A presentation from a hands-on workshop outlining how to use twitter for research activities.

1. Twitter: A Hands on
Learning Session for
Researchers
KMb/IRLT Learning Session
February 7, 2012

2. Agenda
1. Introduction to social media and twitter
2. Decoding common twitter lingo
3. Your account and profile
4. Tools to make tweeting easier
5. Archiving and analytics
6. Using twitter for research
7. Security risks, cautions and limitations
8. Tips and work plan to get started
9. Additional resources
10.Q and A
2

3. 1- Social Media- Some Definitions
• “A group of Internet based applications that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange
of user-generated content”
• “Includes web-based and mobile technologies used to turn communication into
interactive dialogue”
• “Online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between
the role of audience and author. To do this, they use social software that
enables anyone without knowledge of coding, to post, comment on, share or
mash up content and to form communities around shared interests.”
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010).Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business
Horizons,53(1), 59-68
Social media. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
Thornley, J. (2008, April 8). What is “social media?”. Retrieved January 10, 2012 from ProPR blog http://propr.ca/2008/what-is-
social-media/
3

4. 1- Social Media: Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0
http://www.sizlopedia.com/2007/08/18/web-10-vs-web-20-the-visual-
difference/
4

5. 1- Social Media: 5 Cs of Social Media
Adapted from http://webbiquity.com/social-media-marketing/the-four-cs-of-social-media-marketing/
5

6. 1- Twitter
• An online social networking service and microblogging service
• Allows users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140
characters, known as "tweets“
• Users follow other users to read their tweets
• Launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey
• As of 2011, twitter has over 300 million users, generating over 300
million tweets and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day
From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter. Accessed on February 6, 2012
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7. 2- Decoding some common twitter lingo
• Tweets- 140 character messages or posts
• @ symbol- Denotes a twitter username or “handle”, for example @KMbYork
• DM= Direct message- A private message between twitter members who
follow each other
• Lists- Curated groups of other twitter users; usually by topic or interest
• RT= Retweet- Allows you to share a tweet posted by someone else to your
followers; kind of like forwarding
• # Hashtags- A way to categorize your tweets; you can search by hashtag
• #FF= Follow Friday- On Fridays, users tweet about people they recommend
• Tweeps= Twitter+Peeps- Your twitter community
• Tweetup- A gathering (online or in person) for Twitter users
7

8. 3- Exploring twitter- Logging in
8

9. 3- Exploring twitter- Home page
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10. 3- Exploring twitter- @ Connect
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11. 3- Exploring twitter- @ Connect
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12. 3- Exploring twitter- # Discover
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13. 3- Exploring twitter- Your Account
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14. 3- Exploring twitter- Direct Messages (DM)
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15. 3- Exploring twitter- Lists
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16. 3- Exploring twitter- Settings
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17. 3- Exploring twitter- Profile
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18. 3- Exploring twitter- Design
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19. 3- Exploring twitter- tweeting
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20. 3- Exploring twitter- Your Profile Page
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21. 3- Exploring twitter- Examining tweets
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22. 3- Setting up your twitter account and profile
Group exercise
Working in pairs, please do the following:
• Add a bio to your profile
• Change the design of your profile
• Follow @KMbYorkTest
• Retweet one tweet
22

23. Break
Please be back in 10 minutes
23

24. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- bitly.com
• Shortens URLs to save space
• Provides analytics on who clicked on your links
• Creates a QR code that links to the URL, which could be added to print
materials 24

25. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- bitly.com
25

26. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- bitly.com
26

27. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- TweetDeck
• Application that you can use online with Chrome and Safari browsers or install it
on your desktop
• Lets you see everything at once and schedule tweets for the future
• Can show you a pop up every time a new tweet gets posted (this is a pro and a
con)
27

28. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- Hootsuite
• Good if you need to mange multiple twitter accounts
• Lets you schedule tweets for the future
• Includes analytics and allows you to custom build reports
• For a monthly fee (currently $5.99 a month) you can add Team Members- good if
a number of people will be managing your twitter acount(s)
28

29. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- twuffer
- Allows you to schedule tweets for the future
29

30. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier- TweetChat
• Filter tweets to only those containing a specific hashtag
• Good for following what people are tweeting at an event
• Can hold an online tweetup using tweetchat 30

31. 4- Tools to make tweeting easier
Group Exercise
1. Go to www.tweetchat.com
2. Click on Sign in on top right hand corner
3. Click Authorize app
4. Enter KMbTwitter into the box on the top of
the screen and click Go
5. Enter in a tweet and click Update
31

32. 5- Archiving and analytics- Tweet Backup
• Twitter doesn’t archive tweets so it is good to keep a copy of your own tweets
• Lets you export all your tweets and followers to excel
32

33. 5- Archiving and analytics- TweetStats
• Shows information about your tweets, your followers and the words you tweet
most often
• Can create a word cloud of all your tweets, which you can include in event
reports 33

34. 5- Archiving and analytics- TweetStats
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35. 5- Archiving and analytics- Twitter Counter
• Shows your followers, who you are following and number of tweets
• You can sign up to receive weekly emails containing your twitter stats
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36. 6- Using twitter for research
Twitter can be used in a research context to:
• Disseminate and share your research
• Link to your publications or findings
• Tweet your research using the hashtag #myresearch
• Connect to other researchers with similar research interests
• Get answers to research questions
• Discover and share resources relevant to your research
• A fast way to keep up to date on new resources and research
• Let people know about upcoming events
36

37. 6- Using twitter for research
Twitter can be used in a research context to:
• Follow conferences you can’t attend
• Let people know what is happening at your events through live tweeting
• Create a hashtag for your event
• Tweet throughout the day (students are good for this too)
• Ask people to use the # when they are tweeting about the event
• Use a tool like tweetchat to follow what people are saying
• Compile all the tweets from the events for the event report
• Connect with community organizations
• Increase your online profile
37

38. 6- Using twitter for research- Homeless Hub
38

39. 6- Using twitter for research- Roger Keil
39

40. 7- Security risks, cautions and limitations
Gone Phishing…
• Choose a strong password
• Be careful of scams and phishing- look for suspicious links and make sure you are
on the correct webpage
• Don’t give out your username and password
• Keep your computer and browser up to date and use anti-virus software
From Safety: Keeping your account secure. (n.d.). In Twitter Help Centre. Retrieved January 10, 2012 from
http://support.twitter.com/articles/76036-safety-keeping-your-account-secure
40

41. 7- Security risks, cautions and limitations
Criticisms and Limitations
• You can’t make deep connections in 140 characters
• This is just the start of a connection. Twitter allows you to connect with people
you might not have known about but for true collaboration, you would need to
move the conversation into another medium
• It’s too noisy! There’s too much going on!
• Only follow people who tend to tweet about subjects you are really interested
in; try using another application like TweetDeck or HootSuite, which may be
more visually appealing to you
• Where did that last hour go?!
• Turn off automatic pop ups if using TweetDeck; only visit at certain times of the
day for a set amount of time
41

42. 8- Strategies for Getting Started
Things to Consider Before You Start:
• What will you tweet about?
• What topics will you tweet about?
• Do you think you have enough to tweet about?
• If you are part of a project or team- who will do the tweeting?
• Will you tweet using individual accounts or will you all use the same account?
• If you are all tweeting under one account, do you want to initial your tweets so
your followers know who is tweeting?
• Will everyone send tweets or will we send your tweets to one central
person, who will then tweet for the group?
• How often will you tweet?
• Aim to tweet at least once a day (original or retweets both count)
42

43. 8- Work Plan for Getting Started
• Decide on a twitter username and register for an account
• Set up your profile
• Add a bio including important keywords so that people can find you through
searching
• Upload a profile picture
• Change the background if desired
• Follow some people
• Search for people with similar interests
• Send out a tweet
• Include hashtags when appropriate
• You should almost always link to something, unless you are making a
statement
• Remember to use a URL shortener to save space
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44. 8- Work Plan for Getting Started
• Retweet tweets that you think your followers would enjoy
• This is another way to build up a following
• If someone retweets one of your tweets remember to say thank you and consider
retweeting something of theirs
• Remember that this is about building connections and reciprocity
• Optional step: If you are nervous about tweeting live, try practice tweeting for a few
days or even a week. At the end of the week get together and review the tweets:
• Did you have enough to say?
• Were all the tweets appropriate?
• Is there a certain style you want to use?
• Did you include hashtags were appropriate?
• Did you include links?
• Did you remember to use a URL shortener?
Now that you are more comfortable with tweeting- get ready to tweet live!
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45. 8- Work Plan for Getting Started
Setting up other twitter tools to make life easier (optional but highly recommended)
• Set up an account for the URL shorten bit.ly and download the bit.ly bookmarklet or
browser extension
• If you don’t like the twitter interface, consider using a third party application like
TweetDeck or HootSuite
• To want to schedule tweets for the future, set up an account with twuffer or use
TweetDeck
• Track your twitter followers and usage using analytic tools such as
TweetStats, TwitterCounter
• Back up your tweets regularly with TweetBackup
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46. Resources
10 Ways Researchers Can Use Twitter
http://www.networkedresearcher.co.uk/2011/08/03/10-ways-researchers-
can-use-twitter/
10 Ways Researchers Can Use Twitter: Prezi Presentation
http://salmapatel.com/academia/prezi-10-ways-researchers-could-use-
twitter
Bitly http://bitly.com
• URL shortener that lets you track who clicked on your links and creates a
QR code for your shortened link that you can add to print materials
HootSuite http://hootsuite.com
• A web interface that allows to you manage your twitter account; good for
managing multiple twitter accounts
How do I… Use twitter? http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/how/twitter.htm
• Online guides from the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries on how to
use twitter for various purposes
46

47. Resources
LSE Guide to Using twitter in University Research, Teaching and Impact
Activites http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2011/09/29/twitter-guide/
TodaysMeet http://todaysmeet.com/
• An application that is similair to twitter but allows you to create a private
space for twitter-like interactions; can be used in a class setting
Trendsmap http://trendsmap.com/
• Maps twitter trends across the world
TweetBackup http://tweetbackup.com
• Twitter doesn’t archive tweets but you can backup your tweets and export
them to Excel with this tool
TweetChat http://tweetchat.com/
• Allows you to have a tweetup, a kind of twitter “conference call”, using
hashtags. This tool with show only conversations with your chosen
hashtag
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48. Resources
TwitterCounter http://twittercounter.com/
• Provides statictics on your followers and tweets
TweetDeck http://www.tweetdeck.com
• Web or desktop application for managing your twitter account; good for
managing multiple accounts
TweetStats http://tweetstats.com
• Show some statistics and analytics on your tweets. Also can create a word
cloud of all the words you tweet
Twitter Help Center http://support.twitter.com/
• Articles to get you started, as well as information about solving common
problems and how to report a violation
Twitter Glossary https://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-the-twitter-glossary
• Explains commonly used twitter lingo and symbols
48

49. Resources
Twitter for Research: Why and How to Do It, Including Case Studies
http://www.twitip.com/twitter-for-research-why-and-how-to-do-it-including-
case-studies/
• Covers how to use twitter to conduct research
Twitter Help Center http://support.twitter.com/
• Articles to get you started, as well as information about solving common
problems and how to report a violation
Twitter Glossary https://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-the-twitter-
glossary
• Explains commonly used twitter lingo and symbols
Twuffer http://twuffer.com/
• Allows to you schedule in tweets for a later time. Good to use if you are
going to be away or plan to tweet daily about a resource, eg.
ResearchSnapshots
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50. Resources
Using Twitter for Research https://www.martineve.com/2011/05/23/using-
twitter-for-research/
• A Prezi presentation outlining ways to use twitter aimed at researchers
Vanderbilt University Social Media Handbook
http://web.vanderbilt.edu/resources/social-media-handbook/
• Very good resources on how to create a social media strategy and how
to start using various tools
YorkU’s Social Media Guidelines
http://www.yorku.ca/ycom/socialmedia/SocialMediaGuidelines2010_R5.p
df
• Guidelines for setting up YorkU affiliated social media sites such as
facebook and twitter
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51. Questions?
51

52. Krista Jensen
Knowledge Mobilization Officer
kejensen@yorku.ca x 88847
Website
www.researchimpact.ca
O3 Space
researchimpact.othree.ca
Mobilize This! Blog
researchimpact.wordpress.com
Twitter
twitter.com/KMbYork
twitter.com/researchimpact
Delicious
delicious.com/researchimpact