for researchers

What is Twitter?• A social network to exchange public messages

or ‘tweets’ of 140 characters or less• Tweets can be just text, or contain images,

video, and links• The point of Twitter is to engage with people -

not to speak at them

Why use Twitter?

• To keep up to date with developments in your field, and with what’s being discussed at conferences and events

• To publicise what you’re doing e.g. your publications, blog & talks

• To ask questions about your research

• To share resources• To build a scholarly network

Getting startedGo to www.twitter.com and register for an account

Getting started• Have a short and sensible username – the

longer yours is the harder it is to retweet you

Your bio

You have 160 characters

Always replace the default Twitter egg with your photo!

The jargon HASHTAGS

Handle = your username@ = precedes any username. People will use it to mention you in Tweets or send you a message.Feed = the stream of tweets you seeMention = when a @username is in a tweetRT = retweet. A Tweet you forward to your followersMT = modified tweetDM = direct message. A private message.HT = hat tipTrend = A popular topic on Twitter

A hashtag, or #, denotes a keyword or topic on Twitter. It’s any string of characters or words without spaces.

They can occur anywhere in the Tweet, at the beginning, middle, or end.

Connects Tweets on the same topic

Tips: • Don't overuse in tweets• Make use of capital letters to avoid confusion (when joining words together) #Nowthatchersdead• Check it’s not already in use

#

Home – Tweets and retweets from accounts you follow

Notifications – mentions, retweets, follows

Check your Notifications tab regularly so that you can respond quickly to any mentions

How does Following work?

Find a Twitter user you like

Their Tweets appear on your home page

Who to follow

Search for keywords to find interesting people or communities tweeting about those keywords

Twitter will suggest accounts to follow based on who you follow and the accounts that they follow

When you click the Follow button you will immediately start following that user – you don’t need to be accepted except for Private accounts

Sending a Tweet

• Click Tweet button in top right corner • Tweets can include up to 3 photos, a media clip or

URLs• Tweets appear in your followers’ news feed• Tweets can be deleted – but may be too late!• Remember anything you post will be public and

searchable!

Tweeting tips• Tweet when you have something to say, and don’t when you

don’t!• Share thoughts and ideas related to your research area.• Ask questions related to your research area• Tweet links to your latest publications• Tell followers about the next event you are speaking at or

attending. Find out if there is a hashtag and reach out over Twitter to the speakers.

• It’s OK to tweet things multiple times

Retweets

• Click Retweet to share a Tweet with your followers

If you want, you can add a comment to your retweetYour comment will appear above the retweet

Indicates appreciation of the original Tweet

Likes

• Used to bookmark or show endorsement• User will be notified that you have Liked their Tweet• Can view Likes on your profile• Can Undo Like by clicking on Like icon (heart)

Click the heart icon to add a Tweet to your Likes

Consider using a social media dashboard

Download Hootsuite from: http://hootsuite.com

You can see you timeline, mentions, DMs from one screen and send tweets.

Any questions?

@Lewylib