Twitter

Ok, so I hate to say it but I'm a Twitter cynic. I actually laughed while watching the video 'Twitter in Plain English' (and I can assure you, I was laughing at it not with it). Somehow, while I think my friends are interested in some parts of my life, I really don't think they care if I'm drinking coffee, going to bed or reading a new investment book. Those kind of posts are about as interesting as Facebook's Farmville. Last year my Library was considering the use of Twitter. I set up an account and got bored with it very quickly. I also questioned friends about it and they all said the same thing: 'forget Twitter, stick to Facebook'. The Wiki entry of microblogging also indicated that 10% of Twitter users account for 80% of posts. To me, this just says that Twitter has not yet taken off.

Now I've got that out of the way I'll admit that I can see the real value of Twitter for Libraries. It is a great way to get events and services across to the community. Mosman Library (my new heroes) have shown this with their Twitter account. They have over 600 followers and I found their Tweets to be interesting and easy to read. The thing that distinguished them from other tweets (such as some of ALIAs - sorry ALIA) was that they all contained links to further information. This is very important. As Tweets can only be 140 characters or less it is important to get the main point across and then provide followers with links if they'd like to explore further. I also found Mosman's Tweets easy to read, whereas some other tweets read like complete gibberish. I think before you tweet, its important to think it through first and condense what you want to say into a succinct but clear point. Entering competitions where you have to answer a question in 25 words or less would be great practice for future Twitterers.

I think Twitter has great potential but it needs to increase in popularity in Australia.