Blogs and Twitter for Individuals and Institutions Presented by Graham Lavender McGill Library October 22, 2010
Sep 07, 2014
Blogs and Twitter for Individuals and
InstitutionsPresented by
Graham LavenderMcGill Library
October 22, 2010
• Join the conversation
• Promote yourself
WHY BLOG (OR USE TWITTER)?
“A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly
displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to
maintain or add content to a blog.”- Wikipedia
WHAT IS A BLOG?
TOP 10 BLOGS
• “Biblioblogosphere”
• LISWiki
• Walt Crawford’s Liblog Landscape
LIS BLOGS
• Currency
• Wide range of viewpoints
• Learn about the community
WHY YOU SHOULD READ BLOGS
• Ask your friends for recommendations
• Blogrolls: read your favourite bloggers’ favourite blogs
• Set up an RSS feed reader
• Leave comments
HOW TO READ BLOGS
• You are an exhibitionist• You were inspired by a really excellent
talk• You enjoy writing
• You want to impress potential employers
• You want to become a participant in the online conversation
REASONS TO START YOUR OWN BLOG
REASONS TO NOT START YOUR OWN BLOG
http://www.flickr.com/photos/remibridot/2218573670/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/verityatthedisco/4193432039/
MY BLOG
http://inspiredlibraryschoolstudent.wordpress.com/
• Have a focus
• Write at least two interesting posts before you start advertising
• Don’t obsess over the layout at first
• Advertise, advertise, advertise
STARTING YOUR OWN BLOG
• Start with your friends, classmates, colleagues
• Add yourself to the LISWiki• Leave comments on other blogs,
especially ones on a similar topic• Write posts linking to posts from
other blogs• Add your URL to your email
signature and business card
ADVERTISING YOUR BLOG
• Visit your favourite blogs, and try to discover some new ones
• Don't worry that you always have to be 100% original and groundbreaking
• Solicit guest posts
• Don't take yourself too seriously
STAYING MOTIVATED
• Established bloggers want to help you
• Not many ILT students and information technicians are blogging
• Start thinking and writing about the trends and issues they don't teach in school
• You have more to say than you think
FOR STUDENTS
McGill Library has two blogs:
• The McGill Library Blog (for students, faculty, and other clients)• The McGill Library Staff Blog (for
McGill Library staff)
MCGILL LIBRARY BLOGS
MCGILL LIBRARY STAFF BLOG
• Prepare a business case• Start with a small group of people
who are ready and willing to post• Create guidelines
• Get support from the top• Don’t worry that it will be as hard
to maintain as a website
LESSONS LEARNED: THE MCGILL LIBRARY
EXPERIENCE
MICROBLOGGING (TWITTER)
Micro = very smallBlogging = blogging
• I wrote about the CLA on my blog• I blogged about the CLA
• I posted a blog post about the CLA
But
• I wrote about the CLA on Twitter• I tweeted about the CLA
• I posted a tweet about the CLA
WORD USAGE
http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1417
• Like blogging, but each post is limited to 140 characters
• Popular with celebrities and “celebrities”
• Post to Twitter through text message, browser, or desktop
application
Lifehacker’s Five Best Twitter Clients
Twitter is:
• More immediate• Less flexible in terms of length &
content
Why not do both?
TWITTER VS. BLOGGING
• What I’m doing right now
•What I’m going to be doing in the near future
•What my friends are doing now/in the near future
•What you should be doing now/in the near future
TWITTER FOR INDIVIDUALS
At McGill:•Promote new services and events•Interact directly with students
(examples: #1, #2)•Tweet while working on chat
reference•Cheat sheet of possible tweets•Training (more than you might
expect)
TWITTER FOR INSTITUTIONS
• Accept that it will be scary
• Use it to join the conversation
• Use it to promote yourself
• There’s nothing stopping you – DO IT!
CONCLUSION
Thank you!
Look me up online:The Inspired Library School Student
Twitter: @guybrariangMy shared items on Google Reader
FacebookLinkedIn
Flickr
THANK YOU