Message from Montie's home office
I'm starting to see the differences in the way Chicago Public Libraries are going to operate in 2010. By now you probably know the library hours will be cut short in January 2010. Within the past couple months, Rogers Park library now puts books on shelves that are being held for library patrons instead of waiting in lines to decrease checkout times.
We already have the perks of reserving our own library books online instead of being on hold for a ridiculously long time. For those who want to reserve Internet computers, you can put in your own library card, check for availability and disappear until your reservation time. But oftentimes, while picking up books, I see those who are not computer savvy struggling to use computers and overworked librarians who don't have time to walk each person through the steps of reserving books and Internet time.
This is yet another advantage of the library--computer courses. The unemployment rate in November 2009 was down 10 percent with 15.4 million unemployed people in the U.S. And while manufacturing employment is down by 41,000 and construction by 27,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in professional and business services through temporary help agencies has increased by 86,000.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain looks at Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama as he answers a question during the Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University's Curb Event Center, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP photo by Gerald Herbert / October 7, 2008, photo from ChicagoTribune.com)
Within the last year, I've had some very heated discussions about politics with people who don't vote, and one of them happened today with a Twitter user who solely tweets about politics. I asked him three times whether he voted in the last election after a tweet he made about health care reform and corrupt politicians, and he ignored my question. Finally after the third time asking, this Twitter user's response was the following:
"Whether you're an independent, Dem, Repub, it doesn't matter. You're [sic] vote doesn't matter. Voting is a trick."
Now the average person is going to assume that if someone is this pessimistic about the voting process, not just the electoral college, that they didn't vote. Last week, I talked with a guy who'd sent a Facebook add to me about why it is he "doesn't appreciate his ancestors." He basically told me that anything that doesn't effect him directly isn't something he can appreciate and that was why he never cared about voting or history. So not only did he throw all politicians under the bus but slaves too. I didn't think any conversation could top that one.
Call me a snob. I'm woman enough to take it. But I can't for the life of me figure out why do people send Facebook requests with no personal message to someone they don't know. I guess those who hunger for friends will accept it and just won't care, but I actually want to know who's on my Facebook page, looking at my pics, reading my information and being able to be kept abreast of my activities.
Think about it. If the person sending you a Facebook request doesn't even have anything to say when they first send you an add, what in the world are you two going to talk about when they're on your Facebook friends list? I ignored many MySpace and LinkedIn requests for the same reason. When someone is just on your page and never talks to you, that's basically just a spy. Or worse, a MySpace stalker. Then there are the ones I really don't understand--the ones who have social media networking accounts and only log in long enough to sign up and disappear for months at a time. Close the account, dear, please.
I also don't understand the folks who join Facebook groups and don't interact with the members or read the posts or even comment on why they came. Maybe I'm taking this Facebook or social media networking thing too seriously, but I've learned time and time again that when you want to network with someone, you must be active.
If you go to someone's Web site and read a blog or entry, leave a comment. In the signature line, leave your name or your own Web site. It's a way to promote yourself and support his or her page too. Respond to links and entries from your readers or Facebook friends who comment on your links. You don't have to respond to everything, but if you're clicking on the doggone thing you may as well say what you thought about it.
