OK so the Twitterverse has been a aflutter at the awesome campaign by @oldspice that has taken the internet by storm over the last few days.

If you were hiding under a rock, for some background reading – and watching – check out here, here, and here. And if you open up the Old Spice Channel on YouTube you may never leave!

While there’s a LOT of fun to be had by checking out the abs – *ahem* I mean brilliant marketing strategy – of the Old Spice Guy, there’s also some real opportunities.

@wawoodworth managed to get so many retweets of their original post that @oldspice gave libraries this shoutout:

I am pretty! How did he know?

And while, sadly, the Old Spice Guy phenomenon of over 200 video message replies to tweets is now over, (excuse me while I cry all over my iPhone), there are already examples of libraries jumping on the boat cart – and how!

So – how do we take advantage of this?

And how do we make sure that when we do, it’s not embarassing and does more damage to our brand than good?

I’m currently Chair of ALIA’s New Generation Advisory Committee (NGAC) and I have some ideas but am interested to hear your thoughts too. And while yes – we are a group to advise the board on issues relation to new generation/graduate involvement in the profession and the organisation -we are also a committee that welcomes ideas from experienced members of the profession.  So if you don’t identify as “new” anymore, but you have ideas on this topic, please don’t hold back!

NGAC is in planning stages for the next year or years of new generation involvement in our profession, so I ask you, interactive librarians: Where to, from here?

Personlly, I’d like to be on that cart.

@naomidoessel
Chair, ALIA New Generation Advisory Committee