Using Twitter as a Professional Tool
Boyda Johnstone (@boydajosa)
Basics of Twitter
- hashtags: links to broader conversations
- direct messages: who uses those?
- new "Moments" tab: easier to access events
- most "successful" tweets include a photo, perhaps screenshot with broader text
- when to RT? when not to RT?
- can now embed tweets
Analytics
Using Tweetdeck
Who to Follow?
- hashtags: #phdchat, #withaPhD, #altac, #gradgrind, #postac, #medievaltwitter
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Generalist academic accounts: @thesiswhisperer, @researchwhisperer, @timeshighered, @chronicle, @chroniclevitae, @dissertating, @WriteThatPhD, @AcademicPain, Shit Academics Say (@AcademicsSay), PhD Comics (@PhDComics)
- "Semipublic intellectuals" in your own field: medieval: @jeffreyjcohen, @JonathanHsy, @dorothyk98
other: Natalia Cecire (@ncecire), Lee Skallerup (@readywriting), Aimee Morrison (@digiwonk), Cory Robin (@CoryRobin), Jennifer Polk (@FromPhDtoLife)
Tweeting at Conferences
Pros:
- draws you into intellectual conversation
- new perspectives
- cross-currents with other concurrent panels
- developing a voice in a low-stakes space
- making connections, leveling hierarchies
- practical considerations: alertness, mnemonic aids, critical/analytic skills
- follow conversation remotely or after-the-fact
Tweeting at Conferences
Cons:
- not everyone has a Twitter account
- privileges a certain type of learner, and a certain type of personality
- NSA.
- not necessarily an accurate record
Tweeting at Conferences
Best Practices, in 6 steps:
- always include attribution (name, conference hashtag, session hashtag)
- don't overtweet
- listen to other tweeters
- think about representation
- don't sacrifice complexity for simplicity
- aim for both general and specific elements
