Web 2.0 Awards: Twitter &

I selected Twitter because I am using it right now. When I first signed on to Twitter, I honestly could not see the appeal. If you look at my early updates, well, they are few and far between. But then I did what I usually do with something new and shiny that people are talking about; I thought about why it's being used, and decided to play with it to see not only if I was personally interested but if there were any solid benefits.

"Playing" doesn't mean just showing up once; it's learning, observing, doing. Within two weeks I discovered the benefits: a community where I could get (and give) answers and information; where I could network; and where I could have conversations. In terms of work, I'm not sure if patrons are using it; if they are, then it's a quick, easy way to respond to a customer's questions, ask them something, and establish a dialogue. But it's equally useful for establishing relationships or getting information from those who may impact patrons and our services; for example, following sources of library news keeps you up to date on what is going on in library land.

So, for me, Twitter is the tale of sometimes you have to push yourself to test drive a technology in order to see the benefits and uses. And, that it takes time, not one half hour.

But, I don't want to be accused of cheating! So I also picked a site that I know nothing about, and that would be quick and easy and fun to use. So I picked Hairmixer. Pretty much upload your photograph, and then play with seeing how you would look with different hairstyles. Easy to use, and fun. What service could it be to the library? Well, basically it's putting your image over someone else's to see what you would look with their hair. Perhaps if we had images of famous people from New Jersey, from colonial times up to today, we could have patrons have fun by seeing how they would look as those people!