Archive for the ‘SMS Reference’ category

Text a Librarian’s Post to Twitter Button and Why It’s Great: User Generated Marketing for Libraries

February 25th, 2010

Post Your Library’s Questions and Answers to Twitter



A “Post to Twitter” button on websites isn’t a new functionality, but after giving it some thought, we decided to add it to Text a Librarian. The reason? It’s User Generated Content that engages patrons and markets your library services.

SEO + Social Marketing + Patron Engagement
People searching online often type out an entire question in the search box, rather than just a few keywords, to see what results come up. Tweets are indexed by search engines like Google, Bing and soon Yahoo and when an individual searches online by typing out a question, your reference Q&A can appear in search results (aka helpful service + free marketing).

Here’s an excellent example of how the New York Public Library’s AskNYPL tweet of the question “What is the wingspan of a swallow?” is now indexed on Google, marketing their reference services.

Tweeting user generated content of funny, interesting and helpful questions and answers also engages Twitter-following patrons (and their followers through re-tweets) and informs them about your library’s reference services. We’ve seen great uses of Twitter by libraries engaging patrons with reference trivia and daily fun facts.

Spreading Love for Your Library
Many libraries are using Text a Librarian beyond questions and answers as a virtual suggestion box and for patron ideas and opinions about library services (questions, comments and feedback). When a patron texts good ideas and positive feedback, you can use the post to Twitter button to spread the love.

How Do I Start Using It? (for existing Text a Librarian customers):
The Post to Twitter button is an optional function of your service, controlled by your library’s Admin. Please visit the New Features section of your Text a Librarian microboard for details on how to turn it on.

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Posted in Collaborative Text Messaging Reference, Library Marketing Tools, Mobile Software as a Service, Mobile Technologies, Reference Tools, SMS Ref, SMS Reference, Text Messaging Reference in Libraries, Virtual Reference, library pr, library tools, mobile libraries, mobile phones, mobile reference

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New! Simple but Effective Feature: Text for Instructions

February 18th, 2010

“Aren’t you oversimplifying this? Yes. That’s the whole point.”

From the Steve Krug’s new book, Rocket Surgery Made Easy

We’ve added a simple, but very effective feature we call “Text for Instructions.”

Simply stated, it means your patrons only have to text your keyword to 66746 for instructions on how to use your service.

What happens next?
1. Your patrons get an auto-responder with instructions on saving your keyword and the number 66746 to their contacts for when they need to ask you a question. The instructions include a link to a mobile web page with detailed instructions in case they need them.

It acts like a registration system that gets them started with your service without having to have a pressing question or message on-the-spot. They save your info in their phones for later when they do.

2. The Mosio system assigns the phone number a PatronID associated with your account, so after that all they need to do is text their question to 66746.

That’s it!

Note: The old way of texting your keyword + their message to 66746 still works, no problem. But this way patrons can see your poster (example below) or promotional materials, text for instructions, then save everything in their contacts when they need it later.

If you’re a Mosio / Text a Librarian customer and want more specific information about it, like how you can customize/edit the instructions, it’s listed in the New Features section inside your account.

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Posted in Mobile Software as a Service, Mobile Technologies, Mobile technologies in libraries, Reference Tools, SMS Ref, SMS Reference, Text Messaging Tips, Uncategorized, Virtual Reference, library tools, mobile libraries, mobile phones, mobile reference

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Library Marketing Tips Using Google Buzz

February 11th, 2010

Use the Buzz to Build One

Google’s new microblogging service, is getting a lot of, well, buzz. “Hello World!” has literally been replaced by “Buzz! Buzz!” by new people trying it out. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s the best way to explain it:

It’s all of the elements that one could think of getting out of Twitter (more than 140 characters, the ability to post videos and photos) packed neatly into your gmail account. While there are still some kinks to work out (you get an email every time someone you’re following posts or comments, which could get really annoying fast), Gmail’s built-in active user base of 176 million users is making it a clear force to be reckoned with.

In comparison, Twitter claims to have 75 million users and about 25% of accounts are reported to be inactive. Foursquare, known by some as “The Twitter of 2010″ is similar in that you “check in” using GPS on your phone and has been building momentum in it’s growth. David Lee King recently had a great post about it called “Foursquare and Libraries – Definitely Something There!” And I would agree, but it seems Buzz might be hot on the trail as it has the same built-in GPS/Geo-Location features and it works directly with Google Maps. Granted, it’s currently missing the fun “Mayor” game element Foursquare has, but this is a numbers game and Google definitely has numbers.

Library Marketing Tips for Using Google Buzz

Get signed up, get started and tell some associates.
Either for yourself or for your library, sign up for a Gmail account (which will give you a Google Buzz account automatically). If you have a Gmail account, but haven’t logged in lately, you’ll be greeted by a note about Google Buzz and can get started right away.


Videos + Photos = Exposure
Let’s be honest, many status updates just really aren’t that interesting unless you know the person doing them. That said, there’s now an opportunity (that shows up in Google results), to put more of the content you’ve created out on the web. Seemingly one of the best things about Buzz right now is your ability to post videos, videos, links and more than 140 characters to promote your library and the services you offer. If you’re already posting to Twitter or Facebook, make sure you add Buzz to your list and some would argue it should go on top with these mult-media adding abilities.


Follow, Follow, Comment
It’s only been around for a few days, but one of the elements that grabbed me quickly was my contacts showing up as people I was following. We use Twitter with some success, but instantly being able to see my friends buzzing around (most who don’t use Twitter regularly), opened up my eyes to the bigger possibilities of Buzz. It can work for you too. It might take a little bit for more people to start posting, but commenting on someone’s buzz gets their attention.


For example, my first buzz was geo-tagged by our office. This guy randomly calls me a nerd, then gives me double points for having a photo of a cat, offers to buy me coffe? A little creepy? Sort of, but also pretty cool. He got my attention and guess what? I checked out his website after he commented.
Google Buzz, a great place for making friends?


Have fun with it!
I’m not going to tell you how to have fun, I just think marketing is a whole lot better when you’re having fun doing it.


Make sure you’re listed on Google Maps
When someone is using the GPS function (currently only available on iPhones and Android), it will choose locations closest to them. If they’re at or near your library (or you are), make sure your library is able to be found. It’s an extra touch point/impression for the library when someone is buzzing either in your building or near it.
The best way to see if you’re on google maps is to search for your library’s name and then the city. If you see it, you’re there. If you don’t, visit http://local.google.com/ and click “Put your business on Google Maps.” You should be there, but make sure anyway.


Read this other blog post
It was literally just IMd to me as I was typing this, it’s great, from Jeremiah Owyang: “Web Strategy Matrix: Google Buzz vs Facebook vs MySpace vs Twitter (Feb 2010)” It breaks down all of the social networks into a matrix giving you various details and thoughts about each.

If you have any other ideas or thoughts, post them in the comments.

Happy Buzzing!

Update: Someone just Buzzed me this great post from AEXT.net entitled 12 Undocumented Tricks for Google Buzz, worth a read.

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Posted in Library Industry, Library Marketing Tools, SMS Reference, Text 66746 (MOSIO), Text Messaging Reference in Libraries, library pr, library tools, mobile libraries, mobile reference, videos in library marketing

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Why We Don’t Use Google Voice as an SMS Gateway: It’s Illegal

December 28th, 2009

Google products are great and we use a handful of them at our office. But the question of using a “Google Voice SMS Gateway” for text messaging reference software has come up recently with regards to Mosio’s Text a Librarian, so we wanted to quickly explain why we don’t do it.

The answer is simple: it’s illegal.

It’s Illegal, Part 1: Screen Scraping and Polling
Google Voice does not offer any sort of API (permitted) way of letting you piggy back your technology onto Google Voice, to receive text messages via your Google Voice number and then use them in other software. What that means is that anyone using Google Voice to piggy back on their text messaging function is doing so by automatically logging into the system, which is known as “screen scraping” or “polling.” Doing this is a direct violation of Google’s Terms of Service:
“5.3 You agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of the Services by any means other than through the interface that is provided by Google, unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with Google. You specifically agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of the Services through any automated means (including use of scripts or web crawlers) and shall ensure that you comply with the instructions set out in any robots.txt file present on the Services.”

It’s Illegal Part 2: Reselling Google’s Services
Google as a company is a wonderful contributor to the open source movement and offer APIs to many of their products. Google Voice, however, is not one of them. Currently there is no Google Voice API and depending on who you ask, the response is either hopeful or “there’s no way that will happen.” Regardless of which side you stand on, any organization or individual selling software that includes Google Voice hacks is again doing so in violation of Google’s terms of service:
“5.5 Unless you have been specifically permitted to do so in a separate agreement with Google, you agree that you will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade or resell the Services for any purpose.”

It’s Unreliable
When Google releases APIs to their software and services, they are providing reliable access under an agreed upon set of circumstances (some involve commercial vs non-commercial rights, etc) and make product change decisions with APIs in mind. Simply put, when they make changes, they do so either without affecting the API or by giving those with API access appropriate information so adjustments can be made, ensuring the services will still work well. With no API, there’s no warning, no information on why code changes. If you’re accessing Google without an API and things begin not working, there is no recourse in getting things up and running again.

We hope this clears up any questions people have regarding Google Voice and why we don’t use it as an SMS gateway. We think Google Voice is pretty cool, but it’s not a legal, reliable way to offer text messaging software to libraries, companies or organizations, so we opt instead for legal, approved ways of giving our customers access to text messaging. As far as Google being a company the supports openness, we applaud them for being so, but also recognize that Google is open when it’s convenient for them. While it may not be “go to jail” illegal, it’s simply not a risk worth taking.

If you have any questions for us, please feel free to contact us.

The Mosio Team

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Posted in Digital Reference, Mobile Software as a Service, Mobile Technologies, Mobile technologies in libraries, Reference Tools, SMS Ref, SMS Reference, Text Messaging Reference in Libraries, software as a service

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Word of Mouth Marketing in Libraries – Info and Articles

November 10th, 2009

Then and Now…

Faberge Shampoo started it all with their famous commercial from the 1970s. Peggy Barber and Linda Wallace nail it in their new article, “The Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing” in the November issue of American Libraries Magazine. We wrote a post called “Word of Mouth: The Best Form of Social Media” as part of our Library Marketing Tips series.

I definitely recommend reading the whole article, but here are short versions of their “Why WOMM?” bullets to get you started:
1. It’s real and immediate.
2. It’s personal.
3. It’s honest.
4. It’s catching.
5. It’s customer-driven.

More Info and Articles

1. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association has a great educational section, WOMMA 101, giving some great initial information as well as their Best Practices Handbook (free in PDF).

2. A great blog post from Marketing Vox containing some stats (and charts and graphs), Real-Life WOM Beats Online by a Wide Margin.

3. About.com article Why Word-of-Mouth Marketing? by Laura Lake.

Shhhhh…don’t tell anybody.
;)

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Posted in Digital Reference, Library Collaboration, Library Marketing Tools, Reference Tools, SMS Reference, Text Message Reference - Don't Use a Cell Phone, Text Messaging Reference in Libraries, chat technology for libraries, library pr, library tools, mobile reference

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Texting the Library – Beyond Reference Services

September 24th, 2009

Text the Library With Comments, Feedback and Suggestions

Enabling libraries to set up mobile text messaging reference services so patrons can ask questions has been the primary use of our technology to date. In fact, mobile questions and answers is our business, it’s what we geek out on every day at work. But there’s another use for Mosio’s Text a Librarian currently being utilized and we’d like to encourage more of it: Patron feedback and suggestions via text messaging.

Encouraging patrons to text comments, suggestions and feedback can be a great way to gather intelligence about library use and provide insight on opportunities to better serve them. Being able to collect this feedback everywhere throughout the library beyond a stationary suggestion box allows patrons to chime in at their point of experience. Plus, it will get them to start using your mobile reference service, showing them all of the ways they can communicate with the library.

As a company, Mosio prides itself on listening to the suggestions and feedback of librarians to help make our software better. The product development team always wants to know how people are using the service, what would make it better, more useful, easier to interact with. The product has come a long way in the past 8 months since we launched, but we’re not done making it better. The same is true for those libraries we see who are embracing new technologies and services to become more relevant to patron needs.

Of course, there are always the traditional methods of gathering feedback through simple conversations, suggestion boxes, emails, surveys, etc, but if your library is already offering a text message reference service, you can easily extend the service to include comments and suggestions.

“Questions, Comments, Feedback? Text Us!”

By making it easier for them to communicate with you when they have ideas, you can collect great information that’s helpful to the entire library. Capturing patron thoughts in a database, where reports can be run, shared and talked about, gives you the ability to make ongoing improvements to your library services.

To those libraries who have already put this new use into play, we applaud you! For those looking to get interested, we’ll be creating and posting some easy to use comments/feedback patron marketing templates to use very soon, so stay tuned.

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Posted in Digital Reference, Mobile Software as a Service, Mobile Technologies, SMS Reference, SMS Text Messaging Customer Satisfaction, Text 66746 (MOSIO), Text Message Reference - Don't Use a Cell Phone, Text Messaging Customer Service, Text Messaging Reference in Libraries, Text Messaging for Schools, Text a Comment, Virtual Reference, library pr, library tools, mobile customer feedback, mobile phones, mobile reference

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Progress As Promised – The Future Value of Software as a Service for Libraries

September 10th, 2009

tree

“Here is the prime condition of success: Concentrate your energy, thought and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged. Having begun on one line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in it, adopt every improvement, have the best machinery, and know the most about it.”
- Andrew Carnegie

My favorite thing about working at Mosio is that every day we get to come into work and improve ourselves, our product and our relationships with customers. Aside from the positive attitude and action from those who work here, our business model, offering on-demand mobile reference software as a service for libraries, enables us to create, test, launch, listen and then improve upon our product in an ongoing fashion. Text a Librarian is better today than it was yesterday and it will always be better tomorrow.

What Does it Mean? Ongoing Improvements and Progress as Promised.

Since we launched in beta almost a year ago, we have added literally dozens of features and improvements to the service, all of it based on feedback from our customers and those who have commented or offered ideas for improvements. All have been taken into consideration in our ongoing development of the service. We welcome constructive criticism and feedback and in fact, we live for it. Ideas and feedback from librarians enable us to make at least 2 major feature updates per month plus a handful of user interface, usability and back end improvements to the system.

Ultimately what this means is that if you read or send a comment about our product, chances are we have too and are looking into it. Truthfully, not all ideas and suggestions are feasible: for example, we have heard “why can’t the page auto-refresh when a new question comes in?” In theory this suggestion sounds great, until you are in the middle of answering a question and the page refreshes, quickly making your answer box a moving target. Other improvements, such as RefStart, have been made based on listening to the wishes of librarians and coming up with our own solution.

Why We Do It

The simplest answer is “because we can.” Compared with any other options libraries have for mobile reference solutions, we strive for ours to be the best. Being the best means always improving, always making the system more secure, scalable, more collaboration-friendly, easier to set up, easier to use and more robust with reporting. What it means for you and your library is that by signing up for our service, you’ll always have a product that gets better and better, built by people who love hearing what you think as you use it. The biggest compliment we hear is “I wish we could answer all reference questions this way.” Our standard response: “We’re working on it.” =]

One that you can always bet on with Mosio/Text a Librarian is that in pursuit of our goal to be the best, we’ll always be looking to out-perform and out-service any other mobile reference solutions available to libraries. We’ll always be doing this through listening, taking great notes and offering a little bit of personality with our customer service. What this means for libraries is that in their pursuit of being the best, once they sign on with our technology, they get the benefit of ongoing updates and feature-adds to make their services more robust and user-friendly without having to buy or license additional services/software.

You can see a standard list of Text a Librarian features on our website, or if you are a current Text a Librarian customer, click on the New Features link inside your Quick Links module when you’re logged into the system.

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Posted in Business Life, Digital Reference, Library Industry, Mobile Industry, Mobile Technologies, SMS Reference, Software

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