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The #CIL2010 Tweet Notebook

By on April 30, 2010 in CIL2010, Computers in Libraries, LibConf News

Earlier today Karyn Silverman, aka @InfoWitch asked for suggestions on archiving all her Computers in Libraries 2010 tweets.   Kate, aka @itsjustkate wondered about the same thing since her method involved using print screen to get hers into reports.

@InfoWitch's Question

I was about to suggest to them both that they use the TwapperKeeper.com #CIL2010 archive when the alert that @InfoWitch’s export was ready.

While Twitter’s own internal search has improved overtime, its still best suited for small result sets and there are times when it is simply not available or working in a scaled back, near real-time mode.  Services like TwapperKeeper are great because they start gathering the archive the moment someone creates the Notebook.  In the case of #CIL2010, I create it around noon on December 16, 2009 so it has tweets with that hashtag going back to before the conference, and then through the conference, and right up to @InfoWitch’s request this morning.

Even if all you want are your own Tweets, the TwapperKeeper notebook is a good choice.  The Notebook may contain thousands of entries, but the downloaded version is in CSV format so its child’s play to apply a filter in Excel, Open Office, or Google Docs to limit the rows to your own.

If you are going to an event or just want to have easy access to an individual’s Tweets, just head over to TwapperKeeper.com and start a notebook.  One of my personal favorites is the @FakeAPStylebook notebook I created to ensure I didn’t miss any of their snarky gems.

JD Thomas
Tech Support Manager
Information Today, Inc.

ROI and Social Media

By on April 13, 2010 in CIL2010

That libraries are jumping into social media with the same joy that small children evince about jumping into swimming pools on hot days is indisputable. Measuring the impact of these social media is another thing altogether. Michael Porter, Communications Manager, WebJunction, and Amanda Clay Powers, Virtual Reference Librarian, Mississippi State University Libraries, walked their audience through the process of analyzing, evaluating, and communicating the value of web presence, while admitting we’re at an early stage for this. Even counting the number of tweets, for example, can be problematic. Transforming numbers into data that means something for the library’s administration, board, and even skeptical co-workers is a greater challenge. I found it interesting that many in the audience were not yet even attempting to write ROI reports on their social media activities. Clearly this is an area that needs much more attention.

Technology Good & Bad

By on April 12, 2010 in CIL2010

In his introductory remarks, Information Today’s CEO, Tom Hogan, put a quote from C.P. Snow up on the screen and asked the audience for comments. Snow said, “Technology is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.” Noting that this comment predates the internet, it still has great applicability in today’s world. When does technology help us and when does it hurt us? When is it a benefit and when a detriment? His example, from social media, was flash mobs, which can be light-hearted and fun, but can also be terrorizing. What examples do you have? Tom asked CIL attendees to tell him their examples on the evaluation form, but you could post as comments here as well.

Best of ResourceShelf

By on October 27, 2009 in IL2009
The ever-popular Gary Price

The ever-popular Gary Price

Gary Price giving his annual update of what’s new and hot on ResourceShelf—it’s a popular and expected tradition! And even regular attendees know they can pick up some new, cool sites, as well as Gary’s tips and techniques. He says the hot keywords for this year are the following:

  • Mobile
  • Social
  • Mobile/social
  • Ebooks

Just that morning, Microsoft introduced a new Academic Search (http://academic.research.microsoft.com). For now it only covers computer science but it does offer an interesting visualization tool. Microsoft’s previous effort in this area, Windows Live Academic, only lasted from 2006 to 2008. For some additional details, check out Gary’s post at www.resourceshelf.com/2009/10/26/microsoft-launches-academic-search-beta-2.

Like Chris Sherman, Gary likes many of Microsoft Bing’s features. He says the bird’s eye view in Maps is unique.

He likes Collecta (www.collecta.com) for searching Twitter and other social sites.

I was surprised to see the free information available from The Official WhitePages (www.whitepages.com). It offers reverse phone and address searching and a neighbor search feature. Of course, when I tested it, it was full of wrong info—neighbors who had moved away years earlier.

He also covered a number of interesting mobile applications, some information visualization sites, and legal resources. He tries to cover a lot of ground! Luckily, all the links from his presentation are available at http://bit.ly/resourceshelf09.

Paula J. Hane

ITI News Bureau Chief

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