About social networking sites and libraries: As all of our patrons (especially the younger ones) are using technology more and more on a daily basis, libraries must offer them what they are looking for. After all, we offer audiobooks, movies, softwear etc. in an effort to appeal to a wide group of users.
To encourage more teen library users we must appeal to them at their own level. We would all like to see more teens actually checking out a book now and then but actually getting them into the library in the first place is a good start. Having teens in the library, within arms length of interesting books can be nothing but a good thing.
The WCPL MySpace page was impressive. The fact that someone can access their library record, link to their school web site, receive homework help and network with their friends all in the same place is amazing.
This brings me to Twitter. OK I have to admit that I just do not "get it". Do my friends/family really have a need to know that I just had a cup of tea while watching the evening news? Must we be "connected" at all times? If I am going to take the time to write to someone I think I would have something a little deeper to say which would probably take up more than 140 characters. However, judging by the popularity of this site I am obviously missing the appeal; maybe it is just my age!
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I don't have any children of my own so I don't base my communication interests on what the young people in America are doing. I discovered the Internet before most young college graduates were born and I was texting away in MUDs (getting to them by telneting from a UNIX prompt) before many MMORPG players of today were even born.
I don't base my high tech proclivities on what the kiddies are doing. I go with the flow and adopt new technology as I find it. When I discovered Twitter I soon learned how to use it to my maximum advantage and texting what I had for breakfast is NOT that reason.
I use Twitter to stay on top of the news as it happens. I subscribe primarily to news bots, news associations, and news aggregators so whenever I click on Twitter I can get instantly in touch with any big news story almost as soon as it becomes news and, by allowing many folks to follow me even if I have little in common with them, I can retweet important news as it happens or I can just retweet interesting tidbits of info as I come across them.
If you are really an old-timer, much older than my 58 years, maybe I can understand where you're coming from, but geez, it's not rocket science. Even my 80 year old mom can check her email every day, forward emails she finds interesting, check the Yankees scores on their web page, look up recipes, find out who's playing the Grand Ol' Opry this week, and in short, is not intimidated by technology as much as some people are who are as much as a full generation younger.
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