Twitter is the world’s most popular microblogging site. Users share real time thoughts in 140 character bites. The service has changed the way people communicate and share on the web. While its been credited with everything from oversharing to coordinating revolutions, the service offers libraries a unique opportunity to connect directly with users. Learn how to find out what people are saying about your library, respond and create a buzz for your library or library special event.

1. Twitter
Attribution: dbarefoot

2. http://www.slideshare.net/chadmairn
@cmairn

3. Twitter asks “what’s
happening” and makes the
answer spread across the
globe to millions,
immediately.
Source: http://goo.gl/st9DH

4. Source: http://goo.gl/st9DH

5. Some Terminology
• Twitter - a free social networking and micro-blogging service that
enables users to send and read messages known as tweets.
• Tweet - text-based post of up to 140 characters displayed on the
author's profile page and delivered to the author's followers.
• Tweeple – Twitter people, Twitter members, Twitter users.
• Tweetup - Twitter meetups.
• RT / Retweet – when you repeat a tweet from someone else.
Can be considered citing a source. (RT @mashable Twitter's 1,928 Percent
Growth and Other Notable Social Media Stats http://awe.sm/XNu)
• @replies – when someone replies to @yourtwitterusername (aka,
handle). The more @replies you have the higher your Twitter
influence.

6. Why should I care?
• Create an account and find out. Experience
Twitter!
• Share ideas and events. Spread your message
easily!
• Connect with people and ideas. Bring in new users
who may never find your services otherwise.
• Think creatively and be the trend setter. Make
Twitter whatever you want it to do or be.
• Discovery tool! Follow trends via #hashtags,
twitturly.com, twitscoop.com, search.twitter.com,
etc. and re-tweet them and/or comment on them.

7. Why Should I Care?
• Can be used to help circulate news before major news
outlets do it.
• Find people you know and follow them. Look at people they
know and if they are interesting, then follow them too.
• Associated Press Stylebook added ―Twitter‖ and ―Texting‖
to the latest edition. Follow them @APStylebook.
• Tweet about company successes and flaws. You will be
amazed how quickly some companies reply.
• I ―attend‖ conferences even though I am not really there by
following hashtags (e.g., #ALA2011).
• This is not an exhaustive list. There are tons more that you
can do with Twitter.

8. Finding People to Follow
• Search by name
• Find users via email account
• Discover common interests at wefollow.com
• Explore your friend’s friends

9. Do you really need
to know what
everyone is doing
all the time?

11. Twitter helps people share and connect ideas. You can
also find people that will help you discover new things!
Kind of like a library, right?
Clive Thompson (AKA, @pomeranian99) mentions
―ambient awareness‖ in that ―each little update — each
individual bit of social information — is insignificant on
its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together,
over time, the little snippets coalesce into a
surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and
family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a
pointillist painting‖ – filled with blended color and
meaning.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?

12. How can
you use
Twitter?

13. I use Twitter to connect with other
users and to share content and
ideas. I discover something new and
useful every day thanks to Twitter!
Note: only 138 characters (with spaces) 

15. Mentions, re-tweets, follows etc.

16. Expand a tweet for more information (e.g., location)

18. Searches and Lists

19. Tweet As A Group Using CoTweet

23. Block and Report Spam

27. Give colleagues and customers the
option to send direct messages to your
Twitter account. It is another way for
them to stay in contact with you!

28. Tweet issues and get replies
and sometimes fixes

29. Find out what is trending on Twitter and
support/enhance it with authoritative resources.
The U.S. Congressional Twitter Directory, http://goo.gl/s1sVZ
New Congressional Committee Must
Put National Interest First.
http://bit.ly/qUrYJr)

30. Follow industry leaders and
reach out to them.

32. St. Pete Times article: http://goo.gl/bMi1D
Tweeted Jedi Path video: http://goo.gl/bwSTu

33. You can auto-populate
your ShareSquare space
with Tweets!

34. More info at: http://paper.li/

35. http://paper.li/cmairn

36. Twitter Groups (i.e., Twibes) I belong to:
librarians, EdTech, and Drummers.

37. Try using
for class conversations!

39. Use class #hashtags

40. What are #hashtags?
.org/
A hashtag is a ―convention for adding additional context and metadata to your
tweets.‖ They are basically tags to help better organize tweets. (e.g., The next
tweets are the main points from my Pecha Kucha session ―Strategies for the Mobile Future of Libraries‖ at
#CIL2009 #mobilelib)
For more information check out: http://mashable.com/2009/05/17/twitter-hashtags/

41. Create Lists

42. Build a widget (http://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets), then create a
new page in a CMS or website by simply pasting code.

43. Promote
library news
via various
channels --
Library Blog,
Twitter,
Toolbars,
etc.

44. You can use Yahoo Pipes or other mashup tools to create
new/useful content for your users.
This Pipe looks complex (and it is), but you can easily clone Pipes based
around Twitter and modify them for your use.

45. This pipe searches Twitter and returns the results with the username,
time, and source embedded in the description.

46. Twitter Applications
TwitterBerry
There are thousands!! Check out
http://goo.gl/ptN0C for a good list.
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/futileboy/3026065024/

47. Twitter visualizations
http://mashable.com/2009/03/16/twitter-visualizations/
Minsh: underwater social world
TwitterThoughts
Twitter Stream Graph Twitter Earth
Twitter Blocks
TweetStats

48. Why are you doing this?

49. Quick Demo

50. Virtual Petting Zoo
Let’s
Hangout!
gplus.to/chadmairn

51. Contact Information
Let’s
Hangout!
gplus.to/chadmairn