Looking back over these last few days, I am quickly reminded of my journey into Twitterdom. It only began a couple weeks ago, but in some ways it feels like I’ve jumped into a whole new universe and I am learning about ways of communication I have never used before. In the past I have resisted getting a Twitter account because I didn’t need people to know what I ate for lunch or that a squirrel was sitting on my back fence. I also hesitated to become involved in a world where it felt like a person’s negative comments were immediately pinpointed and publicly announced.
However, after interacting with the program recently, making a Twitter account and spending some time figuring out how it worked, I am realizing that there are many benefits to this type of microblogging. I am slowly beginning to see why so many people use twitter and like this kind of social media. Twitter allows a person to communicate short, personal bits of information quickly, and because a tweet has to be concise, I think followers are more likely to take the time to stop and read. With the right wording the author has an opportunity to grab the reader’s attention and actually communicate something of importance. For a library, this would be a great way to connect with the younger generations, since many of those people want instant and entertaining interaction. Tweeting about events, books, or activities meets them on their level and encourages them to become involved in the happenings.
Twitter also allows a user to get in touch with a group of people and provide updates instantly. Last summer I traveled with a group to Haiti where we worked with a team in the mountain villages, and as a group we set up a Twitter account to keep people back home updated. A couple of people were designated to tweet periodical updates about where we were and what we were doing, and this turned out to be a great way to communicate with those interested in keeping in touch with the group. As individuals we were less pressured to provide lengthy communications while away, and it still allowed the followers to feel like they were a part of the effort.
While Twitter has shown itself to have positive benefits, I think there are still negative aspects we have to be aware of. With a public account, at times we don’t know exactly who is following us, and some risk of hackers and identity theft remains present. Also, once a thought or idea is sent into Twitterdom, many people have access to it, and we never really know what might happen to it. However, while weighing the odds and using discretion, I think Twitter can provide users with many benefits that will promote interaction and communication on various levels.
Your example of twittering from Haiti sounds like an excellent use of the tool, Stephanie. Clearly your group had some interesting news to share, and a core group of users who were interested in what you were doing. I suppose that interest is harder to sustain over the long term, and so libraries using Twitter need to keep refocusing on what they’re doing and how to present it to patrons in interesting ways.
ReplyDeleteI’ve enjoyed some of the quotes and short-short stories I’ve seen on Twitter posts—including some of those would liven up a library Twitter feed (and be fun for the posting librarians).