In this post I am going to be talking about my experiences with Twitter, Facebook, ALA Connect, LibraryThing, GoodReads, and Instant Messaging.
Facebook and Twitter:
I have been on Facebook since it started and I remember when Facebook was just for college students. I mainly use Facebook for my own social life and to lurk on the lives of people that I know.
I started using Twitter heavily about a year ago and I think that Twitter is something that you definitely need to try for a week or 2 before you see if you like it. I think that Twitter can be a little confusing when you first start it. However, sometimes I find myself prefering Twitter more than Facebook. For me, Twitter is like having a more constant and frequently updated facebook newsfeed without pictures. When I was searching for library jobs Twitter was a very helpful tool because I followed library job sites. I also received articles about getting a job, writing a resume, and conducting interviews. What I like about Twitter is the imediacy of it. You get updates much faster and more frequent than on Facebook.
So, how can libraries use Facebook and Twitter effectively? I think that Facebook and Twitter are fantastic ways for the library to market itself and in some ways are like less formal newsletters. I've often seen libraries using their facebook and twitter pages to announce events, book news, and pictures from programs. Some more creative uses of Facebook and Twitter have included asking followers to stump the librarian with their reference questions (Skokie Public Library) , asking followers what they are currently reading, and providing minute updates of program highlights (NYPL).
LibraryThing and GoodReads
I became familiar with LibraryThing at library school when my children's literature class had us use librarything as a way to keep track of our current reads and post reviews. This week I became more familiar with GoodReads too. I enjoy both of these tools greatly and think that they are great tools to keep track of what you are reading and to see what other people are reading. I enjoy both sites for different reasons. I think that GoodReads is a little more user friendly and I really like the list feature. I remember one time I was looking at some of the lists and noticed that Twilight appeared in lists such as Books You Have to Read, and Books that I Hate. I think that LibraryThing is a little better to keep track of your library. I really like the tag feature of librarything. Unfortunately, although I do enjoy librarything and goodreads a lot, I am not deligent enough with my use of them to keep track of all of the books I read.
ALA Connect
This week I explored ALA Connect a little more. I have been a member for a while, but I wasn't using it. I was a little disapointed with ALA Connect and am not sure that I will be using it much. Looking at the groups, I noticed that many groups did not update periodically. I think that I will most likely use ALA Connect as a tool to network and find out the contact information of people from other libraries.
Instant Messaging
The instant messaging that I find the most convenient for myself is Google's gchat. I've never been a big user of other instant messaging services and I didn't sign up for any of the ones listed because I don't know anyone's screennames. However, I do think that Instant Messaging is a great service that all libraries should provide. I am a big fan of Meebo. However, I have never worked as a librarian answering questions on Meebo, so my opinion might change. What I like about Meebo is that its widget is easily visible and accessible to patrons. I like how the Meebo chat widget can be to the side of every page on the library's website. I have seen a few other library
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