Week 4 Reflections

I must admit that before our readings this week I was one of those individuals who did not see the usefulness of Twitter. I’m sure that on multiple occasions I made the “why do I want to know what someone ate for breakfast?” comment. I think that part of what made me hesitant is the celebrity culture associated with the site. That’s not really my cup of tea. From recent current events I could see how others were using Twitter to spread ideas and information, and I knew that my library system had a Twitter account, but I just didn’t see how it applied to me. However, after the readings, I can clearly see the benefits of using Twitter (or other microblogging services), especially in the professional setting.

I thought that it was very interesting to read about the different ways that Twitter is used, and the ways that Twitter users have initiated changes in the system over time. It’s amazing that such a simple concept could have created such a large cultural impact. The platform is perfect for presenting brief, yet (if done correctly) powerful bits of information. It’s easy to see how this could be used in a library to attract patrons to use library services and programs, as well as share other important community information.  

I gathered that one of the most important factors in making Twitter work is finding the right users to follow. This is key, because you want to follow the authoritative and informative users in your field, but if you are following too many users it can lead to information overload. It is also important to present useful and relevant information to your followers, so that they find your feed indispensible as well. I thought that the tip that Kelly (2009) gave to present information in fun, different ways was particularly helpful. It can be very easy to simply link to the information without thinking about how people will view that link or post. Most of the time people will pass by the bland, boring links without giving them a second thought, but if something sounds exciting they’ll want to find out more. This seems like common sense, but I think it can be easy to overlook. I’m interested to see how my experience with Twitter will be this semester, and what I can learn from using this new-to-me form of social media.

Kelly, D. A. (July 29, 2009). How your library may not be using twitter but should. Retrieved from http://kellyd.com/2009/07/29/how-your-library-may-not-be-using-twitter-but-should/