Twitter is Great (And So Can You)!

Why You Should Be on Twitter and How it Benefits Students, Faculty and

CitizensJason Steinhauer

Director, Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest

@JasonSteinhauer @LepageCtr #Twitter101

Overview:What Twitter is How to use it

How to think about it Why it’s valuable

*unlike in class, you should be on your device during this talk

Who are you?who’s in the room

Who am I?how we communicate history, aka #histcomm

Twitter is a toolThe more you use it, the better you understand it

Do online what you would in person

CommentingSay stuff!

CollectingLearn stuff!

ConnectingMeet people!

A-B-C“Always be connecting”

Twitter 101

your ideas go here

you say something

i say something

someone else says something

It’s a conversation

Talk to anyone, talk to someone

@ThisIsaTwitterHandle

Hi, I’m a hashtag (#)#thisiswhatahashtaglookslike

Hashtags#resist

#russianhacking #ArabSpring

#WomensMarch#MAGA

#DrainTheSwamp #HereToStay

#VotoPorPaco #euxsummit2017 #newshourchats

#SNL40 #IGotCaught

#MyLoveLifeIn5Words #YouDontDeserveMyRespectIf

#drinkingaboutmuseums #historyjobs #histcomm

x1,000,000…

jump in and join the conversation!

TrendingWhen lots of people talk about something all at once

Twitter is not

a press release*(unless you’re a celebrity, world leader, elected official or other famous person)

Appropriate

Appropriate

Less appropriate

Twitter Where celebrities are real people

Facebook Where real people are celebrities

Twitter 317 million

Facebook 1.86 billion

Twitter open network - talk to anyone!

Facebook semi-closed network - talk to your circles

Who’s on Twitter?*world leaders

*government officials *celebrities *athletes

*journalists *companies / institutions

*digital marketers *scholars

*anyone with something to say

Join a MovementLarge movements on Twitter can have influence

“When we cannot hold hands in the street…we hold hands on the Internet”

-Manuel Castells

Let’s talk about “Followers”

you seem cool, I want to follow you you say

interesting things, I want to

follow you

You seem like a person of

influence, I should follow

you

Following is how you connect with people “You won’t lead if you

can’t follow”

Don’t obsess about how many followers you have

*know your followers *understand your followers *engage with your followers

*be interesting *follow back as appropriate

Total followers are nice, but I focus on followers per tweet

Ratio - 2.08

Ratio - 9.19

Make lists*coworkers

*institutions you like *parks you want to visit

*publications you like to read *people you’d like to meet

*you don’t need to follow everyone

Drawbacks of Twitter*information overload

*distractions *lameness

*trolls *harassment

*explicit content

*it can get nasty 😷

Mitigation techniques*be selective in who you follow *make people prove their worth

*use lists *don’t be afraid to ignore people

*use the “block” tool *report abuse

*lock your account if desired

What should you say?

Be interesting

A tweet is a headline“On the average, five times as many people read the

headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

-David Ogilvy

source: http://blog.meetedgar.com/201407this-is-why-nobody-sees-your-tweets/

Most people won’t see your tweet

Be interesting

Talk about:*your work

*your interests *what you’re reading

*what others are saying *what’s going on in the world

*issues that matter to you

Be interesting

Why is Twitter good for students?

*find jobs *network with professionals

*learn what’s going on in the field *see who the influencers are

*discover resources *be part of important conversations

Why is Twitter good for faculty?*find jobs *network

*learn what’s going on in the field *see who the influencers are

*discover resources *be part of important conversations

*establish your brand *connect with journalists

*GET YOUR RESEARCH OUT THERE

Why is Twitter good for citizens?*free speech

*mobilize action *share information

*create connections around the world *give voice to the voiceless

*raise money & awareness for causes *hold leaders accountable

*CHANGE THE WORLD

Tahrir Square - formed first on the Internet before going into the streets. Twitter is at the foundations of contemporary social

movements.

Want inspiration? Follow @jbf1755

Want inspiration? Follow @lisawade

Want inspiration? Follow @RadioFreeTom

Want more? Take a #histcomm class

Twitter is what you make it

Questions?Jason Steinhauer

Director, Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest

@JasonSteinhauer @LepageCtr