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Barriers to social software implementation
I imagine that a great barrier to implementing social software is the fear of the unknown. In a previous job, I convinced my employer to start a website to generate more clients. The website planning meetings took absolutely forever because my boss was so frightened of the technology, and worried that her information would somehow be compromised just because we were throwing up a simple website to attract clients. It took probably six months to get up a "quick and dirty" website. We had plans to strengthen and add to the website, but as I write this (two years later), the original version of the webpage still exists and is terribly outdated. A website is not social software, but this is an example of the barriers that can be experienced when trying to implement a new technology.
I believe that once employers, or commitees have seen the benefit to the software, and understand how it works, and how it will be maintained that they will probably be a little more comfortable with implementation. It is the responsibility of the person trying to implement the software to sell the idea to their employers. This can be done through a simple conversation, or, more likely, a "show and tell" tutorial of the software.
That is an interesting
That is an interesting question.
See I think the opposite. I believe people who are "in charge" are resistant to change. Moreover, for good reasons. If things are going well, why rock the boat. Even if something is 50-50 (a coin toss), how many people who put their jobs in risk.
I think the trick is to phrase your question in a way to show that there is little to no harm that comes from it. On the other hand, that there is so much of an upside that it is worth the gamble.
When I was college, I worked in student affairs. I said I would rather try something that was great and fail, then be mediocre and stay the same. Just about everyone was like, "Oh I remember feeling that way too..."That is not to say I now agree with them, I just phrase my arguments in the above manner.
Change is scary. I think if you can make not scary, then you have a chance. Still I think only that, a chance.
Dan, there are lots of
Dan, there are lots of library settings in which it is staff members who are resistant to change rather than the Director. The Director may be wholly in favor of new technologies and change, but the success of any initiative depends on buy-in from staff who need to support or contribute to it. In a lot of libraries, the tech-savvy librarian trying to push the new technology will end up doing it on his/her own instead of trying to sell it to staff (so long as they have the Director's ok). However, this can have negative consequences in the future as the librarian becomes to busy to maintain the blog/MySpace page/podcast/etc. or leaves the institution. I've heard so many stories like this from library directors as evidence that social software isn't a great idea to implement at their library, but to me, it tells me that the director needs to play an active role (with the tech-savvy librarian) in securing buy-in. Just saying "go for it" sometimes isn't enough when the staff isn't supportive of these new initiatives.
I agree that it is not easy
I agree that it is not easy to implement new technology. First of all, you must get approval from your superiors. Secondly, you must negotiate with your system department.
I think that the social network software gives us opportunities to maneuver the obstacles.
It’s easy to operate and maintain by your department. So, it is not difficult to convince your superiors. In addition, you don’t have to consult with your system department.
Amber, your reflection
Amber, your reflection reminded me of what Prof. Farkas observes in her first lecture about successful implementation of technologies. As she explains, risk-taking, continuous learning, and collaboration are intertwined factors for success. Actually, I think that a risk-taking culture can be encouraged within an organization through continuous learning, and collaboration as well as by supportive hard data or evidence of the potential benefits.
Excellent insights, everyone!
Excellent insights, everyone! I think the institutional culture is often what gets in the way of innovative technology implementations. While it's possible to push new technologies through in a culture that doesn't support risk-taking and collaboration, it's far more difficult to do as the pace of change tends to be too slow (for the pace of technology and the changing user needs) and the support for new ideas is lacking. I work in a library where my Director is very supportive of change and risk-taking, but there is little support beyond that -- if I want to do something, I have to do it myself and I have to sell it myself to staff. That can make it difficult to do large-scale projects that require collaboration among various staff members, but without my Director's initial support, I probably wouldn't be able to do anything.