I have been talking to other librarians about Twitter a lot lately and looking for worthwhile material to point them towards, especially articles or reports that move beyond the basics, engage with the application and help explain the sociology that makes it interesting. Here are three of the most recent that I found useful.
One. The influentials: new approaches for analyzing influence on Twitter. Examines the nuances of interaction on Twitter in an attempt to define influence and distinguish between different types of behaviour. They categorize users as conversationalists, spammers, or materialists in relation to the number of followers vs. followees.
Two. Twitter in higher education: usage habits and trends in today’s college faculty. Worth reading for the remarks, both positive and negative, from academics on Twitter and how those who adopted it use it. Requires an email address to receive the report.
Three. Tweet Tweet Retweet: Conversational Aspects of Retweeting on Twitter. When it comes to analyzing social media, danah boyd never disappoints.This is a very recent paper, still in draft form, but well worth the effort.
Wildcard. Tweeting Kegerator. Certainly not library related (at least I hope not!) but so bizarre I had to include it; a network connected keg that sends a Twitter post to tell you when it’s about to run out. Yes, bizarre…
