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I don't consider myself a techie, yet i'm curious about how technology helps folks--including me--accomplish tasks and goals. I like trying out new tools, so when Tena Hanson suggested I use Meebo to interact with attendees at the exhibit hall for the Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference, I jumped at the chance to learn something new.
I like to start slow (sometimes too slow; I still use the web interface for Twitter) and first find out how the basics work before moving on to widgets, advanced options, and plug-ins. So I signed in to Meebo and created a widget for our home page. It seems to work okay, although I have a sneaking suspicion that there's more to it than I realize, but maybe that's the beauty of Meebo and why so many librarians use it: it's easy.
And how neat to use it for a virtual exhibit hall! Folks visited our site and asked questions that popped up in invidual boxes, so I could chat with many at a time. Around 120 librarians visited the exhibit hall page. Here's what it looked like from my side:
I'm now considering keeping a Meebo widget on the site to answer questions any visitor might have. If anyone has any ideas on how best to use Meebo, I'd love to hear them.
And, if you're wondering about the ISLOC conference, Sarah Willeford, one of the intrepid librarians who dreamed up the conference blogged about it on TechSoup for Libraries last year. What a great conference!
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i <3 meebo
i <3 tutorials!
thanks, shelly, for the most excellent tutorial. i especially appreciate the quote you provided from the Library/Media Aide, showcasing how she (and others, and me, too) can be intimidated initially by technology. jump in!