Declaring independence from inaction...

July 9 marks the one year anniversary of the creation of this humble little blog. On that date I planted my flag in the fertile soil of the blogosphere, and not long afterward I began my trek across the social networking frontier. I opened a LinkedIn account and eventually found my way onto Twitter. There are many other social networking sites out there, but for me LinkedIn and Twitter accomplished my goal of connecting with interesting people in my profession from whom I can learn a great deal.

Lately, I've noticed that some of my professional brethren have been wondering aloud what exactly is the value of social networking, and in particular Twitter. For me, social networking has been an educational odyssey. The Posterity Project started as a blog platform from which I could share links to interesting web sites about archives, history, civics, and related topics. The blog led me to other interesting Web 2.0 platforms and suddenly I found myself Stumbling and Tweeting all across the Internet. I participate in these new communication technologies because I want to learn, and because I realize that if I do not utilize these tools I risk becoming professionally irrelevant in an increasingly engaged world.

I think part of the appeal of social networking is that there is such a variety from which to choose. I also think that it is this variety that frightens off a number of people. Archivists, in particular, seem to worry too much about how permanent these new technologies will actually become, paralyzing some of them into inaction. But in this weekend when we honor our nation's Declaration of Independence, I hope you'll consider declaring independence from inaction and do not be so quick to judge new technologies before you've given them the old college try. I can tell you from personal experience, you'll be better informed, you'll connect with interesting and intelligent people, and you'll have a lot of fun in the process.


RELATED LINKS:

• "Social networking," "Web 2.0 & Archives" and "Archives & 'new' technology" - ArchivesNext

• Society of American Archivists on Facebook and Twitter

• TennArc - A place for Tennessee archivists, associates and friends on the Ning social networking site.