Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes.

Journal of Web
Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>

Twitter at the Office

Lisa Carlucci Thomas
Digital Services Librarian
Southern Connecticut State University

New communication norms are emerging due to the enormous

popularity of Twitter. Originally conceived as a means of sharing brief,

personal updates, Twitter’s role and content has matured from impulsive

chatter to substantive, informative bulletins, making it an important resource

for information professionals. How can we extend these benefits by using

Twitter in the workplace, and maximize its strengths for internal

communication? What are the risks and considerations? Libraries and

businesses are already harnessing the momentum of Twitter by creating

institutional accounts for marketing, customer service, and other external

communications. In this column, we’ll look at how organizations can use

Twitter to support internal communications by developing a de-facto internal

network of individual employee accounts and creating a strategy for Twitter

at the office.

Twitter’s openness, ease of use, and mainstream adoption have

rocketed it far beyond its peers, positioning Twitter as the microblogging

leader. This article will focus on Twitter alone, however, it is important to

keep in mind that Twitter is one of several microblogging sites available to

choose from, including enterprise microblogs specifically designed for the

unique needs of business communication such as Yammer

(http://www.yammer.com), SocialCast (http://www.socialcast.com), and

Present.ly (http://www.presentlyapp.com). When selecting a microblogging

option for the workplace, you should explore all options and be sure they can

comply with the communication, privacy, and security policies of your

institution.

Why choose Twitter?

Twitter provides a quick, easy, and customizable experience, allowing

communications to be exchanged, received, and delivered in real-time,

across multiple platforms, determined by the individual preference of the

user. It is compatible with multiple interfaces; one can post, read, and

respond to tweets through the web, SMS, mobile, Facebook, widgets,

gadgets, desktop clients and beyond (see http://twitter.com/downloads).

Twitter’s flexibility is its core strength: it minimizes the technical training

curve, promotes intuitive use, and allows for easy integration of Twitter into

the user’s existing information stream.

What does Twitter offer information professionals?

In May 2009, I spoke at LITA Camp about how important professional

networks and associations are to our abilities to remain current, adapt skills,

and provide leadership through participation and awareness. In that talk, I

emphasized the centrality of communication, contribution, and collaboration

to our work as information professionals, and encouraged audience members

Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes. Journal of Web Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>
to seek opportunities to share ideas, get networked, and get involved.

Twitter fosters these opportunities and more; it connects us to the powerful

knowledge base of our professional community with swift convenience of

mobile technology.

By being present and active on Twitter, it's possible to create a

customized, interactive, information stream with updates from experts in the

field, peers and colleagues across disciplines, leading journals and news

agencies, and numerous other relevant authors and publishers. There is an

expectation on Twitter that those who post are interested and available to

interact with you; therefore, it's an excellent forum for engaging in continued

dialogue about important and timely issues. Twitter's utility grows as one's

network grows; and one's network grows the more they interact with others.

Additionally, Twitter's SMS-enabled correspondence facilitates real-time

interactions, and Twitter's new Lists feature offers instant access to a list of

peer-endorsed professionals - strengthening one's ability to communicate,

contribute, and collaborate with people who share like interests and

professional directions.

Strategic use of Twitter at the office can enhance productivity, foster

professional awareness, promote interaction, and create communications

efficiencies in your workplace in the same way. How can we maximize these

opportunities within a specific institution or working group? Let’s explore

that next.

Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes. Journal of Web Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>
A Model for Twitter at the Office

Twitter can be employed as an office tool to expedite communication, build

community, promote employee interaction, and expand the reach of the

institutional intranet. The first step is to design a strategy for employee

communication via Twitter. The strategy should include a statement of

purpose, clear and specific policies detailing types of communications that

are permitted and/or prohibited, procedures for how and when to Twitter,

and a training plan for employees. Most importantly, the strategy must be

developed in accordance with institutional communications and security

guidelines, and it should be reviewed and approved by the administration

before implementation. Additional considerations and recommendations are

included in each section of the strategy template below:

I. Statement of Purpose

Describe the role and value of Twitter as a communication tool within

your organization, and how it will enhance and support the mission and

values of your institution.

II. Policies for Organizational Use of Twitter

Consider the guidelines that will govern the use of Twitter within the

organization. First, decide whether the Twitter activity should be

public or private. If private, all employees must have “locked” Twitter

accounts—thus, employees should create a dedicated Twitter account

for office use. If public, employees may choose to use their own pre-

Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes. Journal of Web Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>
 existing Twitter accounts or create separate accounts. Outline the

types of content expected among office Twitter users: should content

be only news, updates, events, and announcements related to the

institution? Are any and all tweets about work activity welcome?

Should employees twitter about daily projects, interact casually, and

re-tweet news and events from Twitter users outside the organization?

If so, provide guidance about appropriateness and type of content

welcome. Also, be clear about when and how employees should

respond to each other’s tweets. Make suggestions about when direct,

private, messages should be used instead of public @-replies, which

can be viewed by any followers. A statement about politeness and

courtesy expectations should exist in the policy statement, including a

description of content or language that is expressly not welcome or

permitted. Lastly, decide whether or not office Twitter activity will be

archived. If so, a policy statement about archiving office tweets should

be included. Details about how and when to archive Twitter activity

should be outlined in the procedures and management sections of the

strategy document.

III. Procedures for Organizational Use of Twitter

In what ways will Twitter enhance existing office

communications, and how should staff participate? Procedures for

using Twitter should be designed in support of the policies above. For

example, if the organization’s Twitter account will be private, and staff

Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes. Journal of Web Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>
 are required to create a separate Twitter account from their personal

accounts, describe how the second account should be created and

used, and include details about programs that can help them manage

multiple Twitter accounts (such as TweetDeck, www.tweetdeck.com).

Describe how and when hashtags can be used for internal

communications, and provide suggestions about how hashtags can be

used for projects, subjects, departments, or events. Procedures should

be specific enough to meet the needs of the organization, yet flexible

enough to allow for growth as staff become more adept using Twitter

for office communication.

IV. Training Plan & Management of Twitter at the Office

Determine who the local contact person(s) will be for

implementing and moderating Twitter activity. This person should be

named the local expert and charged with building and maintaining

Twitter expertise, notifying employees (via Twitter) about new staff

they should be following and approving as followers, contributing

content on a regular basis (either from internal or external

communication streams, according to the institutional policy

guidelines), and generally monitoring and facilitating office Twitter

communications. This person should also be responsible for providing

training for staff, writing and distributing related documentation to

staff (by posting online and distributing links via Twitter), and following

up on any activity observed among office Twitter users that

Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes. Journal of Web Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>
 demonstrates a need for additional training. These suggestions are

start, but only a start; consider the specific needs of your organization

when determining how Twitter communications will be managed and

staff training delivered.

To Twitter or Not to Twitter (at the Office)

Twitter communication is exceptionally dynamic. When fully engaged,

Twitter users reap the rewards of an interactive, real-time communication

experience. Still, Twitter itself is still new to all of us and may seem

experimental or awkward for beginners using it in the workplace. A

documented strategy and effective training and management of Twitter at

the office can help support and promote the successful integration of Twitter

into our suite of everyday business communication tools.

____________________________________________________________________________

Lisa Carlucci Thomas

www.twitter.com/lisacarlucci
www.slideshare.net/lisacarlucci

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Thomas, Lisa Carlucci. "Twitter at the Office." Social Eyes. Journal of Web Librarianship 4.1 (2010): 79-82.
<http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/19322900903565291>