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Twitter basics

Twitter basics. Andy Bechtel, associate professor School of Media and Journalism editdesk.wordpress.com. Our plan for today. How to get started on Twitter How to get followers and what to tweet about Individual help at end of our session. What is Twitter?. A free social networking site

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Twitter basics

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  1. Twitter basics Andy Bechtel, associate professorSchool of Media and Journalism editdesk.wordpress.com

  2. Our plan for today • How to get started on Twitter • How to get followers and what to tweet about • Individual help at end of our session

  3. What is Twitter? • A free social networking site • Sometimes called a micro-blogging site • Has about 300 million active users worldwide • Uses a timeline approach • Let’s take a look: www.twitter.com

  4. How to get started • Consider how you or your organization will use Twitter. What’s your objective? • Consider your username. • Maximum of 15 characters, but aim for shorter. • Consider something memorable and unique. • Remember that you can change your username later if you need to. • Create an account. • Use a profile picture.

  5. How Twitter works • People can follow you on Twitter. When you send a message, they will see that message, known as a tweet. • You can follow others on Twitter. Follow people and organizations who interest you. • A Twitter feed is like a personalized list of headlines or a news wire service.

  6. More about how it works • A tweet may be up to 140 characters in length. • People can forward, or retweet, a tweet that they think is interesting. That can get your message spread in a hurry.

  7. Following on Twitter • Sources of information relevant to you and your colleagues. • See who is following you. Consider following them back. • Think of people you follow as your scouts — and vice versa. • It’s OK to unfollow.

  8. How to get followers • Offer valuable information. • Include links. • Reply to followers when they ask questions. • Publicize your Twitter feed on your website, blog, business cards, LinkedIn page, etc.

  9. UNC on Twitter • https://twitter.com/UNC • https://twitter.com/EmployeeForum • https://twitter.com/ChancellorFolt • https://twitter.com/TarHeelProvost • https://twitter.com/UNCFacGov • https://twitter.com/JoMCParkLib

  10. Fun follows • https://twitter.com/UNCMemes • https://twitter.com/NCcollection • https://twitter.com/DaggumRoy • https://twitter.com/UNCJschoolProbs

  11. What to tweet about • Breaking news, announcements, events • News about your academic area or unit • Job listings • Scenes from daily life • Personal observations • Important: Keep it professional.

  12. Effective tweets • Have a personal touch. Be conversational. • Explain how information will affect your followers. • Use a key detail. • Use a number. • Use abbreviations. • Use a photo, map or chart.

  13. Tweet vs. news headline On July 1, the sales tax in L.A. County was increasing a half-point, to 9.75 percent. So the night before, instead of writing just “L.A. County's sales tax to increase to 9.75%,” I tweeted: “Only 3 more shopping hours until L.A. County's sales tax goes up to 9.75%” It had a huge response! It was RT'd like crazy. —Deirdre Edgar, an editor at the Los Angeles Times

  14. Sample tweets

  15. More sample tweets

  16. Spelling and grammar • They still count, but you can be more flexible. • Minor errors are more forgivable. • Big ones will be noticed.

  17. Maintain good taste (unlike here)

  18. Tracking your traffic

  19. #Hashing it out

  20. Twitter abbreviations • RT = retweet • HT = hat tip • OH = overheard • ICYMI = in case you missed it • #FF = Follow Friday

  21. More on Twitter • Direct messages • Likes (formerly known as favorites) • Trends • Lists • Muting

  22. What’s ahead • Algorithmic feed • Increased character count

  23. Any questions?

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