Twitter and Jaiku - Microblogging

So, what is it?  Twitter and Jaiku are two services that let users send short messages to anyone listening.  These (usually 140 charater) posts are considered microblog entries.  They are also used to broadcast the lastest posts from blogs and report from conferences, classes, meetings and the world.  Because of the length of the charaters of a post, you can post from the world wide web, via text message, or via instant message. 

They the messages can be mundane such as "I ate a baked brie sandwich for lunch. Yum."  to "check out this new service ..." to "Does anyone use (a program) can you tell me how to do abc?"  Some use the program to find friends, ask questions, solicit advice and sometimes get people out of trouble.  

Just like other social networking sites, you can also see whose feeds the people you know follow and then follow their feeds.   This creats a social web of people with common interests and creates another vital social community. 

Why should you get to know microblogging such as Twitter and Jaiku?  Well CNN, PBS, NPR, The White House, The House and Senate, Wordpress, The New York Times, AskUsKnow, BBC, Wil Wheaton (from Star Trek: TNG and Stand By Me)  and other library(YALSA and ALSC), technology and non-technology movers and shakers are using Twitter to communicate and analyize information even faster than with RSS feeds or Blog Posts. 

Here is a YouTube video about Twitter by The Common Craft folks.  

Discovery Exercise:  

1. Set up an acconunt with either Twitter or Jaiku.  
2. Read the FAQ's to find out how to post, reply to messages, direct messages at users and add url's to your posts. 
3. Find some people to follow. 

   Here are some possiblitites on Twitter:  Maurice Coleman, (the writer of this description) Jenny Levine ( of the ALA,) K G. Schneider, (The Free Range Librarian) Chadwick Seagraves, Wayne State University Library Beth Tribe (from Howard Co.) Julie Strange (of Md Ask Us Know) Tater, bluffingwldly, missrachael, nbookworm, (just a couple of MD library folks on twitter)  a few MD library staff members) and the ones mentioned above to start:  CNN, PBS, NPR, The White House, The House and Senate, Wordpress, The New York Times, AskUsKnow, BBC, Wil Wheaton (from Star Trek: TNG and Stand By Me)  and other library(YALSA and ALSC) groups.

4. Look at who other people are following. 
5. Update your status, talk about what you are thinking.
6. Comment on your experience in the Maryland Learning blog.