Twitter and Libraries

This is more what I expected Twitter would be like … short messages … something like a bulletin board. Can see this is a great way for libraries to communicate with patrons, especially the techno-savvy ones. Liked Rodney’s and Manukau’s tweets but found the replies confusing as I couldn’t follow what they were replying to. Found a great tweet on ProQuest linking to short videos explaining tools available on their website … something I will definitely look at further.

I’d be interested in following a library twitter which gave out information – upcoming events, new books, local happenings or events – but would soon log out if it became conversational. Am not interested in trying to untangle threads to follow questions and answers or comments, especially when each tweet is meaningless in isolation. I do understand that that is the point of Twitter but it just doesn’t appeal to me right now. That’s not to say I may not change my mind in the future – after all, I thought texting was just for teenagers until I got the hang of it!

My sample tweet:

Check out what’s new on The Reading Experience tab on our website and follow the link to other great review sites under the pohutukawa. http://bit.ly/7MuslQ

Searching Twitter

Watched the video and tried out several of the search options … using ‘library’ and ‘Jill Mansell’ as keyword search terms. From there looked at a few Twitter accounts under ‘library’ and also looked at Jill Mansell’s Twitter account. (Met Jill Mansell when she visited New Zealand last year and she said she has some gizmo on her computer which alerts her every time she is blogged or twittered, and she usually responds in person. Checked it out and she does!) But the tweets really didn’t make any sense to me.

I then took a look at Alltop and discovered a tweet which led to a blog which led to a video of a groom who whipped out his mobile to update his status on Facebook, moments after the celebrant pronounced them husband and wife!! Is this really the sort of ‘breaking news’ I need to know?

Sorry, still not convinced Twitter is for me. Photo by Southernpixel

Twitter, an Introduction

Had heard of Twitter but not tried to access it so it was good to have a reason to go there. However, having been there, I’m not sure whether it’s for me. I’m happy using emails and texts and even the good, old-fashioned telephone, so am not really interested in twittering friends and family, and the internet gives me access to sufficient other information. This YouTube clip Twouble with Twitters: SuperNews! sums up twittering rather nicely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w

Accessed two Twitter accounts - Meg Cabot and Cookbook via Twitter. Was disappointed by the Meg Cabot tweets – they didn’t mean anything and it was necessary to open the links in order to discover what each tweet was about. Felt this defeated the purpose of a short message and also proved to be very time consuming. Many of the other Twitter accounts proved to be similar - headlines only with links to blogs or newspaper articles.

Cookbook via Twitter was much more interesting. This is more what I expected to see, after having read the description of Twitter. Liked the way recipes were abbreviated – simple and to the point! Might try some out some day!