Thing 5: Online Networks

For Thing 5, I decided to experiment with Twitter as I already have a Facebook page and, although I practically never post on it, I know how it works.  To my mind, Facebook is more of a social thing and I can’t really see myself using my own page for anything other than keeping in touch with friends and family, and even that only sporadically.  However, I am aware of Facebook’s professional applications through my work.  I must confess though that Facebook isn’t really my thing – in fact, if this course is teaching me anything then it’s that social networking in general isn’t really my thing!  I find it awfully tedious, time consuming and for the most part – pardon me for saying this – a complete waste of time.  If I kept up to date with all the tweeting and bleating I don’t think I’d get any work done at all!

Anyway, back to Twitter.  I set up my account and tweeted the Rudaí 23 list to provide evidence of my existence.  I also picked one or two other lists to follow, and I’ll see how it goes.  I am quite surprised to admit that I actually think Twitter is a great idea if you have information that you want to spread as quickly as possible to as wide an audience as possible.  I’m mainly thinking in the lines of weather and traffic alerts, breaking news and suchlike.  However, as a professional networking tool I have reservations about it.  The tweets are too short and inane.  Often they don’t seem to make any sense at all, in which case you have to click to the link provided to work out what it’s all about, which is frustrating.  Also, if you subscribe to anything more than one or two lists you will be completely swamped by disparate bits of information which seems to defy the whole point of the exercise.

However, I shall keep an open mind and revisit my views in a few weeks’ time.  Maybe I’ll become a convert and a tweeter extraordinaire.

Thing 4: Google

I confess: I think Google is great.  If there is a world outside it I don’t want to know it; in fact I don’t think I could even find it!  I have three or four favourites that I use practically every day.  Google Scholar is a wonderful tool when you need a more academic take on a topic, or when you need to go beyond the basics and get a more in-depth understanding of a particular subject.  Google Translate is a fantastic way of getting a handle on foreign terms.  I once had to catalogue a collection which consisted primarily of documents in the Dutch language and without Google Translate it simply wouldn’t have been possible!

Google Image Search is another brilliant resource.  I find it particularly useful when trying to work out the meaning of certain words, like colours for example – stuff like cyan or taupe or sienna.  Once I needed to know where an elbow hangs out when it’s part of a horse.  I never would have guessed!  Google Image Search also works the other way around: it honestly blew my mind when I discovered that you can actually upload an image and search for a match on the web.

I also have a serious love affair with Google Maps.  This really is one of the best tools going.  Finding directions has never been easier, and if you need to give yourself that extra bit of comfort you can go to Street View and check out visual landmarks near junctions or crossroads.  I’m currently working on a project which among other things involves deciphering handwritten names of places in France.  Often the handwriting is hard to read or the place name is misspelt but nine times out of ten typing it into Google Maps helps me to work it out.

However, maybe it’s a generation thing or something but Google+ leaves me totally cold.  I’m not at all into sharing my personal details with the world, or into connecting with the Pope to see what he had for breakfast.  I don’t really get the difference between Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn, it just seems like a tedious repeat of the same thing.

I didn’t try Hangout because I couldn’t – er, get a hang of it.  Again, I have some trouble working out the difference between it and Skype and as I already use the latter I don’t see the point of experimenting with the former.  What I did like a lot however was the concept of using Hangout for virtual conferences and online training and this is certainly something I would love to participate in – although not necessarily as a speaker!  It seems like a great tool for tight budgets and one well worth keeping in mind.

Thing 3: Your Professional Brand

My professional what?  I’m no Gucci handbag and no amount of branding is going to turn me into one!  OK, at a logical level I get this.  It is really good to connect and network and to make your work known as it will increase your employment and professional development opportunities.  It is particularly important for us self-employed people who never know where our next pay-check is going to come from.  But at a subliminal level joining LinkedIn feels like streaking naked down Grafton Street on a Saturday morning.  Self-promotion as a concept is alien to me and carries too many negative connotations, probably stemming from my upbringing which taught me to work hard and not make a fuss.

Anyway, I went against my instincts and signed up after fretting about it for a week.  Because of my chequered employment history, I actually found it quite difficult to define my professional identity.  I am still working on it as it’s not something I can solve in an hour.

What I don’t quite get about LinkedIn is that it is supposed to be a professional networking tool but in fact you are discouraged from connecting with people you don’t know.  So I have connected with my brother, my best friend, a cousin, a co-worker and a handful of old college mates.  Except for my co-worker and one friend, not one of them works in the archives sector.  How is that going to further my professional career I wonder!

What I did find interesting, though, are the groups that LinkedIn allows you to join.  I am waiting to be accepted to three of these, Rudaí 23 included, and am looking forward to seeing how they work and interact.  You never know, an evening spent out of my comfort zone may not have been an evening wasted after all!

Thing 2: Write Your First Blog Post

I was well into my 30s when I first heard about archivists and what they do.  Considering that I have a master’s degree in history this sounds weird even to me!  I guess I never thought about how stuff in somebody’s attic ends up in front of a researcher all neatly arranged in folders, I just took it for granted.  I think a lot of people do.

Before I became an archivist I had a fairly chequered career.  I worked in a pet shop and a post office, I ran a tearoom, edited and wrote a couple of books for a small publishing company and then ended up working for a large engineering firm as a researcher.  Because we were involved in a number of architectural projects, I ended up spending a lot of time in an archive putting together building histories.  As one of these projects was nearing completion, the branch office I worked in was closed down and I was made redundant.  On my last visit to the archive I told the Special Collections Librarian that I would not be returning, and explained the reason why.  He at once asked if I would be interested in a short-term contract as an archivist.  I gave him a blank stare because I had no idea what he was talking about.  He said he could tell I was a natural and that he would teach me everything I needed to know to get me going.  So I said yes without having the faintest idea what I was letting myself in for.  It was a leap in the dark but it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.  Within a few days of starting I knew I had found my dream job.

Pretty soon after completing my first assignment I decided to get professional qualifications as an archivist.  I got my degree through distance learning while working three jobs.  It was one of the toughest and most demanding things I ever did and I feel really proud of that achievement.

When I tell people I am an archivist most of them have no idea what I’m talking about.  Quite a few take me for an archaeologist and think that I’ve just made some bizarre pronunciation mistake.  Come to think of it, the two jobs are quite similar except that archivists avoid working outdoors!  I like to compare my job to that of a detective – it’s all about searching for clues and trying to draw the right conclusions when much of the information is missing. 

My only regret is that nobody told me about archivists when I was at school!  The job has its downsides of course.  You need patience, perseverance and a high tolerance for monotony.  But it can be incredibly rewarding and much more dynamic than people allow for, especially when combined with the challenges and opportunities brought on by the rapidly expanding digital environment.  I honestly cannot imagine any other job I’d rather do.