I'm really loving the way this course is giving me "permission" to sit down and spend time exploring things like Twitter and RSS feeds, and thinking about them in the context of my professional life. As I mentioned in an earlier post I had actually signed up to Twitter prior to this course - last September in fact. The main purpose was to be able to "follow" the library I was then working in, to see how it was using Twitter as a marketing tool. And when a colleague was away at a conference I logged in to see what he was tweeting about, but there was so much tweeting happening I had to log off or else I wouldn't have got any work done. After that Twitter had disappeared off my horizon, until Thing 4 brought it back to my attention. Thanks for the really clear instructions. Whoever is writing them is doing a fantastic job. I also appreciate the way they put forward why this can be a valuable tool for us, in our jobs.
I was already following Stephen Abram @sabram, as I had heard him speak at conference last year and thought he was quite visionary. Now I've signed up to "follow" CPD23, Christchurch Public Library, New York Public Library (to see how other libraries are using Twitter to promote their resources and services), InfoLit Group (because this is an area I have an interest in), and LoneWolfMLS (recommended by a colleague I've met online from doing this course, to help with current awareness).
And I sent my first tweet out into ether, which was quite a milestone. I can see that as my network grows, it could be a useful discussion tool, but it's early days yet.
Then it was on to RSS feeds, and what a useful tool they are. Great to have all the updates gathered in one place. Now of course, I have to build time into my day to have a look at what has been posted. And because, I have to confess, Google Reader is also new to me, it's going to take some time working out the best/most efficient way to use its features. One question which immediately springs to mind though - how do you remove items from your Reader account? Or does material just keep accumulating?
Pushnote will have to stay a mystery to me for a while longer, as I don't have easy access to Chrome or Firefox. I certainly feel I've learnt a lot from this week's assignment though.
I was already following Stephen Abram @sabram, as I had heard him speak at conference last year and thought he was quite visionary. Now I've signed up to "follow" CPD23, Christchurch Public Library, New York Public Library (to see how other libraries are using Twitter to promote their resources and services), InfoLit Group (because this is an area I have an interest in), and LoneWolfMLS (recommended by a colleague I've met online from doing this course, to help with current awareness).
And I sent my first tweet out into ether, which was quite a milestone. I can see that as my network grows, it could be a useful discussion tool, but it's early days yet.
Then it was on to RSS feeds, and what a useful tool they are. Great to have all the updates gathered in one place. Now of course, I have to build time into my day to have a look at what has been posted. And because, I have to confess, Google Reader is also new to me, it's going to take some time working out the best/most efficient way to use its features. One question which immediately springs to mind though - how do you remove items from your Reader account? Or does material just keep accumulating?
Pushnote will have to stay a mystery to me for a while longer, as I don't have easy access to Chrome or Firefox. I certainly feel I've learnt a lot from this week's assignment though.
I too am enjoying the chance to do things like this in a professional context and using it as an excuse to do them at work!
ReplyDeleteI still feel Twitter may be a bit beyond me in terms of keeping up with things, but having seen the people you follow, I think I will copy you to see how they can be used in a professional context here. Unfortunately I think I'll be following more than tweeting, but it's a start!
Google Reader somehow keeps accumulating, but you can mark it as read, so you know what you've read and what you haven't (if that makes sense!)