Library Stuff

Library of Congress Blog – “Twitter is part of the historical record of communication, news reporting, and social trends – all of which complement the Library’s existing cultural heritage collections. It is a direct record of important events such as the 2008 U.S. presidential election or the “Green Revolution” in Iran. It also serves as a news feed with minute-by-minute headlines from major news sources such as Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. At the same time, it is a platform for citizen journalism with many significant events being first reported by eyewitnesses.”

PC World – “Social networks are transforming their data stores into developer platforms, which will carry both risks and rewards.”

NYT – “As Twitter has grown, its lack of filters are starting to become a hindrance for some people. The frustration hit a boiling point for me a few weeks ago when many of my friends and colleagues traipsed off to Austin, Tex., to go to the interactive portion of the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival.”

AP – “French police say they have detained a 25-year-old who allegedly hacked Twitter accounts of numerous well-known figures, including Britney Spears and President Barack Obama. Police said Wednesday the suspect, who went by the pseudonym “Hacker Croll,” was caught following a joint operation with the FBI and arrested Tuesday in the Puy-de-Dome region of central France.”

Reuters – “As the clock ticked down to the historic healthcare vote on Sunday and congressional leaders scrambled to get holdout Democratic lawmakers on board, the White House was all-a-Twitter. White House staff used the microblogging site to keep the momentum going, keeping track of which Democratic lawmakers had changed their minds and decided to vote in favor of the bill, finally giving the party a narrow majority to pass it.

USA Today – “Twitter’s role in the Iran elections and in the women’s movement there has been analyzed and dissected endlessly. In a South by Southwest Interactive panel here on “2009: Iran election: Women’s Revolution? Twitter Revolution?”, two Iranian women and a college professor lauded Twitter but kept things in perspective.”

Ad Age – “In India, thousands of consumers are going from tweeting to bubbling. Bollywood stars Kareena Kapoor and Aamir Khan began using Bubbly and talking about it ahead of the premiere of their hit film ‘Three Idiots.’ A hot new social networking service dubbed “Bubbly,” which is essentially a voice-based Twitter, is quickly gaining popularity among Indians. And thanks to Bollywood celebs being early adopters, Bubbly is growing virally and with virtually zero marketing spend.”

AP – “Twitter can now let the world automatically know your whereabouts as well as your thoughts and activities. A new feature unveiled Thursday gives Twitter users the option of including their location with the assorted musings posted on the Internet messaging service.”

AP – “Blending behind-the-scenes nuggets with a defense of President Barack Obama’s record, White House and administration officials increasingly are communicating through Twitter. The popular social network is operating as a Web-based clearinghouse for public statements on weighty subjects (the federal budget) and the mundane (personal grocery lists). It’s similar to a bulletin board where anyone can post short notes and users cull the pieces they see by choosing to “follow” individuals’ account.”

Forbes – ” With all these new social media technologies, from Twitter to the new Google Buzz, we are about to enter a golden age of communication, one in which information can be shared with friends and associates with an immediacy and intimacy never before possible. Wait. Haven’t we seen this movie before?