Twitter is a marvelous thing. It's kind of like it's own ever-evolving monster. I love it. It's a fantastic way to keep up with local news, weather, and cultural programs. It's also a great way to get a dialogue going about a myriad of topics, from feminism to your favourite television show, you can easily find people with the same interests as you. I have been using twitter for years, and it is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of your community, both locally and globally. It is a commonly used marketing tool for companies, as well as an agent of organization for social movements such as the Arab Spring.
However, twitter can be a mixed bag when it comes to privacy concerns- as can any social media site. In the words of Jonathan Zittrain, "[...] if something online is free, you're not the customer- you're the product". Twitter is people talking- about global events, politicians, television, celebrities and the mundane. While it can be a way to reach out and learn about the community, it's also a device for marketing and self-promotion. Lots of authors use it to reach out to their fans when they are launching a book. Popular authors such as Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman and Anne Rice are all avid tweeters. It gives them a way to keep in touch with loyal fans and grow their readership along the way. It's quite interesting to look at how the landscape of self-promotion has changed with the advent of twitter. This is a great article on twitter and literary promotion:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/12/mohsin-hamid-twitter-self-promotion
For our public libraries, there is no doubt that social media is a vital part of raising interest in programs and engaging our patrons. Twitter helps get the word out, and is very accessible for our library patrons. It's an easy way to let patrons know about updated resources, upcoming lectures, book sales, and storm-related closures. It doesn't require much time to post an update, and it can have a great impact. Twitter seems to hold a lot of potential for libraries. The more creative you are, the more useful it can be.
An interesting article. I attended a panel with YA authors once and one of them talked about how her publisher had demanded she start a Twitter account in order to self promote and how so much of that is involved in writing a book now. The reclusive author is a thing of the past, now they are uber connected with their fans.
ReplyDeleteI think that twitter can be useful in developing a readership, but it has to be done carefully. It seems that the authors that are most successful with twitter are those that treat it as a conversation. Oftentimes, the authors with the most followers have a steady stream of humorous tweets or newsworthy ones. For instance, Mindy Kaling has a huge twitter following of almost three million people. Her tweets are a mix of humor, self-promotion, and also lend insight to the media that she is paying attention to. I think it can be a worthwhile endeavour, as it is definitely something that people pay attention to. It's a great idea for local artists and authors, as it's a free and effective way to try to draw attention to your craft. While your followers may not grow exponentially, it will still introduce your work to new people.
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