Twitter for Economists

Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers)

The Peterson Institute for International Economics

On leave from University of Michigan

Plus Brookings, CEPR, CESifo, IZA & NBER

American Economic Association Annual Conference, January 3 2015 – Boston

Planning this talk

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A challenge

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What is Twitter?

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Influence

Influence your students (Hint #teachecon)

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Influence fellow economists

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Influence across disciplinary boundaries

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Influence the broader public

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Influence the media

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Influence policy

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Measuring influence

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Advice

Advice: Good Tweeting

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Advice: Be Clear

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Advice: Engage (with good humor)

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Advice: Be Generous

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Advice: Think graphically

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Advice: Keep it professional (but still have fun)

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Advice: There’s a downside

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Advice: Beware of the echo chamber

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A case study

A case study

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Teaching economics with humor

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Explaining the monetary debate through cupcakes

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Economics and cupcakes

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Libertarians and cupcakes

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And the media follows

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