Margie Clayman

Where history and Social Media Intersect: Why I’m not laughing at Sarah Palin

If you know me a bit you know that there are few things I love a whole lot. I love marketing. I love social media. I love crafts and ladybugs. I love flowers and cooking. I love librarianship and curation.

But none of these things claim my heart the way history does. History has been my lifelong friend. When I learned how to read as a kid, one of my first books was about key Native American chiefs. My favorite books when I was a girl included books about Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln.

Lately, history has been in the spotlight here in the US, but not for very good reasons. Sarah Palin, who ran with John McCain on the Republican ticket in 2008 and who is now a key member of the Tea Party, apparently said that Paul Revere alerted the British, not the colonists. People are using this opportunity to get their laughs in or to make Palin’s flub a partisan issue, as you might expect. But I’m not laughing. I am highly disturbed. How can someone who is in the Tea Party (after the Boston Tea Party), which perpetually says they want to bring back the moral integrity of our Founding Fathers, not know about Paul Revere?

For me, this is not an isolated event. When I was a teaching assistant I encountered a young woman who, when asked why we celebrate July 4th, turned beet red. Our Civil War battlefields are turning into strip malls. Historical landmarks are being torn down to make way for condos. When I visited the Abraham Lincoln house, the park ranger who spoke to us didn’t know when Lincoln was born. We are losing our history.

60 Men whose praise must be sung

by Margie Clayman

A lot of times in the online world, you see “best of” lists for women. And that’s cool. I think that in a lot of instances women are woefully underrated in comparison to men, still. However, this does not mean that we should not give a big round of applause to men who are working their butts off. While it’s important for women to support each other, and while it’s important for men to support each other, a little cross-pollination in the way of support could do wonders, methinks. Therefore, with the women having gone first on Monday, I now present 60 men whose praise must be sung.

30Thursday 16: How Sweet It Is!

by Margie Clayman

There were some pretty darned thought-provoking posts this week, which works out well for my “sweet 16” #30Thursday. Hey, #30Thursday is officially old enough to drive! What does that mean? I have no idea. Moving on then, please absorb and enjoy these tremendous blog posts. I know I did!

4 Troublesome Twitter Tidbits

by Margie Clayman

This post is by Sherree Worrell. Sherree writes from her point of view on Social Media and tidbits on life Thoughts from the farm. With twenty (20) years’ experience in Office & Business Management, Sherree is preparing to launch her own business to help small business owners with their administrative, business management and social media needs. She can be found on Twitter as @Sherree_W.

Have you noticed a change in your Twitter stream lately? Have you noticed a change in your followers, or tweetchats you might participate in? Have people whom you respect changed?

Does it make you think you might want to change who you’re following and who’s following you? Is it enough to make you think about leaving Twitter altogether?

There are four traits I’m noticing more and more, traits that almost convinced me I should leave Twitter altogether.

Social Media could give librarians something to shout about

by Margie Clayman

Eleven years ago, I was just digging into the routine of being a student in Library School. I was working towards getting a Masters in Library Science, and at the time, librarianship was considered one of the hottest professions in the nation. Why? Well, the logic was that a lot of librarians had been librarians for quite some time and would be hitting retirement age. The hypothesis was that as these librarians began to retire, lots of new jobs would open up for, well, for people like me.

Fast forward to now, and as you might have heard, the talk couldn’t possibly be more different. People are talking about libraries becoming a thing of the past. Librarianship is being called a dying profession now rather than one that is worth pursuing. A lot of people with MLS degrees like me have found ways beyond the library to use their skills.

60 Women whose praise must be sung

by Margie Clayman

Recently, I had the great honor of appearing on a list called 200 Fearless women online and in Social Media. As I scanned the names, I had two sensations. First, I could not believe my great fortune in appearing on such a list. It was a humbling experience. But I also lamented that so many wonderful women so seldom get their own credit. I want to highlight those women here. Follow them on Twitter, get to know them, and you’ll see why they’re on my list of top women in the world.

[Incidentally, I’m sure the formatting on this will not look quite right, and I do apologize. These kinds of posts are difficult to get to look good – at least for me. It’s the content that counts!]

Margie Clayman

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