eNetworking 101: The Blog

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Twitter in plain English & in 2.5 minutes

If you have had a hard time understanding or explaining Twitter, this short video should help.



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posted by Jill Hurst-Wahl at 8:10 PM

3 Comments:

  • Jill,

    Common Craft also has a great video explaining RSS. Watch it here.

    Cheers,

    -Sally J.
    The Practical Archivist

    By Blogger Sally J., At March 13, 2008 10:45 PM  

  • I still don't get twitter. People use it like instant messaging to send comments back and forth to each other - comments that ought to just be private.

    If you want instant messaging - get an instant message product. If you want a status update I see no reason why the ones built into virtually every social networking product today won't do.

    I frankly don't give twitter long. It doesn't fill a real need IMHO.

    By Blogger Lee Drake, At March 14, 2008 8:52 AM  

  • Lee, I have found Twitter useful for building stronger connections with others in the information industry, exchanging information & support, and doing problem solving. For example, this morning I asked if anyone had Spybot R&D TeaTime installed. Not only did I find people who did, but someone then told me how to disable it (which is what I want to do). Yesterday, a colleague was looking for a carry-on bag that would also have room for a computer. The question got answered in minutes. We did a library unconference last week here in Syracuse and some of us have been exchanging info on unconferences. Today, someone started a wiki as a place for capturing info, and publicized that on Twitter.

    Yes, we do exchange some of the normal chatter that occurs at the office coffeepot, but we also do some of the same necessary information exchange that occurs at the office coffeepot.

    The hardest part is becoming used to it AND connecting to a group that is helpful. I was able to quickly connect to those I know from conferences and blogs, but I know that others are not so lucky. One colleague in Syracuse has joined Twitter, but it may be that those he wants to talk with at a virtual coffeepot are not online.

    I know that Yvonne DiVita didn't get it at first and perhaps it took her a long time to find the right group on Twitter (and for them to find her). She does use it to promote things she has written or things she's involved in (and I do the same). Perhaps it would be interesting to find out her take on it?

    Oh...and you can do private messages on Twitter, so it does have that aspect of IM to it.

    If you've given Twitter a real try and haven't found it useful, that's okay. Not every tool is meant for everyone. However, given that there are similar tools on the market, I suspect that this type of sharing isn't going away. Perhaps it will morph into something more people find appealing?

    By Blogger Jill Hurst-Wahl, At March 14, 2008 12:00 PM  

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