I see the microblogging platforms I use as ways of gaining the information of the day and finding information on certain subjects I would have otherwise missed, had I used the wider internet or watched TV, or even read the newspaper (shown to be a dying past-time).
Twitter is where I find information quickest, and learn plenty more viewpoints, interesting and more often than not bizarre news articles, and great pieces pertaining to my industry, and some fun ones too.
On Facebook is where I post articles I personally learnt something from, and where discussion about these articles can take place. Unrestricted in word length, unlike Twitter, people can post thought out, measured discussion. It's also a way to keep in contact with peers, whereas Twitter is more for keeping in contact with industry names and seeing what projects are happening in libraries around the globe.
Facebook is where I can tune in to find information about my industry and the subjects I'm studying, as more and more of my course utilises social media. I've found people in my course are hesitant to use Twitter. They seem afraid of the 140 character limit and how Twitter is in the public spotlight. I find it's easy. You simply have to know when something is right to post in the public domain, and when something isn't. The most important thing is to participate in discussion. Don't passively read people's updates. This is what separates Twitter and Facebook. Facebook is like little hubs of conversation underneath each post that interests you. Twitter is constantly in discussion about anything and you can have these discussions with anyone. A polar bear could theoretically sign up to Twitter and tweet you something.
Twitter is not the closed community of Facebook, and that's probably the best and worst thing I've learnt from the platform. With that in mind, libraries are best to utilise Twitter as a way of reaching out to users. Information needs to be made public, and Twitter is the best platform for that.
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