degreeSenior citizen (age 65+) Parent with minor child at home Prefers speaking Spanish in our interviews Married or living with partnerDisabled Employed full timeAfrican-American 10/5/20108 Trends 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 libraries Atoms bits Collections are disrupted

Big social networking add by libraries 1 – Cover access divides 44% of those living below the poverty line used library connections 61% of those ages 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, IMLS

Big social networking add by libraries 2 – 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 engagement Source: Opportunity for All, Univ. of Washingon, Gates Foundation, IMLS

But there is more libraries can do: Relevance & digital literacy are primary factors for not going online Source: Pew Internet Project, May 2010 tracking survey 10/5/ Trends in Home Broadband Adoption

16 Revolution #2 Wireless Connectivity

Cell phone owners – 85% adults 96 % 90% 85% 58% Urban-84% Suburban-86% Rural-77%

2/22/201118

Mobile internet connectors – 57% adults 62% 59% 55% Urban-60% Suburban-60% Rural-43%

Demographic factors related to mobile connectivity Positive correlationNegative correlation College gradLess than high school education $75,000+ household income <$30,000 household income Parent of minor childRural Republican ???Spanish dominant in language preference 10/5/ Trends in Home Broadband Adoption

Cell owners are doing more with their phones than ever before 2/22/201121

Cell phones as social tools 2/22/ % 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 % of adults own MP3 players – up from 11% in % of adults own DVRs – up from 3% in % 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 Presence Place Any time Alone together

Big challenge for libraries People came to us We go to people The library as place becomes the library as placeless resource

Big social networking add by libraries Help 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 #3 Social Networking

The social networking population is more diverse than you might think 2/22/ x 7x 5x

Demographic factors correlated w/ SNS use Positive correlationNegative correlation Under age 30Senior citizen (age 65+) Female (overall) Male (frequency) Rural Parent with minor child at home Non-cell user Some collegeDisability Urban 10/5/ Trends in Home Broadband Adoption

Online video 2/22/ 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/ What You Need to Know: 14% of adult internet 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/ Social Dashboard Pervasive Awareness

Big shift for libraries Expertise and influence shifts to networks Share the stage with amateur experts

Big social networking add by libraries 1 - 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 libraries 2 – 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 libraries 1 – 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 libraries 2 – 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