The Twittering Genealogist

Mark Tucker

Introductions
Tweeps (using Twitter)
Personal Family Historians
Professional Genealogists
Genealogy Societies
Companies
Organizations
You: Me:

How many of you use?
E-mail
Forums
Mailing/Discussion lists (ex: RootsWeb)
Wikis
Instant Messaging
Blogs
Facebook
vs.

Growth (12/08 – 12/09) 4.4M 22.8M 418%

Growth (4/08 – 4/09) 17M

Twitter Early Adopters ~50% of Twitter Users are 35+ years old U.S. Unique Visitor (000) Trend (Source: comScore Media Metrix)

Sign up It only takes 140 seconds

Recommendations
Use your real name
Link to your website
Include a descriptive bio
Choose public over protected
Include a photo

Sign up Demo

Who has never seen a Tweet before?

What is a Tweet?
140 characters or less
“ What’s happening?”
Statement, Announcement, News, Knowledge
Question or Answer
Hash tag (#genealogy)
Link
Web page
Video
Picture

Sample Tweet 1 2 3 4 5 6

If I tweet and nobody is following me, can it still be seen?

Timelines Public Timeline http://twitter.com/public_timeline Your Profile http://twitter.com/marktucker Followers Home Page http://twitter.com/home Lists Following You http://twitter.com/FHExpos/fhexpo

Links & Shortening URLs
Before (84):
http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/2010/01/09/video-the-twittering-genealogist-following/
After (26):
http:// tinyurl.com /yzt9gvu

More on URL Shorteners
Will the shortened links run out?
bit.ly allows for 57 billion links
Concerns
Linkrot (broken links)
Obscures target

Mention & Reply Mention by: Photoloom Reply by: footnoteMaven
@<username>
Public conversations
Q&A

Retweet Tweet Retweet
A retweet is like a quote
Can reach a larger audience

Old-Style Retweet Tweet by: genlighten (72 followers) Retweet by: hikari17 (289 followers) Dean Richardson Tweet by: marktucker (1357 followers) Retweet by: rootsmagic (250 followers)

New-Style Retweet Tweet by: TomKemp Retweet by: megansmolenyak

Direct Message
Like e-mail
Doesn’t appear on timelines
Private conversations
D <username>

Find then Follow
Look in e-mails & on web sites
Directories & Groups
http://wefollow.com/twitter/genealogy
http://twittgroups.com/group/genealogy
http://twittgroups.com/group/surnames
Twitter Search
Spelunking
Recommendations

Search http://search.twitter.com/ genealogy OR #genealogy OR "family history" -MLM Example: http://search.twitter.com/advanced http://search.twitter.com/operators

Genealogy Follow Suggestions Companies/Organizations Individuals
Ancestrydotcom
familylink
familypursuit
FamilyTreeMag
FHExpos
footnote
geneabloggers
geni
genseek
legacyfamily
rootsmagic
rootstelevision
AncestryInsider
danlynch
DearMYRTLE
dickeastman
footnoteMaven
LisaCooke
Lmeitzler
lovegenealogy
megansmolenyak
rjseaver
TamuraJones
TheGenealogue

Don’t Take Shortcuts
We get followers the
old fashioned way,
we EARN them.

Lists
Follow lists without following tweeps
Group by relationship, organization, topics
Create your own or use others’ lists
20 lists per account (private & public)
@<username>/<listname>
@TamuraJones/genealogists
http://twitter.com/<username>/<listname>
http://twitter.com/TamuraJones/genealogists

Following People & Lists Demo

TweetDeck

Personal Family Historians
Surname – tweet & search
Connect – family historians, relatives, …
Share – links, knowledge, success, frustration
Conference/Reunion – live tweet, follow policy
Feedback – products, software, services
Promote – web site, blog, DNA study
Questions – ask & answer
Learn – news, links, blog & retweet

Professional Genealogists
Promote – marketing plan, background
Expert – technology, specialty in bio & tweets
Share – projects, challenges, solutions, success
Conferences – attendance, speaking, booth
Speaking – announce 1m-1w-1d, policy
Books – pre-release buzz, pre-order, signings
Articles – title, magazine or site, published, promotions
Interviews – when & where to find them

Genealogy Societies
Conference/Workshops – when, early bird, lodging deadline, #hashtag, policy, twitter café, virtual door prizes
Promote – meeting date, time, & topic; announce blog posts on twitter
List - officers

Companies/Organizations
Buzz – new book, product, or service
Conference – attendance, location/booth, specials, hosting your own (see above)
Cruise – promote, early bird discount, reminders
Customer Service – search, reach out, listen
Feedback – ask, surveys, respond
Sales – sales, discounts, twitter exclusive (Dell)
Auction – announce, countdown to final bid
Software – releases, betas, bundles, promotions, training

Personalize Your Background

Questions
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/marktucker
Mail:
[email_address]
Blog:
www.ThinkGenealogy.com/twitter
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/marktucker1
Genealogy Wise:
http://www.genealogywise.com/profile/MarkTucker

http://www.thinkgenealogy.com	673
http://channel-j.jugem.jp	8
http://www.rss-ais.com	7
http://www.slideshare.net	4
http://mishtiaq.blogspot.com	3
http://genealo.gy	3
http://www.thinkgenealogy.com:80	1
http://www.lmodules.com	1
http://www.mishtiaq.blogspot.com	1

The Twittering Genealogist

by Mark Tucker

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