Thing 8 - Alternative Means of Communicating

So luckily I had already done all of these things before. I'm not much into chat, I'm all about the phone if you have to talk and you're not next to each other. But really, I don't like the phone either. I'm all for old-fashioned talking face to face. However communicating through technology when face to face isn't possible is great! When my sister's where in high school, they were always chatting online with random strangers that soon became boyfriends (I don't know what my parents were thinking.) Sometimes they'd have to run to the bathroom and I'd pretend to be them or just be myself (as I got to know some of them after they came for visits-some staying on my couch-or I drove my sister to them-what was I thinking?) Emily and I decided to set up Google Talk. We had fun for a day iming each other since our offices are on opposite sides of the library. I have also used the chat function in Facebook. Whenever I'm on Facebook (usually trying to upload pics) people will message me. This is hard because the uploading pic feature covers up most of the im box, but that is a complaint for another post. I also do AskALibrarian. While I think the service is good, I'm not a huge fan. Most people want to know something specific to their own library and think I'm sitting in their library. Half the time I end up telling them to contact their own branch because I can find the answer on their library's website. Other people ask for answers to their homework or big long involved questions that I find very difficult to do when not face to face. The reference transaction is harder, you can't see facial expressions, hear tone, etc. I'm glad Florida offers it, but its not really my thing.

So texting. I'm not a texter. I only see the need for this when you are in a place you can't talk, like class, and you need to find out something from someone. Or you are bored in class and you need something to keep you awake. I do it on occasion, because several friends and family are big texters. My sister does it while driving, SCARY! The money issue comes into it to. Some people have unlimited texting with their plans, while their phone minutes are limited, so its more cost effective to text. I could pay $5 a month for unlimited text, but I do so little, I just pay 15 cents a text and have only gone over $5 once. So not cost effective for me, but I'm sure it is for others. I know UF uses texts to send out campus wide alerts, like closing for a hurricane. Which is a really fast and effective way to reach kids, cause they always have their phones. So texting has its purposes, but not for me. Texting kids about library programs would be cool.

I have partcipated in a few web conferences. They involved my phone and computer and most allowed me to ask questions over the phone. I think this is by far the best form of communication of the three discussed. It is such a great way to get info out there, without having to do all the expensive and time consuming travel. You can have people all over the country in on the same meeting. It is sooo awesome! The only problem is that many people don't understand what they are doing and time gets wasted helping people fix their technology problems. On one occasion the technology wasn't working for anybody and they had to cancel the class. That is a downside, but when it works, its fabulous.