Now, For Your Twitter Update

A little exploration has shown me many different types of tweets from both individuals and organizations, and I now have a much better understanding of how this social media platform functions. It’s actually a very simple design with a super user-friendly layout, so that anyone (even old-school librarians who remain skeptical of social media) can learn and participate; technology anxiety is completely unwarranted here! However, I’m a newbie, and tweeting still feels a little like stepping out into traffic when you don’t know what a car is. I guess my biggest challenge is getting over the self-consciousness I feel about what I release into the online universe. Is it like reading aloud in front of the class? Does it begin to feel more natural the longer you’re at it?

Turn Me Into a Tech Hero, Please

As the name of my blog suggests, I feel I’m starting from zero where Web 2.0 is concerned. I grew up in a very rural locale where dial-up Internet was my family’s only option; therefore, most of the Internet’s potential was not even available to me. It wasn’t until my freshman year of college (surviving in a cramped dorm room and spending more time just finding ways to procrastinate than it would take to actually write the essays) that I really got serious about Facebook and tinkered with Tumblr, Skype, and YouTube. College also familiarized me with Google Docs and Prezi, both of which served me well in my part-time job at a public library as the young adult programming specialist; Prezi is a life-saver for elementary school presentations and summer reading program events! I’m a huge fan.

Currently, my web habits include mainly Pinterest and the occasional YouTube video. As far as social media is concerned, I guess I’m over the hype. I took what I expected to be a brief hiatus from Facebook nearly a year ago and have yet to reactivate my account. I do miss certain aspects, but I’ve found that my life is so much simpler, healthier, and happier without it.

So, although zero might be a bit of an exaggeration, I know I have far more still to learn. I hope that my familiarity with some of the more popular social media sites and web tools will provide a good footing for this course, and that the class teaches me how to utilize these to their highest potential, as well as introduces me to other, as yet unexplored, technology opportunities. Tweeting and blogging are both pretty foreign to me, so I’m learning new things already! And even if I’m not crazy about certain web tools for my own personal use, I am eager to use them toward the promotion of libraries and to be able to assist library patrons with their vast technology needs. I’m ready to become a library tech hero.