I am not doing anything particularly new or innovative, but I’d like to mention how pleased I’ve been with two simple techie things I do.
I have been a member of the blogging site LiveJournal since 2001. I’ve joined a number of special interest communities (LiveJournal’s word for a group) there over the years, in addition to communities for local communities. When I started working here, I joined a few GVSU communities and the Grand Rapids community.
Lately, I’ve been doing a little stealth reference on the GVSU community. Someone recently posted about the “conscience clause” proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services – if you’re on the MoveOn.org mailing list you’ve likely heard about this clause. (If you haven’t heard about it, there’s a press release here.) Another person wanted to know where he or she could find the text of the clause. I provided a link and got to explain a little bit about the Federal Register.
A day or two ago, someone asked for good, free, online books about the Adobe Suite – so I pointed him to O’Reilly’s Safari. This elicited the comments of ‘jawdrop’ from the original poster, and ‘holy shit’ from another. You know, it’s really rather gratifying to get reactions of awe and amazement to library resources. 
I also set up a Google Alert for the library about two weeks ago. I think it’s paid off already – I found a blog entry written about a coworker’s recent presentation, and shared that with the rest of the library. This morning, I found a forum post on Urban Planet discussing plans for a new library building, and forwarded that off to the appropriate coworker.
A few months ago I wrote about how vendors responding to my blog posts makes me feel listened to. What I’m doing is slightly different, but it’s the same concept. I’ve often heard the adage “go where your users are” – I think it’s more about finding your users, and being there when they need you. I’m not trying to use these communities as soapboxes to promote the library and its agenda – but when I see an information need that can be helped with a library resource or my own expertise, I share it. My opinion of vendors improves when they respond to my concerns – and hopefully, our users’ perception of libraries will also improve by doing this sort of thing.
What do you do to keep your feelers out?
I’ve seen some of your stealth reference answers on the GVSU LJ community, and I think it’s a terrific tactic. Informative, useful, and sneaky — three things every library should be!