I just attended socialmediacamp in Austin and learned just how popular Twitter is with the techno set. (NOTE: apparently I’m less on the fringe and closer to the fray when it comes to the geek set.)
I’ve been twittering for about five months and wrote an earlier post on how Twitter can be useful. But as is the case with all technologies, some uses are not clear from the beginning. They emerge over time and the real benefit of the technology is often beyond the imagination of its creators.
So, it was interesting to learn that reporters for the Austin American Statesman are using Twitter to:
- have eyes on the street (“stuck in traffic on Mopac at Spicewood Springs” “nasty car wreck on 35 at Braker”)
- get info (“writing story on cheese-making. Who makes cheese?”)
- drive traffic to the web site and blogs (I follow @omarg who writes about technology and just followed this tweet to his friday afternoon blog.)
So why not use Twitter to promote the LBJ Library, create a buzz about upcoming events and cool things in the collection, and drive traffic to the web site AND to the library itself?
For example, a few weeks ago, the Vostok 3KA-2 the last unmanned Russian space capsule was unloaded at the LBJ Library.
(Video and photos to come later – it’s late on Friday afternoon and staff are heading out the door – but you can see a photo here. I’m not inserting the actual photo to avoid copyright infringement.)
It took a crane to hoist it up through the fourth floor windows. What a site that must have been. Of course, press was there, but a little twitter might have brought out a few more peeps. At least it would be a reminder that this stunning exhibit is in the works!
Here’s more from the web site of the company that owns the Vostok, which, by the way can be purchased, but I think you have to buy the whole space collection!
Vostok 3KA-2 Space Capsule
This flown spacecraft was sent into space on March 25, 1961 with the mannequin Ivan Ivanovich and the dog Zvezdochka, aboard. This was the last practice flight of the Vostok program, 18 days prior to the Vostok flight carrying Yuri Gagarin into history as the first human in space.
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Taylor L. Willingham 