#9 – Twitter

Have you heard people talking about Twitter? Wonder what a “tweet” is? Well, get ready for some fun! First, watch this Twitter tutorial video:

Thing #9 – Twitter

Twitter allows each user to send a short update on their current activity to a selected group of friends from a computer or mobile phone. Restrained by text message technology to a limit of just 140 characters, users answer the question: “What are you doing?” in as straightforward or creative a way as they choose. These posts are shared via the web to either the world or to the users’ friends.

Users can access Twitter messages—called “Tweets”—via the Web, via an RSS feed, and via text on their mobile phones or any number of third part apps. Critics divide users into two areas: social updating and microblogging. Accessing a Twitter user, one might find an update on his or her day, a direct message to another Twitterer, or a bit of wit and wisdom.

Libraries are using Twitter as well as a means to update content on the Web or for alert services.

Further Reading:

• Twitter- The Tweet that Shook the World
• Making the Most of Twitter
• All a Twitter: Want to Try Microblogging? 2008 article in School Library Journal.
• Seven Tips for New Twitter Users

Activites for Thing #9:

1. Visit Twitter and sign up for a free account. Try a few tweets.
2. Visit the Devon Libraries twitter account and “follow” it.
3. Search Twitter for anything that interests you to explore how people use this tool. What conversations did you find?
4. Blog about the experience and be sure to post your Twitter username there so others can see it and follow you. Did you like micro-blogging? How else could libraries use Twitter? How could you use Twitter?