Do Librarians Dream of Electric Tweets? Making the most of blogs & microblogging

Making the most of blogs & microblogging
12 May 2010
Gareth J Johnson,
Document Supply & Repository Manager
University of Leicester
Do Librarians Dream of ElectricTweets?
Image: http://www.officialpsds.com/Twitter-Bird-3-PSD31850.html

Highlights Today
What is blogging and microblogging – and why does it matter?
Making the most of blogging and microblogging
Experiences and applications
The good, the bad and the ugly
…and please tweet away using #ustlghashtag

Leicester University
Top 20 in all National tables
91% student satisfaction rate
6th Highest citations rates relative to size
23,000 students
41% Distance Learners
Around 1000 academic staff
93% submitted for RAE ’08
87% determined to be producing internationally significant research
4 Colleges
Moved from faculty structure this academic year

DWL Facts
Multi-award winning
1500 User spaces
38km shelving
1M+ volumes on shelves
350 PCs + wireless network
13 Group study rooms
Graduate Media Zoo
2 IT training suites
Also houses Careers, Accessibility & Student Learning Depts
www.le.ac.uk/li/about/building/factsandfigures.htm

Jargon Busting
Post
To send a microblog message or upload an entry onto a blog.
Tweet
A single twitter posted message (or synonymous with post)
Retweet (RT)
To re-send another person’s message
Social networking
Interaction in the Web 2 world, generally not mediated or closed and outside Organisation 1.0 communication routes
Crowdsourcing
To solve a problem or resolve a task through offering it (out-sourcing) to the world at large for input

What Social Networking Is & Isn’t
Isn’t
Static
One way
Formal (usually)
Private (mostly)
Organisation 1.0
Everything it’s cracked up to be
Is
Dynamic
Interrogative
Social (usually)
Public (mostly)
Organisation 2.0
Buzzwordtastic

Blogs vs Twitter
Twitter (microblogging)
Short
Instantaneous
Ephemeral
Links & text
1 core site, many apps
Blogs
Any length
Reflective
Longer lasting
Text, links & media
Many core sites, many apps
See video references for broader examples

What Use Are They?
Because they offer powerful professional tools
Answering queries and enquiries
Professional updating
Sharing experiences and ideas
Developing and maintaining professional networks
Why should my organisation use them?
Benefit to staff development
Staff motivation and satisfaction
Promotion and visibility in a new arena
Perceptions of engaging with new technologies &readers

Blogs
Mature and respected technologies
Still powerful if less sexy
Useful for promotion, sharing experiences, reflective practice & crowdsourcing
Form a knowledge based resource over time
e.g conference or project reports
Can be an easier sell to senior management
Well established and almost mainstream
Can answer marketing or advocacy needs

Planning for Great Blogs
Readership
Target audience & developing return visits
Niche or broad in scope
Tone
Authoritative or informal
Casual or wordy
Accessible or specialist
Eye candy
Look and feel of the UI and visitor experience
Corporate branding & design rules
Promotion
Cross promote where ever you can (A.B.M!)

Build a Better Post
Message & Length
Clarity and purpose of each post
Crowdsource a challenge seeking input
Promote activities and build attention
Regularity
Use a themed series of posts
Keep them coming to keep attention
Rainy day posts
Conversation
Respond to comments & add value through insights
Develop a community of practice

What Makes a Good Post?
Scholarly
Engaging
Challenging
Readable
Informative
Novel
Questioning
Knowledgeable
Reflective
Structured
Insightful
Any good post should meet a least three of these areas

UoL Library Blog
Style & purpose
Informal but professional tone
Target audience of library and institution
Started quietly to gain voice
Went public after a month
Core of authors although all invited
External cloud based platform (WordPress)
High customisability
Low technical requirements

Twitter

Twitter
Professional networks and networking
“Enhanced my professional networks more in 2 years than CILIP has in 15”
Involvement in local projects and community
Self-selected for engagers and enthusiasts
A resource for enquiry resolution
Friendlier & more engaged than mailing lists
Instantaneous feedback & crowdsourcing
Cross pollination of blogging & other endeavours
Are people talking about your service?
Search on #tags, monitor twitterfall or saved searches
How often are your messages retweeted?

What Makes a Good Tweet
Be responsive
Be part of the conversation
Link, link, link
Enhances discoverability
Cross promotion
Don’t feed the trolls
Walk away, block, unfollow
Be Human
Be prepared to share, honestly
Don’t simply Automate
OK as part of a feed
Keep it frequent
Once a day ain’t enough
Mix your media
Twitpic, YouTube, Flickr, Blip.fm etc

Followers & Following
Initially pick from a trusted source
Phil Bradley maintains a list of librarians
Personal recommendations, conferences etc
Following rules of thumb
Those who follow you
Those who talk about things that interest you
Those who reply or retweet you
Individuals of particular interest
Don’t have to follow to make an @ reply
But do for Direct Messages (DM)

Tracking the Conversation
Twitter Fall for live back channel
Twapper Keeper stores #tag threads
Wordle capturing the sentiment of a #tag feed
Tweet Deck allows multiple groupings of followers
Twhirl & Echofon simple but powerful email-like twitter client
FriendFeed and Twitter Lists

Experiences & Applications

When Worlds Collide!!!
Social Networking is here
But it can also be here

Concerns & Brickbats
Concerns over staff time
Compare/contrast with email implementation or the telephone!
Over stepping the mark
Concerns over splitting personal from professional
Be prepared for a slap down from someone somewhere sometime
Technology concerns
Getting a twitter client installed
Isn’t email good enough?
Services blocked or restricted
Stalkers and hidden followers
When openness bites you in the ass

Convincing Management
Justifying it to senior management
“It isn’t suitable for US!”, “It’s just anther tool I have to learn”, “It might go away tomorrow”
Can be the hardest battle.
Prepare to make an business case or informal argument
Point to established peers or exemplars
Try the following arguments
I using it to monitor sentiment about our library!
I using it to to keep an eye on our competitors!
I using it to handle customer service/enquiries!
I using it to network with other librarians and academics!
I using it to promote our library/service!
I using it as a cost-neutral service marketing tool!

Final Thoughts
Blogs & microblogs can fulfil different needs
Consider your audience(s) & evaluate your current communication channels
What works for us might not work for you
Share your experiences openly
Find what fits your needs and ethos
Be frequent, be responsive and avoid auto-responses
Better to start small and often, than big and static
Experiment with all – don’t commit to one
Share this out across a team
Go where your core audience is
Don’t expect them to come to where you are going

The Leicester Web 2.0 Community

Gareth J Johnson, DS&R Manager
Email: gjj6@le.ac.uk
Tel: extn 0116-252-2039
Web 2.0: llordllama
Web 1: http://tinyurl.com/cfuhdz
Questions?
Contacts & Questions

References
5 Excuses for using Twitter at Work
http://twittown.com/social-networks/twitter/twitter-blog/five-excuses-using-twitter-work
Bleeting definition
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleeting
Bradley, P. (2009) What is twitter? Twitter for librarians, http://www.philb.com/twitter.htm
British Librarians on Twitter, http://tweepml.org/100-British-Librarians-on-Twitter/
Briggs, D. (2010) Learning Pool’s Free Twitter Guide, http://bit.ly/lptwitter
Contrasting Blogs, Twitter & Library News (video), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1nJQKsLgM0

References
Explaining Twitter Simply (video), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4__htJ-IdU
Johnson, Gareth. (2009) The unspoken rules of blogging, CILIP Gazette, 14th August 2009
Leicester UoL Web 2.0 Community
http://tinyurl.com/yjznum2
Pettey & Tudor (2010) Gartner Reveals Five Social Software Predictions for 2010 and Beyond, http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1293114
Talk slides, www.slideshare.net/GazJJohnson
UoL Library Blog
http://uollibraryblog.wordpress.com

Do Librarians Dream of Electric Tweets? Making the most of blogs & microblogging

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