Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor, Knowledge and Information Science Dept,,, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to identify the social media and their role in knowledge exchange between digital preservation experts based on the Honeycomb model for sharing scientific contents. Methodology: This was an analytical qualitative study that was conducted using the Delphi method through 15 open questions among 20 experts who were members of a professional digital preservation group with different cultural backgrounds including libraries, museums, and archives. Findings: The findings indicated that 25% of the experts used Facebook; 22% used LinkedIn; 20% used Foursquare ; 15% used WIKIs; 10% used YouTube; and 8% used Twitter, while no one (0%) was familiar with Research Gate, which is a social network dedicated to professionals. Hundred percent of experts used Facebook for regular information updates and efficiency enhancement, 90% used Facebook and YouTube for obtaining information, 90% used Facebook and LinkedIn for scheduling meetings and networking, and 100% of experts used LinkedIn and Facebook for knowledge exchange and sharing. Ninety percent of experts considered intellectual deviation on Facebook and YouTube as the disadvantages of social media in scientific research, while 10% regarded time waste and low efficiency in YouTube and Twitter as the disadvantage of social media. The advantages of being your own boss (time management, democracy) with 100% on Facebook, access to society with 90% on LinkedIn and Facebook, and data recovery with 90% on Facebook were reported by the experts. Of the 7 blocks of the Honeycomb model, sharing was 100% in Facebook and LinkedIn, presence was 90% in Foursquare, identity, communication, groups, and chats were 90% in Facebook and LinkedIn, and reputation was 90% in LinkedIn. Conclusion: Our results showed that key components of the Honeycomb model for social media can be used in knowledge exchange between experts through obtaining information, exchanging information, sharing knowledge, updating information, and meeting and networking practices in various fields of science. They can also be applied to understand the interactive needs and how these needs change over time. Social media form an essential part of daily professional communication in scientific research in Iran. Among the social media investigated in this study, Facebook and LinkedIn were most widely used in the 7 key components of the Honeycomb model.
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