(One concern I hear a lot of is “How do we find time for this social media stuff? We don’t have a full staff anymore and we’re already going nuts trying to do the things we have to do!” There’s not a single, good answer that fits every library. But, for those that have prioritized their social media efforts and recognize them as being crucial, there are at least some tools to help maximize their efforts. Here’s one, the second in a series.)
Let’s be honest: it’s a major pain in the rear to login to multiple, different social media services every time you want to make a post. I often used to think, “It takes more time to login to Twitter than it does to make a 140-character status update!” (At least it seemed that way to me.) If your library maintains more than one profile in social media, then you’re probably keenly aware of how annoying this is–particularly if you want to make the same posting in two different places.
There are now tools that can take a great deal of pain out of maintaining multiple social media accounts. One of these (and my personal favorite) is Tweetdeck. This is a piece of desktop software (although it also has versions for the iPhone and iPad) that you install, and it functions as a master dashboard for all of your social media accounts. Through Tweetdeck, I personally manage 5 different Twitter accounts, my Facebook account and my LinkedIn account with this tool. A library could easily manage both its Twitter and Facebook accounts. Tweetdeck also supports MySpace, Google Buzz and Foursquare.
Tweetdeck has a very long list of features, and is always adding more. They recently added the ability to post in the future (much like Twuffer) and to view YouTube videos directly inside Tweetdeck.
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- Other great features include the ability to auto-shorten long URLs and to add columns to monitor keywords or hastags. Want to keep up with #saveohiolibraries? Tweetdeck can do that for you. Same for any search for any keyword/hashtag. Monitor multiple search terms.
- If your library maintains more than one Twitter account (e.g., one main one and one for local history information), then this tool is going to save you a lot of time and effort.
- If your library wants to post the same message to Twitter and also to Facebook and/or MySpace, Tweetdeck allows you to do this easily. Just type in your status message, and then click the buttons for those accounts, then submit. Done.
- Tweetdeck is available for Windows, Mac and Linux machines. (Note that you will need Adobe Air to run it.)
Do you use Tweetdeck? Or another multi-account management tool? What do you think?
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(One concern I hear a lot of is “How do we find time for this social media stuff? We don’t have a full staff anymore and we’re already going nuts trying to do the things we have to do!” There’s not a single, good answer that fits every library. But, for those that have prioritized their social media efforts and recognize them as being crucial, there are at least some tools to help maximize their efforts. Here’s one, the first in a series.)
I spend a lot of time talking to library staff about ways to make Twitter work for their libraries. One of those ways is to post status updates consistently. This doesn’t tweeting several, one right after the other, first thing in the morning and then doing nothing else for the rest of the day. When I see libraries using this method, I usually unfollow them. As far as I’m concerned, they’re spamming me and that’s not what I’m looking for when I follow an organization. But, what if the library doesn’t have time to do tweets intermittently throughout the day? That’s where tools like Twuffer come in.
Twuffer is a free, easy tool that has a very simple interface. It allows you to schedule tweets for future posting, coming from your own Twitter account. I use it somewhat extensively for the several different Twitter accounts that I manage. It makes things much easier, as I can do much of my tweet statuses ahead of time and then simply forget them. Twuffer does the actual work of posting them when specified.
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- You login to Twuffer using your Twitter account login.
- The service is currently in beta, but I, myself, have never noticed any issues with it (which seems to be somewhat par for the course with anything labeled “beta” anymore, doesn’t it?).
- You can specify the day and time, but the time only on the hour, not the half-hour.
- Twuffer does track sent tweets, so you can check for duplicates.
- There does not seem to be a limit on how many tweets or how far ahead you can schedule them.
- When you’re scheduling tweets, remember that the prime time for social media messages in the U.S. is between 7:30 am – 10:00 am. That’s because checking Twitter/Facebook/etc. has replaced the morning paper for many people at the breakfast table. That doesn’t mean that you should only schedule tweets for these hours; rather, save your most important ones for this time slot.
We all know that libraries are in a major budget crisis. What we don’t always know is how to cut costs. Well, I won’t make any claims that I can answer that question, either. What I will share with you today is an interesting new service that can help your library get some things done for cheap.
For some time, I’ve been wracking my brain (what’s left of it, granted) for a clever tagline for this very blog. Suffice it to say, my brain wasn’t obliging and my tagline sat empty. Then I caught wind of a new beta site called Fiverr. The tagline for this site is “The place for people to share things they’re willing to do for $5.” It’s a fairly simple concept:
- People list jobs they’re willing to do for a mere five bucks.
- You go shopping.
- You decide on one of the listings to fit your need.
- You purchase the job and pay $5 via either PayPal or a credit card.
- The seller contacts you for details. You provide them.
- The seller sends you the completed work.
- You leave feedback.
In many senses, it’s like eBay (and perhaps just as addictive) in the sense that the transaction is between you and another person, and the site simply acts as the mechanism to make it happen.
In my case, I decided to purchase this job. I put my five dollars down and waited for the seller to contact me. It took several days for him/her to email me (I suspect that they’re pretty busy with such a deal for such a low rate) and I honestly forgot about it after a a couple of days. I figured, “Eh, I lost $5.” The seller did actually email me several days after my purchase however, and, as promised in their listing, he/she had completed the job in less than 24 hours–with a choice of 3 taglines to choose from. I loved the first one (which now resides on the top left of this site) and rated the seller favorably. After all, for only five bucks, I can be pretty patient!
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- The variety of jobs available to choose from is truly astounding. Want someone to draw a floorplan of your library? Come up with an ad campaign theme? Need a virtual assistant? Get a professional logo? New things are added all the time, and the variety is very good.
- Yes, they ALL cost $5.00 USD.
- Since they all cost $5, if one doesn’t work out, it’s easy (and very inexpensive!) to try another seller.
I’ve since recommended Fiverr to a friend to get his resume’ reviewed, and even to a library that didn’t have a tagline either (and wanted one). What could your library get for five dollars?
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak about teens, tweens and social networking at the NEO-RLS Youth Services Symposium. One of the newer tools that I mentioned had everyone puzzled–no one had heard of it. That tool is rising in popularity with teens, and it’s called TokBox.
Many of you are probably familiar with Skype, which allows you to have voice and/or video chats with another person. TokBox is kind of like Skype on steroids: you can have chats with p to 20 people. It’s the party line for the 21st century. There is no download to worry about (it’s all web-based). You can also send video messages to people, not just do live chats. Tokbox also can automatically connect to your IM buddies on most major networks, making integrations mostly seamless. You can invite your IM contacts to a video chat directly, without them having to also sign up for an IM account.
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- At first glimpse, the thought that may be going through your mind is “Oh boy! Author chats! Online programs!” and the like. I recommend restraint when it comes to using Tokbox for patron-related activities. Firstly, the participant limit (20) is enough to probably scare most libraries off this track. Secondly, if you want the ability to actually moderate the online gathering, you’re going to have to pony up a monthly fee ($9.95/month). Thirdly, this service is very much like Skype–which means that video/audio quality for each participant can vary–a lot. All it takes is a few chat members complaining that the sound is cutting in and out to take a chunk of fun out of the program. Such problems are almost always on the participant’s end, but it can still be disruptive as people attempt to help them iron out issues in the middle of a session.
- So, what is Tokbox good for? We, here at OPLIN, have used Tokbox at least a couple of times for meetings of people who are in remote locations. If you’re a member of a group, division, committee or whatnot, and your members have difficulty finding time to get together or travel, you may find that Tokbox is an ideal solution. Yes, each member is going to need a webcam, but those can be bought fairly inexpensively–often for less than a tank of gas these days.
- Tokbox can also save video chats/messages, so being able to archive a live, online meeting is a neat function you can take advantage of.
UPDATE: Talk about timing! Just today (5/14/10), Skype announced that they are introducing a group chat beta. However, this will be a premium feature (price not yet announced), not free like Tokbox. Just putting it out there.
