Year of Gratitude - Day 130 - Twitter

Twitter offers up all kinds of stuff in a 140 characters or less. When I first started, I used it as a way to track words that I looked up. Then I started getting into news, creating lists, following comics and talking to other librarians. Right now Twitter is where I go to get the latest and greatest on Big Data. Live-tweeting hilarious situations is great. I don't really interact with that many people, but the way I use Twitter just continues to change. Heck, for the last year I've also been using another account for work!

One must be careful what one shares on Twitter. I just made my account public again after about a year because I was told that someone looked me up and felt I had very "colorful" language. I'm an adult. If I want to say "fuck" here and there, I can. I am sorry to those who are offended. Just kidding, I'm not sorry. You are more than welcome to ignore my existence, though.

Follow me at @evagro.

Newsweek, Librarianship and Twitter

I have been a writer for many years in a variety of circumstances, but this last Monday was perhaps one of my biggest accomplishments and one of the coolest gigs ever. Newsweek published my essay about working at Southfield Public Library online.

A lot of people have asked me how I came across this opportunity. In a word: Twitter. I've heard a lot about how people think it's stupid and pointless, but I'm afraid I respectfully disagree. Being the podcast junkie I am, I was listening to Planet Money on NPR and learned about a little mini-contest they were running with Newsweek. The gist: tell us in a 140 characters or less how the recession affects you. This is how I got the gig:

@Newsweek The libraries in MI I work @ teem w/ patrons seeking work, foreclosure/credit info, job training, entertainment & hope. #rcstory

That's right. That wretched little scrum of characters got me a writing opportunity with Newsweek. Needless to say I see Twitter in a different light.

The article created a HUGE response. It's tremendous. I got emails from library students, directors, deans and, of course, all kinds of librarians. This is bigger than I expected, but I'm so happy that it received the attention it did. Not for me, but for the amazing profession that I am proud to say I am a part of.

What I heard a lot of, especially coming from library land, was "Thank You." Librarians have a reputation for being quieter and meeker than your average person (though I gotta' tell ya', that does NOT include the librarians I know :). I am neither quiet or meek and I will shout from the mountaintops about libraries and how much they rule. From the looks of it, librarians have approved of my message and the respect of my colleagues is priceless.

Hence, it is I who would like to say "Thank You!"

Thank you to the wonderful people at the University of Michigan's Mardigian Library for introducing me to the profession and planting the seed that would grow into a fruitful career.

Thank you to Wayne State University for providing me with a top-notch education in archives and librarianship. The experience, people, knowledge and opportunities at WSU continue to be a huge part of my life and work.

Thank you to Southfield Public Library for showing me how critical public libraries are to their respective communities.

Thank you to Newsweek for allowing me to share my story and Alan Wigodski, who took my picture.

Most of all, THANK YOU to all of the wonderful people who have contacted me about the article. Your support means more to me than I could ever put into words.

Much Love

5 Positive Things

Lately I've been looking for ways to fend off negativity, please pardon the hippie-speak. I have found that a great way to lift negativity is to smile it off or scold myself out loud if I'm not around others. A technique I wished I used more often is taking time out to consider the day's gifts. Each time I do yoga I set an intention, but that is to start the day. Each day offers a lot and I'd like to try and reflect more on what those things are.

Someone retweeted a very simple question (@WritingSpirit retweeted @GlennaMageau for those keeping score): what are 5 positive things that happened in your life today? Here are mine:

1. Hung out with a bunch of super fun people in the VIP section of a snazzy Detroit club.
2. Made and enjoyed sandwiches for lunch and salmon with rice and peas for dinner.
   
3. Completed my budget for April. I'm really starting to figure this finance junk out :).
   
4. I slept in and then took a nap.
5. Listened to a bunch of Business Week and Bloomberg podcasts.
   

Technology Slave

Somewhere in the virtual world, an old friend of mine named Kevin A. Wells wrote about his online habits - what he does, what websites he visits, etc. I thought this was a great idea and stole it, except I added a few more dimensions of technology. What can I say?

As writing always helps me understand things better, I thought this would be a good way to learn about my online habits, my constant need to be connected and my addiction to electronics. I want to have written proof of how completely and hopelessly addicted I really am to my technology, especially my computer, the Internet, my iPod and my glorious BlackBerry. Don't get me wrong, these addictions aren't detrimental to my health, relationships and other stuff like bad addictions are. I like to call all these items productivity tools and such. Besides, acceptance is the first step to recovery.

So, on an average day:

1. I wake up to my BlackBerry alarm. I check the weather on it and then take a quick glance at my GMail. Next, I check out my to-do list. Then I get out of bed.
2. If I exercise, I listen to my iPod. Sometimes I'll do yoga classes found free on the Internet.
3. While I wash up and get ready for work, I listen to my iPod conveniently located on my little iPod dock.
4. After that, I turn on my computer and immediately open iTunes to update my completely absurd amount of podcasts. I'll never get to half of them. I totally don't care. I need them there. Just in case.
5. To get to work, I either get on my bike and listen to iPod or plug iPod into the car stereo. I hate my life if I forget iPod at home.
6. At work, I sit at a computer for a better part of my day. I open my work email and work with our Integrated Library System called Millennium for all kinds of library things.
7. When I get a second at work during downtime, I open up GMail to more thoroughly review anything important. Sometimes I'll chat with my mom through GChat.
8. When the email is officially done with, I get to the Google Reader. Again, I have an absurd amount of articles, recipes, poems, quotes, podcasts and blog posts to sift through throughout the day. If I don't check it by 6pm, it's well over a 1,000 items to check.
9. At every break I check the BlackBerry for missed calls, messages, etc. I also check off my To Do's as I complete them. The calendar, which syncs with my Google Calendar, is also checked obsessively.
10. I go home at night, sit at my computer and read the feeds that I clearly couldn't get through at work, generally like 900 items. (This step is optional, especially after I work a late shift.)
11. I check my Gmail again and my Google Calendar for the next few days. I plan out my days and anticipate when I can do what. At this time I also fill out my "Food Journal" which sometimes really makes me feel ashamed, but I think that's the point.
12. I also check Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, my blog stats and my Twitter account. Come Fantasy Hockey season, I'll be all over Yahoo! as well.
13. Finally, I turn the computer off and open up a book. This may seem like when I disconnect, but it's not. When I find a word I don't know, I pull out the BlackBerry and cruise to Dictionary.com to find the definition. Then, I Twitter it.

So, after reviewing my 13-step routine, I have decided that it's fine. I know, lots of people are looking at it and going, "Wow, she's sick." Yet, this is how I keep my life together. I keep on top of the news, read poetry, look through witty and helpful quotes, talk to my family and friends, stay organized and manage my life. I use a lot of stuff to do that, but that's how it's done.

Twitter: what the heck is it for anyway?

I don't know how I got talked into Twittering, but I did. At first, I used it for telling people what I was doing. That got old in a hurry and made me think: "Seriously, does anyone give two [insert expletive here] that I'm about to make coffee? Or that I'm going to do anything else for that matter?" I hardly cared that I was making coffee, why would anyone else?

Then, I twittered what I was reading. That kind of got lame, too, since I haven't had much time for reading and found that I was twittering the same book over and over.

Finally, I actually found something that I could get into, enjoy and share: vocabulary. I have posted vocabulary blogs in the past, but those are just a little strange. When I microblog vocabulary, I have to type them out, copy their definitions and then share them. All of those things help me learn the word better than just looking at it. I also note from which book I pulled the words from, keeping a log of when I'm reading what. This idea came from this post called Hot Trend: Microblogging on Twitter.

Click here to check out my Twitter page:


OK, so microblogging sounds like another silly waste of time and I've been TRYING to talk myself into giving up Twitter, but there is something about it that I believe in. Even though I found Twitter useful for a practical purpose of my own, I still want to know what other people use it for. I was surprised to find that there are plenty of ways to put Twitter to work.

• Emergencies. I was quite surprised to find that people were "tweeting" during emergencies, but it makes sense. It's quick, easy and allows a person to get to the point quickly. The author of the article Turning to Twitter after China quake had first heard about the quake through Twitter. In another instance, Twitter was used as a support tool for students who were involved in a lockdown at their school. Read the Chronicle of Higher Education's article called, 'Twittering' During a Campus Lockdown.
• Librarian questions. I've heard that if you have a lot of librarians in your 'Followers' list, you can ask a quick question and get an answer in a pinch.
• Wayne State Events. This is definitely the coolest thing and I wish that more universities would follow suit. Anyway, when Wayne State tweets, it informs me that there are events happening, like Bob Woodward or Amy Goodman coming to campus. Very, very cool.

What else do people Twitter for? If you know, let me know.