Wildcard: Twitter

Twitter is like a bite-sized blog.  You have 140 characters to say what it is that you’re doing. You can follow other people who Twitter if you’re interested in what they’re doing and you can gain your own followers. You’d be surprised to learn just how many people (strangers, even!)  want to know what a librarian is doing.

It’s not nearly as intimidating as a blog and you can update your status once a week or once an hour (or more); it’s up to you. I sometimes Twitter from my phone using text.

This would be a fun tool to use on the job to recommend books. When I Twitter in my daily life, I often say something about what I’m reading and link to WorldCat. It would a great tool if a handful of internet savvy staff Twittered about their great finds Their followers (staff and patrons) could bookmark the interesting stuff for use later.

Web 2.0 is definitely not a passing fad.  As I said on ning, libraries will continue to be relevant to people if we allow them to comment and participate just as they are accustomed to doing in the wider world. It’s expected. Moreover, if we don’t know about a lot of the tools out there, how will we help people use them?  How can we expect to remain information experts if we don’t keep up with what’s happening with the latest internet gizmos?