Self Introduction

 

Hi!  I'm Amy, and this is my blog for a class I am attending as part of my MLIS degree, entitled "Library 2.0 and Social Networking Technologies."  So, hence, a blog!

A little about myself:

• I am a grad student for Library and Information Science at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN.  (YES, you need a masters degree to be a librarian.  Anyone who says otherwise either hasn't been to a library in a long time, or has really bad local librarians.)
• I have the best job in the world working for an indie children's bookstore in a historic part of St. Paul, Red Balloon Bookshop. And we got a new logo!  

• I have two kiddos that are super smart, super funny, and super a lot of work.  They both happen to be on the Autism Spectrum, on the mild side.  Because of this, I am an advocate for autism services and equal treatment of people with disabilities.  Maybe I am an advocate to the extreme. But, hey, someone has to be.  Note: When referring to a person with Autism, please never use the word "autistic." Behaviors can be autistic, but people have autism.  It's called "person-first" language, and is the best practice to use when speaking of an person with a disability.  (See what just did there? "Person with a disability" vs. "Disabled person.")  Your fellow people with disabliities and their parents will thank you for it.  
• I am a born and raised Minnesotan, and I am proud of it.  Don't hate on my state, yo. 
• I have an insane passion for Young Adult literature.  I think YA lit is the best writing that is being done today.  Yes, there are exceptions to this.  But you heard it here first.  Teens are our future. Ha ha.

 

A little about my experience with social media:

I loves the social media.  Before I started grad school and began this job at Red Balloon, I was a stay at home mom with two very amazing, but very difficult, children.  A good friend of mine was moving away, and she said "Hey, why don't ypou join Facebook so we can keep in touch?"  I said, "Facebook?  WHat is that?"  Her reply: "It's like MySpace, only not so creepy."  Ok, maybe she didn;t say that.  But I joined, and immediately found a social outlet I had been craving.

Currently, I am very active on Facebook and Twitter, and I have a blog dedicated to YA literature, Fictitious Delicious.  (Warning: It is not a serious blog.  Enter at your own risk.)  

I use Facebook primarily to post funny things and communicate with my family.  My book club also has a Facebook page that I interact with regularly.

Twitter is where my immature side comes out.  I have a personal account and one for my blog, and although I am coscious of my digital presence, I am much more free with what I post and say on Twitter than I am on Facebook.  I know a few folks who agree with me on this:  Twitter is like Facebook's ADD little sister.  I love Twitter and am looking forward to being a Twitter Textpert.

I also love HTML.  To me, sitting down and writing code is stress-relieving.  Since no one at Red Balloon has much experience with HTML, I am the go-to girl for all this web related, and I love it.  I have designed a couple websites and am in charge of Red Balloon's monthly newsletter, which is written in HTML.  I look forward to doing more with HTML in the future.  It has been one of the most fun surprises of grad school!

A little about what I want to gain from this class:

I'm not really sure!  And I think that's exactly why I took it!  I want to know all the things I do not know.  I've akways been a bit of a sponge when it comes to learning new things.  I love the concept of social media, and I look forward to all the discussions we will have in class.  I will also be looking for anything that I can apply to my job.  Events are so much more successful, and more fun, when designed around what people already want.  I'm looking forward to transforming Red Balloon's online presence. 

Happy Reading!

Amy