What is Twitter?

Twitter Search

Unsure about Twitter? One way to participate without an account is to use the search. With Twitter Search you can look up people, hashtags and more. 

Here are few Twitter basics to know as a start:
@ = username (also used when mentioning or crediting someone)
# = hashtag (used to mark key words or topics)
RT = retweet
DM = direct message

Account Setup

Username
Create a username that will represent you well.
  1. It could be your name. Russ uses @russkahle and I use @mrscarolnelson.
  2. Some use interests like @techteacher
  3. Others use a name that represents the organization or position like @usd418 or @PrincipalPaul

Profile Picture
Use a professional photo or have someone take a photo of you (keep in mind what is in the background). 

Profile Description
Think in terms of a business card or resume. Short and sweet tell who you are and what you are about.

Header
The header is another way to personalize and let people know you. 

Resource

Kevin Case in his #TwirtyDays book gives this advice for following others:
  • Follow a couple of people that you already know who are on Twitter.
  • Look at the people you know and who they follow or who follows them. 
  • Try to look quickly at each person, their description, and a few of their tweets before following them. ​

#TwirtyDays offers a 30-day challenge and great overview for using Twitter.

Hashtags

Hashtag Basics
  1. Used to show emphasis and categorize things
  2. ​Do not have spaces in them 
  3. Can be created by anyone
  4. Might mean something you don't realize if you make one, so check it out in the search before using it
  5. Events and organizations use to facilitate communication with participants or customers
  6. @Cybraryman1 has an awesome list of #’s for educators

Lists

Lists help you organize your followers into categories or groups, which allows you to easily see tweets from a specific group without having to scan your entire feed, which saves you time. Lists can be private or public. 

Twitter List Tutorial

Twitter Chats

What is a Twitter Chat?
Alice Keeler describes is as follows: 
"A Twitter Chat is a one hour conversation on Twitter where everyone uses a common hashtag. Typically this is a focused topic with structured questions. Participants are online at the same time. It is a synchronous conversation."

Twitter Chat Tips:
  1. Use the appropriate hashtag so that it is public and linked to the particular chat.
  2. Chats use a “Q1, Q2, Q3...” and “A1, A2, A3...” format.
  3. ​Third party applications such as Hootsuite, TweetChat, or TweetDeck can help follow the chat.
  4. Chats often are or can be archived

Find a Chat
Education Chat Calendar

Don't have twitter but want to get updates? Get it texted to your phone!!

If you don’t have a Twitter account (and don’t want one!) you can still find out what is happening through these text messages. (Standard messaging rates apply.)

To get started text: “Follow @username” to 40404 and you will start receiving tweets from that user on your device. You can turn off receiving updates by sending “STOP @username” to 40404. 


From Amber Teamann, technicallyteamann.com

LiveBinder Resource

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