Twitter: An Education and Communication Tool

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TwitterAn Education and Communication Tool

• Information Technology Services, UIS

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Agenda

• Twitter as an educational tool
• Twitter as a communication tool
• Statistics
• Tips
• Resources

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Twitter An Education Tool
World Affairs Council of Central Illinois Nobel
LaureateDr Robert Solow Growth Report
Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive
Development
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Twitter An Education Tool
World Affairs Council of Central Illinois Nobel
LaureateDr Robert Solow Growth Report
Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive
Development
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The Growth Report
World Affairs Council of Central Illinois Nobel
LaureateDr Robert Solow Growth Report
Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive
Development

• The Growth Report states that, If the sustained,
  high-growth cases are any guide, it appears that
  overall investment rates of 25 percent of GDP or
  above are needed, counting both public and
  private expenditures. They often invested at
  least another 78 percent of GDP in education,
  raining, and health (also counting public and
  private spending), although this is not treated
  as investment in the national accounts.
• The Growth Report highlights the following key
  features that have helped a few countries
  maintain growth rates of 7 for 25 uninterrupted
  years integration into world economy,
  maintaining high rates of savings and investment,
  and committed and credible governments.

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Implications
Back-channeling Students are asked to send tweets
with a predefined hashtag. At their next class,
the instructor has a complete transcript of all
the tweets, which can be shared with the
students.

• A thread of tweets on a particular topic can
  prove to be most meaningful, as they can provide
  the basis for subsequent analysis to reveal the
  meaning and other indirect, frequently
  irrelevant, information about the event.
• Tweets could suffice to merely track student
  attendance at an assignment, as well as
  determining of what value the assignment was.
• Tweets make it possible to share the reality of
  an educational event among a wider audience than
  those in attendance.

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Twitter A Communication Tool
Nellie, Assam 975 killed Anti-Sikh Riots,
Delhi 3100 killed 9/11, New York 2,819
killed Mumbai Terrorist Attacks, Mumbai 195
killed
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Twitter A Communication Tool
Mumbai Attacks, November 2008 Approximately 8,235
miles from central Illinois Twitter only source
of information no access to radio or television
reports Over 30-hours of tracking tweets
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Twitter A Communication Tool

• Tweets were precise, rapid, and a widespread
  camaraderie had sprung up among individuals the
  people tweeting.
• Few tweets reflected anger with politicians
  wanting to capitalize on the tragic event as a
  photo op by appearing at the troubled spots yet
  not trying to help
• Local residents grew angry at the media
  references to the event as Indias 9/11
• Local resources for assistance set up and several
  retweets of these resources

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Implications

• Citizen journalism played a key role in
  disseminating information about the Mumbai
  attacks
• Traditional media sources makes late entry into
  this event
• Bombay and mumbai
• When the quantities of tweets were high, quality
  of tweets followed suit.

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Lessons Learned
A simple idea, 140 characters of text, with a
powerful impact. Real-time public conversation.
Possibility of a tweet being pursued globally,
is truly inspiring.

• Aware You must accept that tweets can be
  information while social
• Insightful You get as much of value into a tweet
  as is possible
• Selective You have to identify reliable tweeters
  to interact with and follow
• Succinct You learn how to say what you need to
  in 140 characters or less

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Twitter Statistics
Site profile for twitter.com compete
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Twitter Statistics
Younger US Demos 12 Less Likely to Tweet MC
Marketing Charts
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Twitter Statistics
Marketers' Top Social Media Twitter, Blogs,
LinkedIn, Facebook MC Marketing Charts
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Twitter Statistics
Twitter to Move into Business Mainstream MC
Marketing Charts
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Twitter Statistics
Twitter to Move into Business Mainstream MC
Marketing Charts
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Twitter Statistics
Twitter to Move into Business Mainstream MC
Marketing Charts
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Tips Follow and Followers
FOLLOW FAIL The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow
You in Return on Twitter Atherton Bartelby

• Decide your purpose for using Twitter
• Personal, professional, interest-based, etc.
• Follow and be followed but not always
• Be wary of spam
• Use Twitter Search to find experts in your
  field(s) of interest and follow
• Respond to requests you might receive on Twitter
• Add Twitter Username to your signature
• Maximize visibility
• Have a contest and give out a prize

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Tips The Power of Retweet
Its Not How Many Followers You Have That Counts,
Its How Many Times You Get Retweeted Erick
Schonfeld

• Tweets can easily go viral
• frictionless
• Retweet and back link
• Good etiquette to give credit for retweet
• Keep total number of characters in mind if you
  want others to retweet your tweet
• How to Find Twitter Twits to Retweet Your Tweet!
  Kevin Gibbons

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Tips Importance of Hashtag
Hashtags are a community-driven convention for
adding additional context and metadata to your
tweets. hashtags

• hashtags
• Allows you to create groupings
• ad hoc assemblages of people with similar
  interests Building Social Applications, Stowe
  Boyd PDF, 9.3 MB
• Follow _at_hashtags for your hashtag(s) to be
  tracked
• Search Hashtags.org or TwitterGroups
• Do not overuse hashtags in your tweets ask
  yourself if your hashtag adds value
• mumbai, airfrance, sandiegofire

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Tips Twitter Donts
Social Media Policy Examples 123 Social Media

• Dont spam
• Dont ignore genuine requests for information
• Dont forget to give credit to the original tweet
• Dont launch initiative without guidelines/policy
• Dont expect the tool to work by itself
• Dont post vacation schedules

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Resources Getting Started

• How Twitter Started Evan Williams
• Twittering Tips for Beginners David Pogue
• All You Need to Know to Twitter Paul Boutin
• Birds of a Feather Twitter Together Walt
  Mossberg
• 14 Tools of Highly Effective Twitter Users
  Kenny Hyder
• Just Tweet It
• Twitter Bible Everything You Need To Know About
  Twitter C G Lynch

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Resources Academics

• 10 Twitter Tips for Higher Education Heather
  Nansfield
• Twitter for Academia academhack
• Scholarly Crowdsourcing Twitter Does History
  David Bill
• 50 Useful Twitter Tools for Writers and
  Researchers Online College Degree
• Micro Blogging with Twitter Linda L. Briggs
• Professors experiment with Twitter as teaching
  tool Erica Perez
• Twenty-Five Interesting Ways to use Twitter in
  the Classroom
• Social Media and College Admissions Nora Ganim
  Barn and Eric Mattson

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Resources Academics

• Twitter for Librarians The Ultimate Guide
• Twitter Goes to College Zach Miners
• Twitter in the Classroom Backchanneling a Film
  Screening Tanner Higgin
• Twitter.edu 100 Excellent, Educational Twitter
  Feeds
• A Tool for Academia to Connect, Share, and Grow
  Relationships John LeMasney
• A Professor's Tips for Using Twitter in the
  Classroom Jeffrey R Young
• Activating Alumni Networks with Twitter Andrew
  Shaindlin and Elizabeth Allen

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Resources Business

• Twitters Ten Rules for Radical Innovators
  Umair Haque
• 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business Chris
  Brogan
• How to use Twitter to Mitigate a Crisis Denise
  Zimmerman
• CEOs' Take on Twitter Douglas McMillan
• Twitter Tips How to Safely Blend the Personal
  and the Professional C G Lynch
• Twitter How to Get Started Guide for Business
  People C G Lynch
• 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter A Guide for
  Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners -
  DoshDosh

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Resources Marketing and PR

• 7 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid on Twitter Rodney
  Rumford
• 5 Marketing Tips for Tackling Twitter Steve
  Mulder
• How Twitter and email can benefit targeted
  marketing Simms Jenkins
• The Journalists Guide to Twitter Leah
  Betancourt
• Why newspapers should manage more like Twitter
  and less like GM Joshua Benton

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Resources Miscellaneous

• Seventeen things that people are actually saying
  when they retweet others Meg Pickard
• Men Follow Men and Nobody Tweets Bill Heil and
  Mikolaj Piskorski
• Tweeting Your Way to a Job Laura M Holson
• Tweet Congress
• TweetGrid
• Tweetree
• Social Media _at_ Illinois Springfield Office of
  Web Services