Sailing the Four Cs

Collaboration, Conversation, Community and Content Creation form the "4 Cs" of Social Media.





Arizona State University (ASU) Library has embraced social media, using a variety of tools to both promote library services and to better inform and serve clients.  The Library Minute YouTube clips are slick, trendy yet personable library messages, that truly reach out to younger students.  These clips certainly cover the "Content Creation" and "Conversation" facets of the 4 Cs since they are inventive and the presenter speaks straight at the camera in a conversational style which is highly engaging.


ASU Library also uses Facebook, Twitter, Flickr among other Web 2.0 tools, again as further avenues for informing library clients.  The Twitter account which is used to promote services and inform clients of closures, problems and alterations or improvements to library services, currently has 1434 followers. A good number of these are other libraries and librarians - heyjudeonline is both a follower and being followed by ASU. Reading through some of the tweets suggests that library clients are engaging somewhat with the conversation, but the response is not overly impressive.  


There is a similar trend on Facebook with the page scoring only 213 "likes" and limited conversations following the library posts.  That is not to say that there is no engagement - there certainly is activity on both Facebook and Twitter, and the YouTube clips have achieved many viewings.


The three platforms examined have achieved the 4 Cs of social media - Facebook and Twitter making a valiant effort at creating a community of followers, but in some respects it is a lukewarm result.  It is difficult to determine how much interaction is really from the target group - the clients, and how much is actually from others within the library industry.


ASU Libraries (2011). The library channel Retrieved August 19, 2011 from http://lib.asu.edu/librarychannel/


Facebook (2011). ASU Libraries Retrieved August 19, 2011 from http://www.facebook.com/ASULibraries


Twitter (2011). ASU Libraries Retrieved August 19, 2011 from http://twitter.com/#!/ASUlibraries

YouTube (2011). The Library Minute Retrieved August 19, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/user/librarychannel#p/a/CA6A813AA9C9A574/2/ohyqXAhLgsM