FPL's 23 Things

Twitter (Thing 5) by EAChase

Twitter. It’s a pretty simple concept. Keep your social circle updated on what you’re doing in under 140 characters, using your mobile device (phone, PDA, etc.), instant messenger, or the Twitter website.

If you enjoy video introductions, watch Twitter in Plain English from Common Craft:

For this Thing, you will need to create a Twitter account at twitter.com. Twitter, like other services you come across, will ask you to submit the password to your email account so it can find out if your friends are already on Twitter.  Not advisable. You can find your friends on Twitter later without giving Twitter access to your e-mail account. There’s a “Skip this step” link at the bottom of the page to bypass giving your e-mail account password.

If you receive Twitter messages (“tweets”) from someone, you are “following” them. If they read your tweets, they’re your follower. Once you get your account set up, find some Twitter users to follow.  (Like all social media, it’s only fun if you’re playing with others! If you don’t know of any friends who tweet, you can always start by adding Elizabeth (EAChase) and Adam (AdamLamp)).

Read the Twitter Help Page  to get acquainted with some of the hidden Twitter features. (It even includes a HowCast video!)

But is Twitter useful for libraries?  Hmmm…. Before you decide, watch another Common Craft video:

Try using the search techniques you just learned about ( Hashtags are the number sign (#) followed by a word or phrase. These are not standardized and are assigned by Twitter users.) to see what you can learn about Frisco or libraries – or any other topic of interest.  Can you find any libraries that are reguarly tweeting?

Write a blog post with your thoughts about Twitter and, if you want to, give your Twitter account name so other FPL 23 Things participants can follow you. Can Twitter make a librarian’s task easier or allow a library to be  more effective?

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