Twitter for Academia

1 Twitter 101

1.1 What Is Twitter?

  • "cross between microblogging and instant messaging"
  • free standing text or include media, links
  • anyone can join the conversation
  • less formal than other networks
  • 140 (or 280) character limit: brevity often leads to clarity

1.2 Twitter Vocabulary

  • tweet
  • feed
  • profile
  • retweet / retweet with comment
  • follow / unfollow / mute
  • favorite
  • #
  • @

2 Getting Started With Twitter

2.1 Setup An Account

  • your account is like a business card combined with a CV
  • choose (semi-permanent) username: can be personal or group
  • set display name
  • add picture / logo and keep for long-term recognition
  • create short, descriptive bio (hashtags, link to other accounts)
  • one link to a URL (personal website, study website, CCHMC website)
  • location
  • header photo
  • pinned tweet
  • https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-setup-twitter-search-hashtag-and-login-help/

2.2 Using Twitter

  • twitter.com
  • tweetdeck, other third party applications
  • native applications for macOS, iOS, padOS, android, etc

2.3 Who Do I Follow?

  • search by keyword
  • search for online articles of who to follow
  • look to see who other accounts are following
  • nearly all organizations have an account (journals, professional societies, news outlets)
  • some people repost news/articles, some people more commentary
  • follow and unfollow a lot!

2.4 What Do I Talk About?

  • nothing; just listen
  • repost other content with comment
  • retweet
  • share interesting scientific news/publications
  • be aware of your signal to noise ratio
  • if your goal is to build a following, keep content focused, high quality, and consistent

3 Using Twitter

3.2 A Source of Information