theanalogdivide » Widgets

Twittering @ Your Library

Toby — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:28:43 +0000

I was invited to lead a workshop on Twitter this afternoon at the Metropolitan Library System headquarters in Burr Ridge, IL. With a lively group ranging across all levels of Twitter use, we we able to cover many of the highlights regarding what leads to a successful Twitter presence. Many thanks to everyone who braved the snow, and I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with all the ways you can use Twitter to its fullest.

Here are the slides, if you’re into that sort of thing:

Was there a handout, you say? Was there. (PDF) I’ve also made a list of all the relevant links on my Delicious page.

Extending Twitter with Twitter Search

Toby — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:56:47 +0000

There’s been an ongoing conversation about Twitter at MPOW. A number of us have been using it fairly steadily as a sort of ad hoc internal communication protocol. By my last count, we’ve got five people on staff (3 in Adult Services, and 2 in Youth) who maintain a profile, and most of us use a third-party app like TwitterFox to stay in the loop. Since all this stuff is public, we’re not necessarily tweeting about Top Secret Library Plans For World Domination, but it’s nice to be able pick a co-workers’ brain from a distance, and perhaps get some ancillary feedback from the great collective.

But I’ve been working on some other ways to make Twitter useful from an institutional standpoint. As I mentioned in the comments on that Tame the Web piece, I’ve set up a number of widgets to troll the outer rings of Twitterdom to see how my library fits into other people’s lives. Among these tools is Twitter Search.

I’ve got several feeds for my library’s location, as well as several other key sites in the area. This includes the names of several parks, schools, and local businesses. If it’s appropriate, I can respond with appropriate information. Here’s an example of a tweet that popped up on my radar:

Of course, I knew that the Skokie Swift train line restarted its weekend service this summer. Good little reference librarian that I am, I sent out the following response:

And I got this response in return:

Our reference stats go up, the CTA gets an extra customer, and I may have just converted a non-patron into a patron. The library is getting out there, and finding ways to help where they didn’t previously exist. And it’s all thanks to Twitter Search.

Introducing SkokieVotes!

Toby — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:01:14 +0000

With election fever ramping up in my area (and all over the country), MPOW thought it would be useful to put together a directory of election resources. With so much content out there, and even more being added by the minute, I realized that it’s important to have a page that can offer both static pages as well as self-updating content. The result of our efforts is SkokieVotes, which you can see here:

After looking at a number of content aggregators, I finally went with Netvibes, due to its ease of use and aesthetically pleasing mode of presentation. I’ve been using the service as a feed aggregator for a little over a year, and it simply “works” for me as a more visually-oriented person. I like being able to take in a lot of information at a glance, and Netvibes gives the user the freedom to read stories in a specific feed as one would with a reader like Google’s or Bloglines. Individuals can also export specific items to their own reader/blog/aggregator.

I’m also a fan of their static HTML and link widgets, which enabled me to provide links to static pages. These included sites like the Village’s site and the County Clerk’s Office. While lacking in dynamic content, their value to a potential voter is unmistakable. I’m glad it allows me the ability to present both.

Give the site a look-see and let me know what you think. I’m still adding information on the local races, but the lion’s share of the content is up and running.