Twitter: A Love Story (alt title: Twitter 101)

Jodi Sperber, MSW, MPHJuly 6, 2010

What we’ll cover

Twitter basics Examples Getting started Tools that make it easier Best practices

Photo credit: kevharb, via Creative Commons license

All if this, and you want me

to tweet?

All if this, and you want me

to tweet?

Twitter is….

Adapted from Twitter for Us - FCPCommunications.com

Millions of individual broadcasting networks – built by the users themselves

A new way to speak directly to the people/organizations you care about – and that want to hear from you

A giant and total time suck away from what is really important?

““Many people have assumed that Twitter is Many people have assumed that Twitter is just another social network, some kind of just another social network, some kind of micro-blogging service, or both. It can be micro-blogging service, or both. It can be

these things but primarily Twitter serves as a these things but primarily Twitter serves as a real-time information network powered real-time information network powered by people around the world by people around the world discovering discovering what’s happening and sharing the news.”what’s happening and sharing the news.”

““Many people have assumed that Twitter is Many people have assumed that Twitter is just another social network, some kind of just another social network, some kind of micro-blogging service, or both. It can be micro-blogging service, or both. It can be

these things but primarily Twitter serves as a these things but primarily Twitter serves as a real-time information network powered real-time information network powered by people around the world by people around the world discovering discovering what’s happening and sharing the news.”what’s happening and sharing the news.”

Photo credit: Terje S. Skerdal, via Creative Commons license http://is.gd/bhJag

People have a lot to say

People have a lot to say

Updated numbers: As of June 8, Twitter averages:

•750 tweets per second•65 million tweets per day

“Expect to see an emphasis on the scholarly and research implications of the acquisition… it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data. And I'm certain we'll learn things

that none of us now can possibly conceive.”

April 14, 2010

Photo Credit: emerald isle druid, via Creative Commons license

A tweet is an individual message To follow somebody is to subscribe to

their messages. This does not mean they will also follow you.

A DM or direct message is a private message on Twitter. Often written simply as D.

RT or retweet is to repost a valuable message from somebody else on Twitter and give them credit Sometimes noted as “via” instead of RT

Photo credit jovike, used via Creative Commons license Adapted from Twitter 101 for Business

@username is a public message to or about an individual on Twitter

A hashtag—the # symbol followed by a term and included in tweets—is a way of categorizing all the posts on a topic

Shortened URLs. To fit links into the short message format, URLs are oftened shortened. Can be accomplished using a variety of services.

Trending topics are the most-discussed terms on Twitter at any given moment

Photo credit jovike, used via Creative Commons license Adapted from Twitter 101 for Business

Anatomy of a tweet

Anatomy of a tweet

Anatomy of a tweet

Anatomy of a tweet

Anatomy of a tweet

Anatomy of a tweet

First step:

Listen

search.twitter.com

Try searching for a few keywords

or topics

Photo credit: Erica Reid, used via Creative Commons license

No account requiredNo account required

Search for a user or keyword(s)

Search for a user or keyword(s)

RSS feed (read & archive)

Developments

Research

Meetings and Conference Info

Q&A

Conversations

Chit Chat

Campaigns

What do you

hear?

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Photo by Thomas Hawk, via Creative Commons license

Just for fun

Just for fun

Photo credit samcrockett, via Creative Commons license

Asking questio

ns

Asking questio

ns

Photo credit: Sifter, used via Creative Commons license

Sharing informat

ion

Sharing informat

ion

Photo by kevharb, via Creative Commons license

Connecting

Connecting

Real time news

Real time news

Photo credit: Nimages DR, via Creative Commons license

Viral campaig

n

Viral campaig

n

18 followers/following 23

Sharing ideasSharing ideas

18 followers/following 23

716 followers/following 1995

18 followers/following 23

716 followers/following 1995

1,094,192 followers/following 59

Photo credit: Nimages DR, via Creative Commons license

Start a conversation

Start a conversation

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…

Entire conversations take place…And you

can participate if you

like

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Does it feel anything like

this?

http://www.pixelsandpills.com/tweeder/

Visualizing information

Sorting through the tweets

How do I know? I asked…

Is there a voice missing from the discussion?

Is there information missing?

What value can you add?

Adapted from Twitter for Us - FCPCommunications.com

Ready to give it a try?Ready to give it a try?

People like tips, links to interesting stories People like tips, links to interesting stories and blogposts (they don’t have to be about and blogposts (they don’t have to be about you), and a good sense of humor.you), and a good sense of humor.

People like the human touch and will People like the human touch and will appreciate posts with your thoughts and appreciate posts with your thoughts and experiences more than you thinkexperiences more than you think

They also like it when you say hi, respond They also like it when you say hi, respond to their questions, comments, praise, to their questions, comments, praise, complaints and jokescomplaints and jokes

People like tips, links to interesting stories People like tips, links to interesting stories and blogposts (they don’t have to be about and blogposts (they don’t have to be about you), and a good sense of humor.you), and a good sense of humor.

People like the human touch and will People like the human touch and will appreciate posts with your thoughts and appreciate posts with your thoughts and experiences more than you thinkexperiences more than you think

They also like it when you say hi, respond They also like it when you say hi, respond to their questions, comments, praise, to their questions, comments, praise, complaints and jokescomplaints and jokes

Photo credit: kate.e did, via Creative Commons licenseAdapted from Twitter 101 for Business

Getting started

Signing up takes

approximately one minute

To help people recognize and trust your account, fill out your profile completely and include a picture

Adapted from Twitter 101 for Business

This is where you type your

140

Follow relevant accounts

Following somebody means you’ve subscribed to their tweets

When you find a good candidate, look under their picture for the Follow button

Start small – follow five. Listen for a while. Then follow five more.

Lists are also useful for finding/creating groups on a specific topic

Adapted from Twitter 101 for Business

That’s the basics! But it’s only the

beginning…

That’s the basics! But it’s only the

beginning…

TweetDeck

HootSuite

TweetDeck: desktop basedThis is

where you type your

140

Search term

Type 140 here

Mentions

Integration

Integration

HootSuite: web based

Photo credit: Laszio-photo, via Creative Commons License

Best practices

Build relationships on Twitter Listen for comments about you Respond to comments and

queries Ask questions Post links to things people

would find interesting

Adapted from Twitter 101 for Business

Best practices

Retweet messages you would like to share

Use a friendly, casual tone Don’t spam people Don’t tweet anything you

wouldn’t want your mother to read…

““No matter how sophisticated the No matter how sophisticated the algorithms get, no matter how algorithms get, no matter how many machines we add to the many machines we add to the

network, our work is not about the network, our work is not about the triumph of technology, it is about triumph of technology, it is about

the triumph of humanity.”the triumph of humanity.”

http://is.gd/bhJag