The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Monitoring Chicago Public Library comments on Twitter….

I was surprised about how much CPL is mentioned on Twitter.  In the month that I monitored the library, they were mentioned at least once a day– most often several times a day, in fact.  Twitter is a major social tool for millions of people, so what a person posts on Twitter will be read and possibly spread to others.

I noticed several different kinds of tweets when following comments on the CPL.  First of, some of it struck me as free advertising for the library.  I’m talking about people who mentioned some kind of service the library offers– this is a great benefit to the library.
Some examples of word-of-mouth advertising:”
-”Looking for audio books to download courtesy of the CPL to my MP3 player…”
-”I just got a CPL card.  There’s a branch around the corner from me. Perfect!”
-”If Blockbuster goes under, I’ll feel a bit guilty since I get my movies from the CPL.”
-”Liking the new CPL ads on the bus…”
-”…I get full-text PDF access to Consumer Reports articles!  For free!”
-”The CPL is advertising on Facebook.”
-…”I dig the CPL’s “not what you think” campaign!”

However, also noticeable in tweets is bad advertising.  These are the negative comments people post– and believe me, they are just as read.  Remember the old saying, “if something good happens to you, you tell three people.  But if something bad happens to you, you tell ten people”?   Well, Twitter is no exception.  Except in this situation, you are probably telling a lot more people than ten…

Some examples of negative Tweets:
-”I owe the CPL $54.75 in late fees for the book “marie antoinette” that i took out 3 years ago.  hilarious.”
-”Man the CPL is picky about picture taking.  I’ve taken pictures all over the city, but this place about kicked me out.”
-”The DMV is faster than the CPL website.”
-The CPL sucks.  Old books, a pitiful music collection, VHS.”