1. Twitter is Great
(And So Can You)!
Why You Should Be on Twitter and How
it Benefits Students, Faculty and
Citizens
Jason Steinhauer
Director, Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest
@JasonSteinhauer
@LepageCtr
#Twitter101

2. Overview:
What Twitter is
How to use it
How to think about it
Why it’s valuable
*unlike in class, you should be on your device
during this talk

3. Who are you?
who’s in the room

4. Who am I?
how we communicate history, aka #histcomm

5. Twitter is a tool
The more you use it, the better you understand it
Do online what you would in person

6. Commenting
Say stuff!

7. Collecting
Learn stuff!

8. Connecting
Meet people!

9. A-B-C
“Always be connecting”

10. Twitter 101
your ideas
go here

11. you say
something
i say
something
someone
else says
something

12. It’s a conversation

13. Talk to anyone,
talk to someone
@ThisIsaTwitterHandle

14. Hi, I’m a hashtag (#)
#thisiswhatahashtaglookslike

15. Hashtags
#resist
#russianhacking
#ArabSpring
#WomensMarch
#MAGA
#DrainTheSwamp
#HereToStay
#VotoPorPaco
#euxsummit2017
#newshourchats
#SNL40
#IGotCaught
#MyLoveLifeIn5Words
#YouDontDeserveMyRespectIf
#drinkingaboutmuseums
#historyjobs
#histcomm
x1,000,000…

16. jump in and join the conversation!

17. Trending
When lots of people talk about something all at once

18. Twitter
is not
a press release
*(unless you’re a celebrity, world leader, elected official or other famous person)

19. Appropriate
Appropriate
Less appropriate

20. Twitter
Where celebrities are real people
Facebook
Where real people are celebrities

21. Twitter
317 million
Facebook
1.86 billion

22. Twitter
open network - talk to anyone!
Facebook
semi-closed network - talk to your circles

23. Who’s on Twitter?
*world leaders
*government officials
*celebrities
*athletes
*journalists
*companies / institutions
*digital marketers
*scholars
*anyone with something to say

24. Join a Movement
Large movements on Twitter can have influence

25. “When we cannot hold hands in the
street…we hold hands on the Internet”
-Manuel Castells

26. Let’s talk about
“Followers”

27. you seem
cool, I want
to follow you you say
interesting
things, I want to
follow you
You seem like a
person of
influence, I
should follow
you

28. Following is how you
connect with people
“You won’t lead if you
can’t follow”

29. Don’t obsess about how
many followers you have
*know your followers
*understand your followers
*engage with your followers
*be interesting
*follow back as appropriate

30. Total followers are nice,
but I focus on followers per tweet

31. Ratio - 2.08
Ratio - 9.19

32. Make lists
*coworkers
*institutions you like
*parks you want to visit
*publications you like to read
*people you’d like to meet
*you don’t need to follow everyone

33. Drawbacks of Twitter
*information overload
*distractions
*lameness
*trolls
*harassment
*explicit content
*it can get nasty 😷

34. Mitigation techniques
*be selective in who you follow
*make people prove their worth
*use lists
*don’t be afraid to ignore people
*use the “block” tool
*report abuse
*lock your account if desired

35. What should you say?

36. Be interesting

37. A tweet is a headline
“On the average, five times as many people read the
headline as read the body copy. When you have written your
headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
-David Ogilvy

38. source: http://blog.meetedgar.com/201407this-is-why-nobody-sees-your-tweets/
Most people won’t see
your tweet

39. Be interesting

40. Talk about:
*your work
*your interests
*what you’re reading
*what others are saying
*what’s going on in the world
*issues that matter to you

41. Be interesting

42. Why is Twitter good for
students?
*find jobs
*network with professionals
*learn what’s going on in the field
*see who the influencers are
*discover resources
*be part of important conversations

44. Why is Twitter good for faculty?
*find jobs
*network
*learn what’s going on in the field
*see who the influencers are
*discover resources
*be part of important conversations
*establish your brand
*connect with journalists
*GET YOUR RESEARCH OUT THERE

46. Why is Twitter good for citizens?
*free speech
*mobilize action
*share information
*create connections around the world
*give voice to the voiceless
*raise money & awareness for causes
*hold leaders accountable
*CHANGE THE WORLD

47. Tahrir Square - formed first on the Internet
before going into the streets. Twitter is at
the foundations of contemporary social
movements.

48. Want inspiration?
Follow @jbf1755

49. Want inspiration?
Follow @lisawade

50. Want inspiration?
Follow @RadioFreeTom

51. Want more?
Take a #histcomm class

52. Twitter is what you
make it

53. Questions?
Jason Steinhauer
Director, Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest
@JasonSteinhauer
@LepageCtr