"Tips for writing Facebook and Twitter updates" by Kivi Leroux Miller

The author mentions the "three G's of positive social media marketing" (Be Genuine, Generous, and Grateful), and this ties in with the idea of librarians earning "social capital" with their patrons ... When interacting with their respective communities via social media, they need to proceed in a manner which will build up goodwill and make a positive impression; that way, patrons will be more likely to return the next time they have a question or need help with their information needs.

For example, the author describes "being genuine" with social media as whether or not one's post "helps your core fans/friends to really understand you better and to see your personality"; I see a lot of people in the library profession encouraging their colleagues to show more personality and build a relationship with their patrons (librarians can't gain a foothold in the community if they're perceived to be anonymous face-less "drones").

Of course, the article goes on to say that it can be a "fuzzy line between giving someone 'flavor' versus giving someone 'fluff'" ... In other words, there's nothing wrong with librarians having a little fun with their Facebook/Twitter updates (it is supposed to be "social" after all), but the truth is that patrons go elsewhere for their frivolity; when they're interacting with the library, they're looking for information first and foremost!

The description for "being generous" seems simple enough ... "It's about being helpful to your supporters, participants, etc." should be easily recognizable to any self-respecting librarian (it's basically the job description for the entire profession!).

As for "being grateful", this is another area that librarians need to focus on; while it usually works the other way around (patrons are thanking us whenever we solve a problem or answer a question for them), librarians can also "pass on information from others" in the form of going above and beyond simply pointing out a reference book or journal article; that's certainly important, but we can also provide them with further suggestions and recommendations that they didn't even realize they needed, as a way of "saying thanks" for coming to the library in the first place.