I love that expression: "social grooming." It conjures up footage of groups of primates picking the nits out of each others fur, a way to bond socially as well as stay clean and tidy. Apparently, Twitter is also a form of social grooming, although I look on it as more a form of narcissism gone wild. This need to share your thoughts and opinions with the wider world on a 24/7 basis.
The dictionary defines twitter as "a short burst of inconsequential information." Emphasis on the word "inconsequential."
Yeah, okay, Twitter has proven to have a bit more substance as a communication platform during emergencies/disasters (e.g. Haiti) and periods of political dissent (China, Iran.) I can almost get on board with it for substantial, life-altering things like this.
But, I could really do without "tweets" regarding something called "Wanker Whiplash" or the fact that "May is Zombie Awareness Month." Has anyone correlated chronic Twitter usage with ADHD? Maybe they should.
I don't know if I should be more worried that Lady Gaga has been named the top fashion icon for teen girls or the fact that the library felt the need to share this nugget of information.
I think the best application of Twitter for the library would be for program/event announcements or important information about our collections and services. Ecopalooza and the Teens Create contest are two good recent examples.
Someone named Kingsully tweeted: "Why am I watching Lindsay Lohan on CNN when there are millions of gallons of oil in the gulf and troops dying overseas?" I couldn't agree more. Now if he could have just kept his tweet to himself.
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