Vol. 34, No. 1, 46. Information Connection.

• Author: by Debora A. Person Associate Law Librarian University of Wyoming College of Law

Wyoming Bar Journal

2011.

Vol. 34, No. 1, 46.

Information Connection

Wyoming Bar JournalIssue: February, 2011Information Connectionby Debora A. Person Associate Law Librarian University of Wyoming College of LawIn the last issue our column introduced some of the basic tools of social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Though these technologies are free, making a choice to implement them requires a commitment in time, both for the initial learning curve and for the upkeep. The ABA Journal: Law News Now blog opened a conversation about the usefulness of these tools to the law firm.(fn1) In the course of an interesting discussion, the entry states that while statistics are difficult to gather in support of these media as effective marketing resources, some users who maintain active blogs. Face-book pages, and Twitter accounts find that new opportunities for presentations, publications, and new client representation present themselves regularly.

Today let's focus on Twitter and its use. Based on SMS (Short Message Service used in texting on cell phones). Twitter is an application that allows you to post public messages up to 140 characters from your desktop or your mobile phone (free apps are available). You don't need an account to search on Twitter; you can go to the Twitter website, http://twitter.com, and click on the Search button to see who or what is on Twitter. To post anything on Twitter or to respond to a post, however, you must set up an account. There are step-by-step instructions, and the free registration and set up process is brief and easy. For set up, see Getting Started, http://business.twitter.com/twitterl01/ starting, and try Best Practices, http://busi-ness.twitter.com/twitterl01/best_practices, for ideas on using this application. Once set up, you can locate interesting streams and sign up to "follow" conversations by clicking on the Follow button.

It's a Whole New Language

Because of the limited space. Twitter users have developed a shorthand that is perplexing to the uninitiated. Twitter's website has a glossary of terms that will assist you (see http://business.twitter.com/ twitter 101/ learning). Here are a few that will help get you through your first browsing experience:

Tweet: an individual message or post.

Follow: Receive messages directly on your home page that are posted...