Social informatics

Week 3 activity

The aim ofthis week isto gain a deeper understanding of consequences ofthe use of ICT in society. We will do this by

first reading the lecture notes and then focusing on emerging social technologies like social media and social networks as an example of ICT
use in societ.

Forum discuslsion: Read the book chapter by Sally Burford (2012) titled ‘Using Social Media to Extend and Enrich Practice

in the Information Sector’ (available in eReserv e). Watch the documentary – “The firtual Revolution” (the full four episodes ofthe
documentary lastforfour hours, so for this activity watch episode one). These two sources provide you with both academic and practice
views of social networks and social media tool use and their impact on individuals, organisations, government and society at large. Reflect
on these resources- what sorts of impacts does social media have? How is your professional practice being shaped by these social tools? How
are they different? Use the six information practices found in the paper by Sally Burford to reflect on impacts. How do you thinkthese

tools may change/alterthe way government or organisations delivertheir services? In yourweek 3 Moodle forum post, briefly summarise the