Twitter
For Stations, Programs, Journalists and Fun

What is Twitter?
microblogging service
instant messenger (sort of)
mobile messaging
lightweight social network;
a community of your own design
really... it defies categorization or simple description;
you have to use it to understand it

Primary concepts
username + “real” name + avatar
updates / posts / tweets
140 character limit per update; unlimited updates
following
you follow others; others follow you
update stream = you + who you follow
“@” replies (public)
“d” direct messages (private)

Where is Twitter?
twitter.com
m.twitter.com
SMS text messaging
iPhone apps (Twitterific, Twinkle, Tweetsville)
PC & Mac apps (twhirl, TweetDeck, Twitterific)
blogging plugins, widgets, Facebook integration, more
E-mail (direct messages), RSS feeds

Personal usage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

Let’s see this thing...
twitter.com

Professional usage
Lightweight interactive backchannel / community for
stations / networks
programs / hosts
reporters / staff
Instant updates for news / live reporting / site updates
Networking
Learning, sharing, discovery

Stations / Networks
APRN - http://twitter.com/aprn
WBUR - http://twitter.com/wbur
WFPL - http://twitter.com/wfplnews
CNN Breaking News - http://twitter.com/cnnbrk
PBS Engage - http://twitter.com/pbsengage
Huffington Post - http://twitter.com/huffpost

Programs / Hosts
CNN: Rachel Maddow - http://twitter.com/maddow
NPR: Talk of the Nation - http://www.twitter.com/totn
NPR: Science Friday - http://twitter.com/scifritter
PBS: NewsHour - http://twitter.com/newshour
NPR Politics - http://twitter.com/nprpolitics
NPR Planet Money - http://twitter.com/planetmoney

Reporters / Staff
NPR: Alicia Shepard - http://twitter.com/ombudsman
APRN: L.Townsend - http://twitter.com/loritownsend
PBS: Anna Shoup - http://twitter.com/ashoupster
NPR: Laura Conaway - http://twitter.com/oleta
KJZZ: Rene Gutel - http://twitter.com/rgutel
MPR: J.Schrenkler - http://twitter.com/juliaschrenkler

Public Media TwitterPack
List of Twitterers in public media
http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/Public+Media
Be sure to add your station / program / personal
account to the list

Suggested uses
Journalistic “chatter” outside e-mail — stories in
progress, research, history, questions
Find sources: pros, man-on-the-street
Camaraderie
Expand network beyond APRN journalists
A “Talk of Alaska” that never sleeps
A group Twitter experience, a la BPP

search.twitter.com
search for any word
see most popular and trending topics / words
search for hash tags ( #hashtags )
what are people thinking / saying about the news?

The Twitter Experience

Get out of jail free?
Student “Twitters” his way out of Egyptian jail
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/25/twitter.buck

What, me worry?
Tweets are public and searchable
(unless you protect your updates)
Can a journalist tweet personal thoughts mixed with
professional updates?
Should a journalist have two Twitter accounts?

More fun than should be legal
“Favorite” tweets can be starred
Tweets with a lot of favorites—from selected voters—
are collected in one place
This is probably what a foul-mouthed Dorothy Parker or
Oscar Wilde would be writing today
http://favrd.com/

twitter.com/jmproffitt

twittervision.com
+ questions