for JournalistsSteve Buttry, Gazette CommunicationsIowa High School Press AssociationOctober 29, 2009steve.buttry@gazcomm.com@stevebuttry on Twitter

Twitter use by ageChicago Tribune graphic

Audiences for TwitterDevelop followers; they read your tweetsUse Twitter app on FacebookFeed tweets into CoverItLiveliveblogTwitter RSS feed for home page, blog

What should I tweet about?Link to a new blog post, story, video, photoRetweet (with a comment) a link from a colleagueReply to students’ tweetsTweet an unfolding storyTweet something insightful or funny

Linking with TwitterUse compressed links: bit.ly, tinyurl.com, is.gd, tr.im, etc.Write a headline or a comment; give tweeps a reason to clickCredit (RT or via)

Examples from one day in IowaClick trendsSearch hashtag #iagaymarriage@tdorman from Supreme Court, press conference@DM_in_the_PM from rally@dianeheldt from court

Advice from your peers“We are starting to use twitter for getting sources, gaining interest, and getting contacts.”Students covering games text scores to Twitter account editor, who posts updates.– Sana Bakshi, @thevikingmag, Palo Alto, CA

Ethical considerationsHow do you identify yourself?Separate personal and journalism Twitter feeds?What, if any, opinions are OK?

Be careful39 percent of teens have posted something they later regretted.25 percent of teens have created a profile with a false identity.24 percent of teens have hacked into someone else’s social networking account.Source: Common Sense Media, 2009 study

Wrapping upThese slides at slideshare.net/stevebuttryFollow me on Twitter: @stevebuttryThe handout for this workshop is on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

Some final adviceFrom @mathewi (Globe and Mail): Don’t answer, “What are you doing?” Answer, “What am I thinking?”And from @stevebuttry: “What do I want to know?” “What am I reading?”