Twitter101 for Librarians

Twitter 101:ONLINE 2009
Phil Bradley
http://www.twitter.com/Philbradley
@Philbradley

What is Twitter?

What does it look like?

Page Elements:

Background

‘Dashboard’

Search, lists, trends

How can librarians use Twitter?
Allows you to keep in contact with colleagues, to see what they're doing, what their interests are, read their opinions/thoughts/ideas

Keep informed about developments from publishers; both in terms of what they're publishing, but also events they're running

You can promote what your library service is doing. Attract new users, offer gifts or incentives, increase awareness and have fun!

Provide instant answers and point people in the right direction

Follow links to events, keep briefed on current affairs

Use Twitter as an RSS reader to keep up to date with blog entries

Share photographs quickly and easily, especially if using a smartphone

Ask questions using polls, Re-Tweet for maximum results

Keep involved with conferences even if you can’t attend them with 3rd party sites

Add short (3 minute) audio posts using Audioboo and add in a photograph as well!

Broaden your knowledge of a subject by following the right people/organizations

Ask questions! Answer questions!

Find new people to follow using Twitter search or 3rd party sites like WeFollow

Communicate more effectively
Discuss events as they happen
Send people Direct Messages

Follow authors

Follow dead people

And more...
Networking, both professional, friend to friend
News: new books, closing early, new staff
Marketing tool
Broadcasting content
Updating a website via Twitter

Advantages
Free
Fast
Simple
Effective
Brevity
‘Always on’
Instant information

Disadvantages
Media hype
‘Fail Whale’
Brevity (what can you say in 140 characters?)
Small number of users
Spam
3rd party applications
Viruses

Good practices: profile

Name and avatar

Location, Address, Biography

Tweets

Other (better?) interfaces

TweetDeck

What Twitter is NOT:
A time sink (unless you have time to spare)
Mr S Fry’s private playground
About breakfast/lunch/dinner
Ego boosting twaddle

Twitter Search

But wait!
There’s more...

http://www.demainlaveille.fr	289
http://philbradley.typepad.com	61
http://pilimc2.blogspot.com	20
http://www.philbradley.typepad.com	20
http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com	10
http://www.slideshare.net	4
http://irishmedicallibrarian.blogspot.com	4
http://espagnolita83.canalblog.com	4
http://digimind-evolution.com	1
http://blogendoc.blogspot.com	1

Twitter101 for Librarians

by Phil Bradley on Dec 01, 2009

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Twitter101 for Librarians — Presentation Transcript