How do I... use Twitter?
- The Basics
- For research
- To Communicate
- For Fun
- Security?
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Twitter is a program that allows you to send, read and receive short messages of 140 characters. Using Twitter, you can stay updated on new information from a variety of sources, as well as tracking opinions, trends and moods.
- Content updates or tweets exist for people and companies all round the world!
- It puts you in control of the information you receive
- Visit one website daily as opposed to 20
- Subscribe (Follow) and unsubscribe (unfollow) easily
- Eliminates email spam, inbox build up, having to contact listserv administrators, having to know where to search for information
- All content is searchable for later retrieval on Twitter or in the Library of Congress archive
- Help prevent eyestrain through standardized text size and no pop ups/adverts
I want to follow a specific person:
You need to "Follow" people in order to automatically be updated everytime they tweet something new. Click on
to follow or subscribe to a person's tweets.
You can also subscribe to a person's RSS feed of their most recent updates. Click on the RSS logo in the menu bar of your browser. See the library's RSS page for more information about RSS.
I want to search for a specific keyword.
Once logged in, do a search in Twitter and click
. Searches will be automatically populated and saved under your profile.
You can receive email updates about a keyword using Twilert or Tweetscan
You can also subscribe to an RSS feed of keyword searches. Search in Twitter and look for the RSS logo on the top right. See the library's RSS page for more information about RSS.
Programs such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite are a great way to keep track of all your tweets and searches! Also see Mashable's 140 Twitter tools.
How do I cite a Tweet?
MLA
Athar, Sohaib (ReallyVirtual). “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).” 1 May 2011, 3:58 p.m. Tweet.
APA
BarackObama. (2009a, July 15). Launched American Graduation Initiative
to help additional 5 mill. Americans graduate college by 2020:
http://bit.ly/gcTX7 [Twitter post].
Retrieved from http://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2651151366
Created AH 11/10
Twitter allows you to track breaking news before most news organizations. Search the Twitter search page, track trending hashtags, (#) worldwide trends, pulse of the nation or filter by location. Also see Mashable's 140 Twitter tools.
There is even an advanced search page, with its own search tips.
Interested in recent news? Try Google Replay, which allows you to search by time period. Tweets are also being archived at the Library of Congress.
Twitter is a great way to track organizations and companies. Use the Twitter search page for the company's name or the name of the industry or sector: eg fashion.
Many companies have twitter accounts, which can be followed like a person. Employees may also tweet from a personal capacity.
It's easy to research people on Twitter- see this guide from Twitter. Use Twitter search page to search for a person's name. Even if they don't have a Twitter account, people may be talking about them. The advanced search page will allow you to locate messages between people.
You need to "Follow" people in order to automatically be updated everytime they tweet something new. Click on
You can subscribe to a person's RSS feed of their most recent updates. Click on the RSS logo in the menu bar of your browser. See the library's RSS page for more information about RSS.
You can also find out a lot of other facts about a person using Twitter.
- Twitturly will show you which URLs a person shared on Twitter.
- TweepSearch will search biographies of the individuals who follow a person
- Twitter Grader. Listing of the Twitter elite in your area
- Follow Fridays. Allows you to recommend others to follow.
- Tweetizen. Use this tool to find groups of others on Twitter with your same interests or start your own group.
- TwitterLocal. Find local Twitter users based on whichever geographic location you supply. This tool is used in conjunction with Adobe AIR.
- WeFollow. Add yourself and find others in this user-powered Twitter directory where you can search by hashtags.
- Also see Mashable's 140 Twitter tools.
Tweetstats: Graphs twitter statistics
Tweetmetrics: Analayse and compare public data about usernames.
Twitter Stream Graphs: Shows the last 1000 tweets that contain the search word
Mood of the Nation: Check the US national mood using Twitter
Also see Mashable's 140 Twitter tools.
Try these tips for using Twitter for job or career related purposes:
- Establish a positive web presence. Twittering in college offers students an opportunity to establish a personal web presence that will help after graduation when the job search begins based on work at school. Just be sure not to post about any crazy parties or other activities so you don’t negate the positive work you’ve built.
- Follow your occupation. Use a tracking method to enter the profession you want to practice, then follow what is being said about it on Twitter.
- Follow your target company. No matter which company with which you want to start your career, they probably have a Twitter feed. Follow them and keep up-to-date with the news and learn about the culture of the company before you even start to interview there.
- Start looking for a job. Read about how to find a job on Twitter, then start working your Twitter magic.
- twitterjobcast. Search for jobs posted on Twitter by keyword or geographic location with this tool.
- TweetMyJobs. This job search tool allows job seekers and employers to find each other via Twitter.
- Follow @jobhunting. From tips for recent college grads to recession-proof job information, this Twitter feed offers tons of information.
- Post about your job hunt. If you have created a positive web image and connected with plenty of people in your desired field, you may be surprised what happens when you post about your job hunt on Twitter.
Educause: 50 ways to use Twitter in the classroom
University of Colorado Libraries tweet news, upcoming events or topics of interest.
The library's Government Information department tweets about topics of interest.
UCB ConeZone (Construction updates)
- Direct Tweet. Professors and students can contact each other through direct Tweets without having to share cell phone numbers.
- Get to know your classmates. A class Twitter group will help facilitate professors and students getting to know each other, especially if the class is part of a more intimate setting such as a seminar.
- Collaborate on projects. When working together on projects, set up a group using an app like Tweetworks to facilitate communication between everyone working together.
- Make announcements. Professors can send out reminders about upcoming tests, project due dates, or any news that needs to be shared via Twitter.
- Brainstorm. The ability to share ideas that occur any time and anywhere creates an excellent opportunity for brainstorming on class topics.
- Take a poll. Ask student their opinions or get feedback on future projects or topics by using an app like PollDaddy.
- Share interesting websites. Both professors and students can post interesting websites that are relevant to their class.
- Daily learning. Twitter feeds happen much more frequently than the two or three times a day a student is in class, therefore using Twitter in the classroom means there is a daily opportunity for learning.
- Ambient awareness. This blog post on TwiTip offers an excellent description of ambient awareness and how it facilitates getting to know those you follow in more meaningful ways
Educause: 50 ways to use Twitter in the classroom
- Bkkeepr – With this service, you can track the books you are reading on Twitter.
- CommuterFeed – You can share your traffic report on Commuterfeed using Twitter.
- Foamee – This is a fun site that allows you to track people who owe you beer or coffee using your Twitter account.
- FoodFeed – FoodFeed is a micro blogging site that you can use to post about your food habits through Twitter.
- InnerTwitter – Meditate by receiving chimes at regular intervals from InnerTwitter.
- Notches – Allows you to write reviews of certain items on Twitter.
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Post Like a Pirate – This tool allow you to convert your post into pirate-speak before posting it to Twitter.
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Qwitter – Qwitter will help you how to use Twitter to quit smoking.
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Roll.The.Dice – You can use this service to do all the silly things on Twitter like roll a dice, flip a coin, deal cards, or generate a random number.
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StrawPoll – Sends out polls on Twitter that you can participate on.
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TrackThis – This is a useful service to get updates of your shipment using Twitter. It supports FedEx, UPS, USPS and DHL tracking codes.
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Twee60 – You can tweet your Xbox live status with Twee60 automatically.
- Twitter Comic Book – Enter your Twitter name, and this tool will create a comic strip for you based on your latest tweets, using Flickr pictures.
- TwitterSnooze – If you have friends on Twitter who are updating every 10 seconds and are irritating you, you can simply now snooze them away using this tool.
Twitter is a lot of fun- but be aware of some of the pitfalls:
- Twitter is a market manipulator's dream. Be careful of people misfeeding information- check your sources and data.
- Recognise that Twitter is a public interface; be careful what you share about yourself. Steven Levy warns "no matter how innocuous your individual tweets, the aggregate ends up being the foundation of a scary-deep self-portrait. It's like a psychographic version of strip poker—I'm disrobing, 140 characters at a time."
