atlanta press club talk on # grammar
TRANSCRIPT
#Grammar and Why it Matters
Form and Functionality on TwitterAtlanta Press Club Workshop
#ksuapc17
Framing our Discussion
• Twitter backchannel (live tweeting): #ksuapc17
• Sticky Notes
• Just Say It
Grammar Is…
• “The system and structure (functionality/form) of a language. Sometimes includes semantics.”—OED
• Prescriptive – rigid, universal enforcement • Descriptive – enforcement based on
communities of practice– Example: AP Style, MLA Style, digital conventions
So Why are # Grammar?
• They are a descriptivist symbol used to structure language and function for meaning.
Why Are Hashtags Important?
• Hashtags have changed the way we think, communicate, process information. In all likelihood, you’re hash-tagging something right now. # is everywhere. # is inside you.
– Lindy West, Columnist for The Guardian and Contributor to This American Life
Pew: Let’s Talk About #s (Numbers)• 6 out of 10 Americans get their news from social media sites
• Twitter ranks third out of these sites, behind FB (#2) and Reddit (#1)
• Out of users who reported they got most of their news from SM sites, more than 59% of them said they get their news from Twitter
Food For Thought
Local T.V.19%
Cable News13%
News sites/apps33%
Print5%
Network Nightly13%
Radio17%
Where Do Twitter Users Also Get their News?
What We Know About Users• 47% = male 53% = female
• 77% between 18-50
• 61% White 38 Non-White
• 28% college graduates
• 43% urban or suburban
• R = 19% D = 31% I = 31%
#demographics
Significant Key Trends
• 21% of all Internet users are on Twitter
• Up from 13% in 2012
• 42% of Twitter users check the site daily
#47%difference
Intersections Between Twitter & Journalism
• Twitter Is Important to Journalism (-1:35)
• Tom Rosenthiel TedX (-1:55)– “Twitter has changed the way audiences consume
information. SO…media must change how it produces information.”
According to Columbia Journalism Review…
Journalists should be on Twitter if:You write about mediaYou write about T.V. or digital cultureYou want readers to connect with youYou love playing with words
Another reason: to track readership, trending hashtags, and analytics
What do We Call it?• Historically, the hashtag has been called:– Octothorp(e); Lumberyard– Pound mark (sign)– Number (sign)– End of code transmission?– Hex, cross, hash, mot-dièse (current in France)– However, as many Twitter users were quick the point out,
using "mot-dièse" to signify a hashtag is technically incorrect since the word "dièse" denotes the sharp sign ( ), rather than ♯the right-leaning hashtag symbol (#).
Purposes for Effective Hashtagging
Search-a-bility
Shared Meaning
Storytelling
Subversion
Four Rhetorical Purposes of #Grammar on Twitter
1. Search-a-bility: Using the # as a way-finder to curate items in programs such as Storify.– Using the # as a search term when
followed by words and phrases– Make your story find-able– Start a trend!– Gain followers
ENGAGE: what # do you search? What might be some that you would want readers to search
# as Shared Meaning
2. Shared Semantics: Using the # as a rhetorical tool to engender shared meaning among specific groups and audiences; cultivating readership
ENGAGE: Let’s generate some keywords
# as a Narrative Tool3. Tell or enhance a compelling a story• Beginning/middle/end with plot twists and
some kind of resolution• #genesis #inmediares #twist #finale• # supplements short bursts of text to enhance
meaning and create pathos, metaphors, imagery
ENGAGE: Think of ways # can engender storytelling for you
# as Subversion
4. How do writers use the # as a subversive technique?– Commentary – Editorials
• #Hashtag
# to Disseminate Information
How do you use #s on Twitter?
What else do you want to know about #s?
Thanks!
# Help
• How to Use # on Instagram
• Columbia Journalism Review, 2014
• Search for Trending Hashtags