WILL UNWOUND #663: “Fritter”
January 23, 2012I sheepishly have to admit to devoting a half hour this past weekend (ironically after writing a blog post entitled “Wisdom”) to watching the steady stream of tweets that American Libraries magazine has been running since ALA’s Midwinter Conference in Dallas began last Friday. You’re probably thinking: is there any more frivolous way to fritter away the declining moments of one’s life than to read ALA’s Twitter stream?
The only answer I can give you are that these twitters were curiously quirky: an odd blend of the ordinary (squee…they’re playing a Taylor Swift song in my taxi), the funny (“the ALA tote bags can hold exactly 12 cans of beer and 2 cats), the commercial (“come to our exhibit booth for free pieces of chocolate”), the predictable (“wish you were here to experience the best steak dinner in Dallas”), the sad (“it’s 9PM and I’m in my jammies reading a book in bed”), the very sad (“I’m all alone in the hotel cocktail lounge drinking a whiskey sour and reading a depressing book”), and the very, very sad (“I’m reading a book in the bathroom so as not to wake up my wife.”).
Are these tweets: a) cries for help, b) calls for attention, or c) just one more manifestation of a narcissistic culture? That’s question #1.
After a half hour of these tweets, to be honest with you I felt maybe not dirty but certainly voyeuristic…as though I was peeking into someone’s bathroom window watching a man sitting on a toilet reading a book while his wife slept soundly in the adjoining bedroom. But is it really voyeurism if the man opens the bathroom window and actively invites you to take a peek? That’s question #2.
Question #3 is why is Twitter so incredibly popular especially with librarians at conferences? I have never understood Twitter, and I routinely call it Fritter in hopes that someone will be motivated to explain its time consuming value to me.
I think I understand Facebook…it’s all about getting in touch with long lost friends. I think I understand Friend Feed …it’s all about starting an on-going conversation among friends and colleagues. I think I get Flickr…post your photos of the grandkids on line for Aunt Elma and Uncle Burt in Dubuque to see. I know I get blogging … write an essay or express a concern in order to get instant reader response. These things I get and have absolutely no problem with. In fact, I think all 4 forms of social media have great potential value to move forward the human race in the name of world peace and international friendship.
But I honestly don’t get Twitter. One librarian told me he likes it because he said it’s like sitting in the middle of a public park and listening to 7 different conversations all at once.
I can’t think of anything more horrid.
Your turn.
We have a Twitter account for the library (as well as Facebook, Foursquare, Google+, Youtube and Flickr) – I see it as a way to reach all the tech savvy people and draw them into the library more often.
On a personal level, although I have my own Twitter account, I never tweet (well, maybe once). But I’m sure whoever follows me could care less!
Okay, that’s reason #1. Thanks, Cathi.
I don’t Twitter and I’m not going to think about it today. It’s my birthday and my husband said I can do anything I want today. I intend to read and eat and play computer games — Now talk about frittering. Games can be a real time waste.
Happy birthday, Irene!
Ditto — Happy birthday and indeed — do enjoy yourself because you deserve it!
I love Twitter, mainly because it allows me to chat with some of my favorite writers. On a less selfish note, it is also a good way to release relevant information quickly and to a large number of people (depending on who’s following your account), which is I believe how many libraries use it–as another outreach and information tool.
I will drop this link here–it’s from a former classmate’s blog, on her experiences with using Twitter for class: http://krystalbullers.com/2011/11/21/using-twitter-in-an-online-class/
Diana, this really helps to understand the potential value. Thanks for the link. I hope others read it.
I will also say that I have a personal Twitter for talking with friends, and a professional account linked to my WordPress blog which I use for following library-specific users and authors. I think Twitter can be part of creating a professional presence online, good for showing potential employers that you know how to use a variety of Internet tools…or it can be a vast annoyance and a time-waster…or it can be a hyper-Facebook for connecting with friends and potential friends…or anything else, really. One good thing about it is that it is very flexible.
Our library has a Twitter account. I’m not in charge of it and I don’t know what’s done with it, but I’m sure we make the least frivolous use of it possible.
I think I would like something like a news wire service if Twitter can be used in that way. As you can see, I don’t know much about it.
I think everyone experiences the urge to communicate something to a friend or loved one RIGHT NOW. Isn’t that what a cell phone is for? Why would you want to add half the planet to the communication by putting it on Twitter?
I have a twitter account which I use sporadically.
It is an interesting way to follow stuff at a conference — Beth’s “news wire service” is a good analogy.
It is a way of instantly communicating with a large group, and, at conferences, can result in opportunities for meetings that you might otherwise miss.
(On a sad note, I am part of the #alamw12leftbehind !)
Former…I can see that rationale, but a large percentage of the tweets were about personal stuff that should be classified under TMI.
I agree with Former Library Directory that Twitter can be useful at conferences when tweets focus on what is happening at the conference that might be relevant to all – even something as mundane as “They are picking the raffle winners in 5 minutes.” However, because so many of the tweets are completely extraneous, I tend not to consult it at conferences.
Beth, I would love to know the answer to those questions. By the way, the news twitters proclaimed Joe Paterno dead 12 hours before his actual demise.
I use Twitter for breaking news, especially traffic reports. It can be a time saver in traffic clogged CT.
Facebook has connected me with some interesting females from my past ….
Twitter is a waste of time in my opinion.
Agree!
tumultuous tales twittered by twits
terrifically told!
I think your experience with Twitter differs depending upon who you follow and why. I follow many news organizations,and my experience has been that news–real news–often breaks on Twitter before it breaks anywhere else. I rarely tweet, but if I do, it’s to announce a new blog post or pass along a link relative to the library world or something else of interest. The only individuals that I follow (aside from library bloggers and writers) are my kids and my niece, and I have to say that one 140 character tweet from any of them is sometimes worth a thousand words!
byn…beware what news twitters you follow. This past weekend was a good example. Several media giants twitted that Joe Paterno had died 12 hours before his actual death. It all started with tweets from the student newspaper.
Good point. I am careful. And I always confirm a Tweet elsewhere.
I must say the ALA bag could fit 2 cats and if they were sitting still I think you could get 2 12 packs of beer in there with them!
Can’t stand twitter.
Went to the Midwinter exhibits with my 6 year old daughter. She got tired after 2 aisles, but still had fun. She picked up way too many free posters — a newbie thing. I think she will be ready for TLA in San Antonio when she is 7. Now if I can just convince her grandmother to wander the exhibits with her!
Kathy, the great number of exhibits has always surprised me at MidWinter because the attendance is much smaller than at ALA Annual.
We actually saw some women from Oklahoma that had driven down just for the exhibits. I’m sure conference attendance is smaller, but the exhibits probably draw in the “locals.” And if you’re a librarian that can’t afford the conference price then $25 to see the publishers and check out the new stuff is probably a pretty good price.
Cats and beer–so the necessities are covered.
That’s the theory, I guess.
“Fritter?” You are too kind. I hate it, too. I joined, then quit. I was a Qwitter. I heard I had tweet if I was alive, so I joined again. I guess I’m a “Follower.” I Fritter too much; I do have important things to do. Seriously thinking of becoming a Quitter again.
Qwitter or Quitter?
Ninety percent of the people I follow on Twitter I unfollow within 6 months.
I Twitter because my kids communicate that way. They find it easier to monitor than the “old’ technologies, like email. I wouldn’t stick anything on a Facebook wall with a 10 foot pole.
Good grief, Lorna, is email really obsolete already?
It’s fading fast in my family. Tweets and texts are the quickest ways to reach them.
Wow! I’m feeling really, really ancient.
Answer to #3: Twitter isn’t as popular as you think. It’s hard to figure out how many people actually use Twitter because there are so many inactive accounts. Here are some facts: Only 13% of online adults use Twitter: http://www.geekwire.com/2011/twitter-rise. Only 8% of Americans use Twitter and on an average day, 2% of online adults usew Twitter: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/09/8-of-americans-use-twitte_n_794395.html
Answer to #1: I can see a use for Twitter if you run a business or run a library. It’s a great way to announce something in real time. If you’re just an individual promoting “your personal brand,” you’ll do a good job of promoting “your personal brand” to other that are also promoting “their personal brand” and annoying the rest of us. So, yes, it’s a reflection of our narcissistic culture.
jg…great comment. Thanks for the research. This helps. What exactly do you mean by the term “personal brand?” I have heard this before but don’t have a clue what it means. Does it mean “your own unique personality?”
My understanding of “personal brand” is getting people to remember you like if you were to be the next John Grisham. A writer with varied topics in her oevre has an article on that in the online issue of NINC, the Novelists, Inc. group. She said even Grisham got tired of just writing one type of book.
I was using it in a more sarcastic manner, similar to what Will calls the “Mover and Shaker” types. They’re trying to get their names out there so people recognize it for the sake of advancing their own career or at least so they seem important. Some librarians have a great personal brand, like Nancy Pearl. Others seem like they have to comment on each and every library topic just to hear themselves.
I don’t understand the attraction of Twitter (or Facebook). I don’t have enough of a life that anyone would want to follow–and quite frankly, I’m not that interested in anyone else’s tweets or posts (which I suspect are often inane)
Having said that, I suppose they have their uses but not for me. However, I was rather impressed with how Twitter was used during the Arab Spring. Only way some of the news got out.
But I’d be suspicious of much of what gets tweeted on a normal day.
I can see where it might be useful for businesses & libraries but I’d also be interested to know how many people regularly follow the tweets of a library & what they do with that information. Maybe it’s a generational thing, which I just don’t get.
CarolAnn…love your open, honest response. You raise a marvelous question: what type of person would follow a library’s twitter account?
I am not on twitter but I would likely follow my library’s twitter account so I didn’t miss any of what is going on or if they had book tips (even though I am overrun with those).
While I can understand Twitter being useful for sending out brief announcements (e.g. my brother-in-law used the example of his mother using it to let her Mary Kay customers know when she’ll be having a party), I can’t understand the use for it to let everyone know every move you make. It also cracks me up how so many of our elected officials have taken a shine to Twitter, especially during the Obama administration which makes me curious to see how many of them will be typing away on Twitter tomorrow night during the State of the Union Address.
Jeannine…politicians are the most narcissist people alive.
I love how they can’t even pretend to be interested in what the President has to say (I don’t remember all of this going on while GWB was still in office). While Twitter does have its practical uses, it seems to me it was tailor made for the narcissistic types (e.g. politicians).
I’m with you — I don’t get it either.
But then I can write 5000 words on a subject at the drop of a hat; and in relation, if a book isn’t at least 500 pages I always pause before I decide to read it — because it is to short.
So perhaps the shortness of it is what I don’t get…
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!
Linda, you are definitely a unique person and I mean that in a very good way!
Typos again –that should be “too” short
Slightly off topic, but I definitely don’t see the tweet you quote above as being sad (“it’s 9PM and I’m in my jammies reading a book in bed”) It sounds luxurious.
As a mom with work and volunteer commitments one of my favorite parts of business-related travel are moments like those above. And I don’t even have to feel guilty because, you know, I’m “at work.”
Susan…you’re right. I’m maybe reading too much into it. I think I’ll write a short story about one of those 3 “sad” tweets. Maybe I’ll combine them into one story. What do you think?
I agree with you, Susan. When I was working conference days were so full—was nice to have one or 2 evenings for just relaxing with NO obligations. And jammies and a good book might just be a wonderful part of that evening!
I use Twitter to get first-hand news from authors, musicians, and artists whose work I value. I appreciate the elimination of the middleman, especially when it also eliminates the unnecessary profit the middleman leeches from the transaction between artist and audience.
To be sure, much of the Twitterverse is narcissistic and silly. However, let that not blind us to the power of instant communication between mutually interested people. One can easily argue that Arab Spring would not have occurred without Twitter. Rebels needed to communicate quickly to keep one step ahead of police and govenment agents. Likewise, the Occupy Wall Street movement depends on Twitter to spread message rapidly without the use of traditional media, i.e., “the news.”
And this is only the beginning. Now I need to go tweet that I submitted a reply on Will Unwound…
So far, Arab Spring, seems to be the most important reason for Twitter to exist. As far as OWS is concerned, it would be nice if they tweeted exactly what it is that they want. Thanks, Stosh.
New York Times tech columnist David Pogue at first didn’t get Twitter and saw it as an exercise in self-ego-massage and as an immense time sink.
He didn’t realize that it could be used as a tool to instantly tap into the collective wisdom of one’s followers. (In this regard it is another replacement for what we used to call the reference function.)
Back in 2009, while on stage at a conference in Las Vegas, Pogue carried out a tapping-into-the-collective-wisdom experiment. (It works especially well if you happen to have 200,000 followers.)
The results of his experiment were fascinating, and so were the reactions of some of his followers to it: They helped an important tech figure prove a point, or they were gamed by him, depending on the point of view.
If you have a question, is the answer from a carefully researched, written, and edited resource better or is the answer from a crowd of strangers better? Which choice offers the path of least resistance? Which takes less work and less time? (For Pogue’s question, reliance on strangers probably worked great, unless they recommended a toxic solution. But what if you’re asking something a bit more serious, such as what to do about pain radiating from your chest into one of your arms?)
Most Twitterers have far, far fewer followers than Mr. Pogue, and few probably bomb their followers with requests for answers to questions.
Joe, good point. In the Unwinders I trust.
I don’t Tweet and rarely Facebook. But I DID learn about Heidi & Seal, and JoePa while looking at Yahoo News. Of course that news was in all three newspapers I read this morning, so I would have known anyway.
Most of what passes for news isn’t really.
Snow is mostly gone but it is windy and chilly here in Chicagoland. I am still looking for a dog. If I knew how to Twitter/Tweet and had an account and you all followed me, you would know that already.
A dog or a puppy?
NO pupoy. Looking for an older dog, preferably a couch potato though I do have a fenced yard for running around. I have several shelters bookmarked but they are all at least a half hour drive. I won’t get a dog from a pet store – and they are all puppies anyway.
I’d recommend a rescue org. since they often have an abundance of pretrained, adult dogs. We got our last girl from a group in Minnesota and for three years she has been perfect. Too perfect. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop (and be chewed on).
I am planning to eventually get on Twitter, mostly to follow the organizations I find most interesting and to follow writers, et al.
The advice I got from friends was to start slow and cautiously and that it is polite to follow people who follow you though you don’t have to do so.
I am not on Facebook yet, but I see there are things I am missing — one cousin has his violin concerts on his Facebook page and until I get on I won’t get to hear them since we don’t live near each other.
I think that the new technologies can be interesting and helpful if the people using them are interesting and helpful and insightful and educated, but if the people are dull their Tweets and Facebook pages will be dull.
What I dislike about Facebook is what has been the lack of nuance of connection. My new just barely acquaintances don’t need to know the things about my life that my confidantes/confidants and favorite cousins do. I have a friend who quit it for that reason. She knew none of the other people her friend who inveigled her into it knew and did not like their hearing her every thought.
My dad LOATHED Christmas newsletters with all of his heart. I just can imagine what he’d say about Facebook (and Twitter) in terms of their being a bit like a Christmas newsletter on steroids year round.
I found everyone’s comments interesting.
Brenda, my big issue with all social media is the time sink. When is there time to read Chaucer?
Newsflash: Some people think Chaucer is a time sink. I know I did the first two times I read it. Just saying.
Agree. Chaucer’s not for everyone. Never said he was. When it comes to time sinks everyone makes their own decision. Me? I just can’t see where Fritter would be helpful to me. From the answers today I can see why it is helpful to others.
(Caveat: I’ve only glanced through the comments briefly, not read them in depth, so I may be repeating what’s already been said.)
The joke I’ve heard that has a lot of truth in it is something along the lines of: “Facebook is for realizing how little you have in common with people you know, and Twitter is for realizing how much you have in common with people you don’t.”
There’s something about the ephemeral nature of Twitter conversations that appeals to me. I’ve made some great professional connections there, and have learned a lot about what librarians are doing in other parts of the country.
(I wrote a post about Twitter on my blog a while back, and all of the points I made in it still hold true: http://letterstoayounglibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/07/all-we-are-saying-is-give-twitter.html)
Excellent blog post, Jessica. Thanks for the link.
The USGS uses Twitter to detect and track earthquakes: http://ecopolitology.org/2010/01/07/usgs-develops-twitter-based-earthquake-detection-system/
On a less apocalyptic level, one of my favorite daily uses of Twitter is to track the Boston area’s public transit system, as individual Tweets are almost always faster than the MBTA’s own notification systems for delays and other problems. Should I leave work on time, or should I give myself an extra fifteen minutes? Twitter will tell me at a glance. Twitter also lets New England commuters blow off steam collectively when the T lets us down, as misery loves company… and sympathy.
I also use Twitter to take notes at conferences. Not only does this mean that I can immediately share what I’m learning with my colleagues, but I can also engage in a backchannel discussion with other conference participants and interested lurkers. ALA, ACRL, and other organizations have attempted to offer virtual conference experiences, with mixed results. Following a Twitter conference hashtag requires zero infrastructure yet offers a pretty representative summary of what’s being presented (especially when you have a critical mass of savvy Twitterers).
The value of Twitter is a direct function of what sort of filters you employ. Simply following the hashtag #alamw12 is going to produce a disproportionate amount of noise to signal, but if you zeroed in on hashtags for individual divisions, roundtables, or other events — such as #ttt for Top Technology Trends, #alayma for Youth Media Awards, or #totebag for the truly snarky backchannel — you’d get much more bang for your buck.
I’m not going to argue with your point that most Tweets are frivolous in nature, but even then there’s more going on there than meets the eye. Take, for instance, people who Tweet as they follow sporting events, political debates, or other forms of “passive” entertainment on television. This new kind of instant commentary reacts not only to what’s happening on TV but to other people’s Tweets, forming a dynamic layer of metacommentary that can be just as interesting (or even more so!) than the event itself. Livetweeting the television coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, for example, was a great way to enjoy the games vicariously with people from all over the world.
Most recently, however, I was a number of Harvard library staffers who Tweeted from a series of Town Hall Meetings offered by our administration last Thursday, during which we were given some of the details of our impending reorganization and potential workforce reductions. While it’s true that our Twitter hashtag (#hlth) had both its share of facts and misinformation, it broke the news that something extraordinary was happening that would have repercussions for other academic research libraries — news that would not have been circulated otherwise until much later on in the process. While this was no Arab Spring, Twitter enabled us to circumvent the traditional hierarchical communication structure in place at Harvard and start a meaningful dialogue amongst ourselves and the rest of the library world. To those of us used to getting the silent treatment from The Powers That Be, this has felt pretty revolutionary to us.
I’m sorry you don’t “get” Twitter, Will, but I hope I’ve given you a handful of reasons to give it another try or two. You sure figured out this blogging thing– I’m sure you could find a way to translate your wit and wisdom into 140 characters or less as well.
Tom, I’ve read some things about the “Harvard Winter.” Pretty scary stuff, no doubt, for the existing staff. Did Twitter open up a more honest dialogue with the Harvard administation?
That remains to be seen, Will, but one thing’s for certain- thanks to Twitter and other forms of social media our Library Board, Provost, and Executive Director got instant feedback that their Town Hall Meetings had been a PR disaster. Where we go from here depends in no small part on how administration chooses to engage staff and other stakeholders via these new types of communications channels.
I’m a huge admirer of Harvard (one of my sons graduated from there) and I am very interested in the Harvard Library situation for several reasons: 1) I have heard something that I have not been able to verify: that existing staff are being mandated to create skill-set profiles of themselves, which to me sounds like they are all being fired and asked to reapply for their jobs. That’s unconventional to say the least and I wonder if this is real or the stuff of urban legend. 2) I have heard and again cannot verify that certain traditional library crafts such as cataloging and human reference are being de-emphasized or at least de-valued. I’d love to know the facts but have really not found any good sources on the net. Can you point me in a good direction? Thanks, Tom.
Will,
1. The so-called “Employee Profiles” are real. While we have been told that they aren’t mandatory, I can’t see how someone would get away with not filling one out if they were serious about staying at Harvard through the reorganization.
2. At this time no one has been asked to reapply for their jobs, but once the reorg plan has been approved by President Faust we will each be notified of whether our jobs are considered to be “local” and thus subject to final determination by our respective school and/or dean(s), or whether we fall into the new “Shared Services” category for University-wide library functions such as technical processing, access services, etc.
3. We have been told that the Shared Services workforce WILL be reduced by a combination of voluntary and involuntary departures. Of those jobs that remain, some of us will be assigned to new ones without having to go through the application process, but at least some of these new positions will require staff to re-apply and compete against their peers. We have been assured however that this process will be internal only, and that candidates will not be competing with external applicants for these jobs.
4. We have not been given any target numbers or percentages for workforce/budget reduction, but last week’s emphasis was on creating a more efficient workforce- i.e., “doing more with less”.
I can’t really speak to the devaluation of cataloging or reference except insofar as these services relate to the above points, as I’m in access services. What I can say is that if you want to keep up with events at Harvard as they unfold you should really follow Chris Bourg’s The Feral Librarian: http://chrisbourg.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/update-on-whats-happening-at-harvard/. Chris is an associate librarian at Stanford, but she’s done some serious yeoman’s work in sifting fact from fiction about last week’s meetings and the shape of things to come.
Tom, what strikes me from what you have written is that Harvard libraries would appear from the outside anyway to be in a state of anarchy with no clear path toward a re-ordering. This kind of “creative anarchy” approach is one strategy that can be used to “break things down” in order to build them back up. It’s a wild roller coaster ride for everyone involved with more questions than answers. Good luck and buckle your seat belt. In the end, what Harvard creates will probably be scrutinized and copied by other large research universities. Harvard sets the tone, and so this will be watched closely. Thanks for the link.
Hmmm. Growing up in the shadow of Harvard for the first 20-some-odd years of my life, I was always told that, if you took a job at the school at all, to immediately be on the lookout for something else as you would get beaten down quickly, treated like dirt, and underpaid compared to other colleges and universities in the area. This was always in reference to non-professional jobs – maintenance, clerical, cafeteria, etc. Wonder if there is the same feeling among those with professional level jobs at the school? (Don’t expect anyone working there to answer this, of course. Just musing.)
What cracks me up is how desperate some are to get into the Ivy League Universities, especially when they have the same hiring practices that state universities and community colleges have (e.g. “visiting professor” so no chance for tenure and they treat the GAs like crap, too).
As an aside, I did enjoy saying this around my brother-in-law since he got his masters degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania (even though it was his wife, my sister Michele, who asked the question). My sister wanted to know how the Ivy League got its name. I read that a sports reporter for the NY Times was covering a Columbia-Harvard football game & he wrote that watching this game was “like watching ivy grow.” I’m sure plenty will debate that but I did get a laugh out of that.
Susan, thanks for the info. I had no idea. I have absolutely idolized Harvard.
I don’t twitter because it honestly sounds like something you would do alone behind closed doors. I don’t follow twitter because I can’t see something posted in whatever limited word count it demands being that interesting or comprehensive. Our library doesn’t have a twitter account (unless I’m unaware of it), and I wouldn’t contribute to it if we did. If I want to follow something, say SHARP, for instance, I use list servs, websites, or blogs. I don’t think I’m into anything that much to require me to follow it through twitter.
As far as conferences, I’ve been staying away from those for a while.
Facebook is for people I genuine want to keep contact with or that post really interesting things on their pages. If they don’t or irritate me, they get defriended.
Doesn’t defending someone just add more stress to life? Glad I’m not involved in Facebook.
Nope. Defriending doesn’t stress me out at all. Never has. I don’t take myself that seriously, and I don’t take facebook that seriously. I’ve unfriended my own relatives.
It’s not that crucial unless you make it so.
But don’t your “defends” feel like rejects?
1. Um…Will, what are “defends”? I’m curious where you got that term from.
2. I am secure in my knowledge that being defriended by me is not an earth shattering loss since I rarely post, cannot be detected if the person has 400 to 700 friends, and should even be remotely symbolic of the entirety of my emotions toward a person (hey, I had a friend who came across as a sniveling moron on facebook, so I unfriended him, but I still talk to him).
If someone thinks me “defriending” them on facebook is that crucial to their life, I really need them to re-examine their connection to facebook. Seriously.
Furthermore, most of my friends understand who I am and the way I operate, so most know if they have been “unfriended”, it’s for a good reason. See, Will, I’m not a sparer of feelings, so my friends are very well aware that if they are thin-skinned enough to get upset about defriending…then they are not going to last long in my virtual or tangible world.
I sure don’t see the allure of Twitter. Total waste of time in my book. I have an account because of an online class but I can’t even remember the login or password. No loss.
rural…good honest comment. Thanks.
The problem with Twitter is that it takes too much time and presents its users with too much to read. Who needs that? Fortunately, a solution has been devised.
Love this. Nano blogging. The next big thing. Thanks for the laugh, Joe.
There would not be so many disparaging comments about Twitter if you all came to my Twitter Basics class at a public library in CT. I will convince you within ten minutes of its value, not only to you personally, but to your library or your small business. The number 1 reason you need to either monitor Twitter personally or actually Tweet if you are a library, non-profit, or business: to express YOUR view or YOUR message and not have someone else characterize you or label you. Is this not what libraries and librarians are complaining about-that our communities don’t really know who we are and what we do? Well Twitter is a way of telling people in those short 140 character tweets, exactly who we are.
Susannah…good point. Thanks.
Speaking of Twitter and television…
“Social media increasingly part of the TV experience”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/digital/biz-categories-technology/social-media-increasingly-part-of-the-tv-experience/article2307062/