#25. Tweet on Twitter

Twitter is social software that lets you post quick, short messages called “tweets.” You can post tweets on the web, or in IM, or on your cell phone. Others who have signed up as your friends or your followers will see them. Conversely, you can read other twitter feeds by following them. It’s sort of like blogging, and sort of like IM, and sort of like texting, but it has some unique characteristics that make it addictive, fun, and useful.

Some libraries are playing with Twitter. The Cleveland Public Library and the Ada Community Library in Boise, Idaho both post events and advertise services.

http://twitter.com/Cleveland_PL
http://twitter.com/adalib

Here’s an article: Twitter Explained for Librarians
And another: How Twitter Can Help At Work

Discovery Resources

Use these resources to learn more about Twitter.

• Twitter’s home page: http://twitter.com/
• Twitter in Plain English video: http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter
• Mark Glaser’s Your Guide to Microblogging and Twitter
  

Folks are having fun with Twitter. For instance, if you don’t have time to read a whole book, you can subscribe to TwitterLit: “Twittering the first lines of books so you don’t have to.”

Discovery Exercise

Your discovery exercise is to:

1. Join Twitter – twitter.com
2. Find a network of people with a common interest – it can be coworkers or people outside of work – and sign up to be friends with them. Check out this list of librarians on Twitter: http://justtweetit.com/education/librarians/
3. Blog about your experience. Include a link to your Twitter homepage in your blog entry or create a Twitter badge that will display Twitter updates in your blog’s sidebar.