The document provides an overview of microblogging sites like Twitter, including how to use hashtags, retweet messages, and create lists of users to follow. It also discusses how journalists can utilize Twitter for content distribution, crowdsourcing, finding sources, connecting with communities, and networking. Examples are given of ways to search for tweets on specific topics or locations.

1. KNIGHT DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER WEB 2.0

2. Microblogging Web Sites
• Short
144 character
messages.
• You “follow” other
accounts, and people
can follow you.
• Updatefrom
anywhere using cell
phone SMS,
smartphone
• Replyto specific
tweets.

3. Things you might need to know...
# This is a hash tag
(Use it to tag tweets by topics)
#kdmcWeb #shooting
#twitterPresentation

4. Things you might need to know...
To “re-tweet” is to re-post a message (tweet) by
someone else. This used to be done manually by
simply copy and pasting, but now Twitter has
integrated retweets into its service.

5. Things you might need to know...
A “list” is a new feature in Twitter that allows you to
compile a list of Twitter users that you can either
follow or send around. You can create your own list,
or follow someone else’s list. The people in a list do
not show up in your main feed.

6. Ways Journalists Can Use Twitter
• Content distribution.
• Crowdsourcing.
• Finding sources.
• Connecting with a community.
• Networking.

7. Content Distribution
• Sending your content out
through as many places as
possible.
• Keepit topical, specific, and
sporadic. (don’t turn it into
an RSS feed)
• Content is king.
• Don’tautomate. Be a filter.
Use news judgement about
what’s important.
link

8. Crowdsourcing
• Works best if you build a
large audience/following.
• Thinkabout the audience
you are asking.
• Questions that ask for
opinions or ideas tend to
work best.

9. Finding Sources (research)
• Use the natural filter of social
networks to help you find
links to your questions.
• Peopleusually weed through
the crud, and only the best
content reaches the top.
• Use the different networks to
their advantages.

10. Finding Sources (Events)

11. Connecting with a community
• Follow people in your
community. Search by
locations, topics, keywords
periodically.
• Add to the conversation, so
you become a contributor/
member of the community.
• Build
personality for the news
organization.

12. Twitter Lists Examples

13. Geocoding individual tweets
• Twitter has implemented
geocoding on individual tweets,
but it’s an opt-in situation.
• Identify
where people posted
tweets from.
• Collect data, use map
visualizations.
Mashable’s 9 ways to find local tweets

14. Searching Social Media Sites
• http://socialmention.com - Better search than whostalkin, also
includes alerts on a certain search term.
• http://www.samepoint.com - Not as feature rich on stats.
Includes lots of web results from sites like wikipedia and
blogger.
• http://www.whostalkin.com - Slow site, but might fetch
results the other don’t find.

15. Twitter Directories
• http://www.twellow.com - The YellowPages of Twitter.
• http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood - Find local tweeters.
(only mid-size to large cities in some countries)
• http://wefollow.com/ - Great place to find new followers

16. Twitter Search
• http://search.twitter.com However, it only goes back about a
week.
• http://www.bing.com/twitter Tries to find topics and links
within Tweets.
• http://www.google.com Search “[query]
site:twitter.com” (Google now has real-time search results
from Twitter)