#Grammar and Why it Matters

Form and Functionality on TwitterAtlanta Press Club Workshop

#ksuapc17

Framing our Discussion

• Twitter backchannel (live tweeting): #ksuapc17

• Sticky Notes

• Just Say It

Grammar Is…

• “The system and structure (functionality/form) of a language. Sometimes includes semantics.”—OED

• Prescriptive – rigid, universal enforcement • Descriptive – enforcement based on

communities of practice– Example: AP Style, MLA Style, digital conventions

So Why are # Grammar?

• They are a descriptivist symbol used to structure language and function for meaning.

Why Are Hashtags Important?

• Hashtags have changed the way we think, communicate, process information. In all likelihood, you’re hash-tagging something right now. # is everywhere. # is inside you.

– Lindy West, Columnist for The Guardian and Contributor to This American Life

Pew: Let’s Talk About #s (Numbers)• 6 out of 10 Americans get their news from social media sites

• Twitter ranks third out of these sites, behind FB (#2) and Reddit (#1)

• Out of users who reported they got most of their news from SM sites, more than 59% of them said they get their news from Twitter

Food For Thought

Local T.V.19%

Cable News13%

News sites/apps33%

Print5%

Network Nightly13%

Radio17%

Where Do Twitter Users Also Get their News?

What We Know About Users• 47% = male 53% = female

• 77% between 18-50

• 61% White 38 Non-White

• 28% college graduates

• 43% urban or suburban

• R = 19% D = 31% I = 31%

#demographics

Significant Key Trends

• 21% of all Internet users are on Twitter

• Up from 13% in 2012

• 42% of Twitter users check the site daily

#47%difference

Intersections Between Twitter & Journalism

• Twitter Is Important to Journalism (-1:35)

• Tom Rosenthiel TedX (-1:55)– “Twitter has changed the way audiences consume

information. SO…media must change how it produces information.”

According to Columbia Journalism Review…

Journalists should be on Twitter if:You write about mediaYou write about T.V. or digital cultureYou want readers to connect with youYou love playing with words

Another reason: to track readership, trending hashtags, and analytics

What do We Call it?• Historically, the hashtag has been called:– Octothorp(e); Lumberyard– Pound mark (sign)– Number (sign)– End of code transmission?– Hex, cross, hash, mot-dièse (current in France)– However, as many Twitter users were quick the point out,

using "mot-dièse" to signify a hashtag is technically incorrect since the word "dièse" denotes the sharp sign ( ), rather than ♯the right-leaning hashtag symbol (#).

Purposes for Effective Hashtagging

Search-a-bility

Shared Meaning

Storytelling

Subversion

Four Rhetorical Purposes of #Grammar on Twitter

1. Search-a-bility: Using the # as a way-finder to curate items in programs such as Storify.– Using the # as a search term when

followed by words and phrases– Make your story find-able– Start a trend!– Gain followers

ENGAGE: what # do you search? What might be some that you would want readers to search

# as Shared Meaning

2. Shared Semantics: Using the # as a rhetorical tool to engender shared meaning among specific groups and audiences; cultivating readership

ENGAGE: Let’s generate some keywords

# as a Narrative Tool3. Tell or enhance a compelling a story• Beginning/middle/end with plot twists and

some kind of resolution• #genesis #inmediares #twist #finale• # supplements short bursts of text to enhance

meaning and create pathos, metaphors, imagery

ENGAGE: Think of ways # can engender storytelling for you

# as Subversion

4. How do writers use the # as a subversive technique?– Commentary – Editorials

• #Hashtag

# to Disseminate Information

How do you use #s on Twitter?

What else do you want to know about #s?

Thanks!

# Help

• How to Use # on Instagram

• Columbia Journalism Review, 2014

• Search for Trending Hashtags