twitter for ia hs press
DESCRIPTION
These are the slides for my presentation on using Twitter for journalism for the Iowa High School Press Association in Iowa City on Oct. 29, 2009. The handout for my workshop is on my blog: http://bit.ly/SstLOTRANSCRIPT
for Journalists
Steve Buttry, Gazette CommunicationsIowa High School Press Association
October 29, [email protected]
@stevebuttry on Twitter
Twitter use by age
Chicago Tribune graphic
Audiences for Twitter• Develop followers; they read your tweets• Use Twitter app on Facebook• Feed tweets into CoverItLive liveblog• Twitter RSS feed for home page, blog
What should I tweet about?
• Link to a new blog post, story, video, photo
• Retweet (with a comment) a link from a colleague
• Reply to students’ tweets• Tweet an unfolding story• Tweet something insightful or funny
Linking with Twitter
• Use compressed links: bit.ly, tinyurl.com, is.gd, tr.im, etc.
• Write a headline or a comment; give tweeps a reason to click
• Credit (RT or via)
Examples from one day in Iowa
• Click trends• Search 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 considerations
• How do you identify yourself?• Separate personal and journalism
Twitter feeds?• What, if any, opinions are OK?
Be careful• 39 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 up
• These slides at slideshare.net/stevebuttry
• Follow me on Twitter: @stevebuttry• The handout for this workshop is on my
blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com
Some final advice
From @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?”