More Twitter, iPhone app

The IRC Twitter account (@IRCaulibrary) is almost six months old..A quick general overview shows 325+ tweets, 20+ followers, and the IRC follows for 80 - 100 other education accounts. Some implementations of Twitter have proven very useful for marketing and disbursing information, most specifically our most recent Tweet posted on the campus digital signage network. Twitter widgets are embedded on the IRC blog and have been added to several education LibGuides (here, here, and here for example). A list of frequently used hashtags makes it easy to 'tag' content, URL shorteners (goo.gl and bitly) help feature blog posts and stay within the prescribed character limit, and re-tweet from lists and follows to keep content updated with regularity. While not as quickly popular as the IRC Pinterest page, usage is generally steady.

Previous frustration regarding Twitter's web platform, seeing the whale, have lessened thanks to tweeting during non-peak hours … and the Twitter iPhone app. It presents an uncluttered and image-free view of the account page, facilitates use of more than one account, highlights new content and connections, and in some ways makes it easier to monitor and report the seemingly inevitable Twitter spam. Recent app updates (4.1.3) have made the screen significantly more readable, a welcome improvement though it came with inclusion of promoted tweets. That said, the iPhone app is not without drawback.



When logged in to more than one Twitter account, the user 'name' is not visible when reading content or when working with created lists (image, left). This lack of visual cue is problematic when working with distinctly different accounts; be careful what you tweet or re-tweet. The same issue is noticeable when working with an account list; however since lists are accessed from the main page there is an immediate profile picture as a reminder.  Images are tweetable from the library (camera roll) and by taking photos or video using the camera.  This is a nice perk for immediacy when tweeting campus photos or other saved images. However, I often include images featured on the digital sign, created with PowerPoint and saved as a jpeg, to accompany tweets. To do so via the app, it's necessary to plan ahead (email image, save to camera).  In those instances, uploading to the web version from a computer is more efficient.

Overall, the Twitter iPhone app has made it convenient to keep content on the IRC Twitter account updated. I'll definitely use it in conjunction with the web platform moving forward.