This document discusses Twitter and provides tips for using it effectively. It describes Twitter as a social network for microblogging in 140 characters or less. It then discusses how Twitter can be used for learning, disseminating news, building relationships, and following what others are doing. The document provides ways to access Twitter and cautions against syncing social media accounts. It concludes by offering suggestions for building a network on Twitter and ways to maximize engagement, such as using hashtags and retweeting others.

1. SMUG
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and
Love Twitter
Feb 2, 2012

2. What is Twitter?
• Social Networking in 140 characters or less
“aka microblogging”
• 300 million users as of late 2011.
• 300 million “Tweets” and 1.6 billion searches per
day
• At its best, it’s a two-way conversation

3. So what’s the point?
• Learning • Disseminating news
• Engaging with your • Building relationships
peers, students, with colleagues, the
audiences media, others
Knowing What This Guy is Doing at Any Given
Moment! Okay….not really. But he deserves
some credit.

4. It’s not without Pratfalls

5. Pratfalls

6. Ways to Tweet
• Twitter.com
• A variety of apps for phone, tablet, and
computer:Tweetdeck, Twirl, Seesmic, Twitterberry,
Twitdroid, Twitterfon, Hootsuite and Twitter’s own mobile
apps
• Texting from your phone
• Do not sync your social media accounts!!!!

7. Some Thoughts on Censorship
• Twitter said it would “reactively withhold content from
users in a specific country -- while keeping it available in
the rest of the world.”
• What exactly does that mean? Good Question
• What does it mean for Higher Ed? We’ll have to watch
for implications for International
Students/Faculty/Programs

8. Build a Network*
• It’s only as good or as useful as the
network you build
• Start following people with similar interests
• Converse with them
• See who they follow
• Keep doing it
*Ideas from
@rachelreuben

9. But I don’t have anything
interesting to say!!!
OF COURSE
YOU DO!!!!

10. What should I be tweeting?
• Depends on your account personal or dept.
• News
• Links to topical articles for your field
• Interesting books you’re reading
• A conference you’re going to
• Live tweet an event/game/lecture/conference
• Hold a Twitter Town Hall? Twitter Office Hours?

11. A supplement to your courses
• Changes your dynamic in your class
• Create a course hashtagie, #ECON432
• Post a question about class reading,
encourage discussion, post a link that
relates to classwork
• Answer Student Questions

12. Ways to Maximize your Tweeting
• Use #hashtags. #brockport or #ROC
• www.brockport.edu/q or other link shortener
• Retweet others if you like what you see: RT
• Hold a contest: we gave away mugs.
• Create and follow lists.
– @brockportnews/campus-twitterers

13. SPAM
• Direct Message Spam “Check out this
picture, I think it’s you!”

14. Finding a balance
• Don’t overdo it
– Don’t post every thought
– Don’t spam
• Don’t underdo it
– Don’t ignore the account
– Answer any inquiries in a timely fashion
• Engage, Interact, Explore
• Take a breath before you Tweet.

15. Brockport on Twitter
• @brockportnews
• @brockport
• @ellswortheagle
• @bsgbuzz
• More at www.brockport.edu/connect

16. Questions???
• @dtyler321