LibraryTechtonics

Loews Philadelphia Hotel
1200 Market Street
Commonwealth, A1

Come one, come all to the OCLC Blog Salon! Meet all sorts of library world bloggers, have some nosh, and enjoy mirth, conversation, and indeed, sometimes, song. You don’t need to be a blogger, no need to RSVP, and it’s a fabulous way to meet all the people you read online!

The Pour House, 907 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts
http://bostonblogevents.com/blogtoberfest

I’ll be hanging with bloggers from all over the Metro Boston area tonight at this free event. Why do I go to things like this, you might ask? I mean, I’m not networking to find a new job outside of librarianship, and I’m not a marketing person, so what gives?

Any blogger, especially a librarian blogger, benefits from meeting more of their family, blogger, who aren’t necessarily their genus, librarian (I consider species here to be the flavor of librarian: public, academic, corporate, archivist… you get the gist). Whenever you get out into the world in a non-genus setting, you are doing outreach, telling the larger family what librarians are up to, smashing stereotypes, getting ideas, inspiring unpatrons to become patrons, and much more. You represent your genus when you get out there.

You can also shop for ideas, and learn about new tech by hanging with people in the know. What’s new and upcoming? What’s going to tank? What do you use that for? You get a sense of real Web 2.0/social software culture, as well as just being social. And, because so many of the people who attend these things are helpful as well as social, it’s a good way to shop for people to help you, often times for free. Friends like helping friends, see?

If you are a librarian who blogs, how often do you get out to these things? I’d be interested to know, so drop me a comment about your experiences. If you’re not sure how to find the blogger family in your area, try sites like Meetup.com, or Ning.com, and search for “blogger” in your vicinity. You can even try searching for groups on Facebook or MySpace. It’s like any other reference question, you just need to be your creative selves in finding the answer.

If you’re in the Boston area, and you want to get involved, let me know. Sometimes it helps n00bs to have a buddy at these things, and I can definitely introduce you around. And, if you happen to be attending Blogtoberfest tonight, drop me a comment and let me know!