I’m stepping out of my comfort zone again. I’ve committed to a Twitter Chat tomorrow night. Therefore, it’s confession time. In the year-plus I’ve been on Twitter, I’ve never participated in a Twitter Chat. Sure, I’ve followed chats like #litlead and #titletalk, but I’ve never jumped in on one of the conversations.
But then I got DM from Cornelius Minor inviting me to join a chat he’s leading tomorrow night. The topic sounded interesting and it’s scheduled for after my daughter’s bedtime. How could I say no save for the fact I’ve never participated in one of these before?
Cornelius advised me to download TweetDeck (which I just did) and to read an article about Twitter Chats (did that too). I have about 24+ hours to figure out how to make TweetDeck work for me so I can see all of the hashtags. (I’m sure there’s a tutorial for that, right?)
So, to all of you Twitter Chat experts out there, what do I need to do/know before I venture into a Twitter Chat tomorrow night? All advice is welcome!
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Here is a cool guide from my team to help things out a bit! I can’t wait to “see” you all tonight! http://readingandwritingproject.com/public/themes/rwproject/resources/howtos_and_guides/Twitter_Why_and_How_to_Tweet.pdf
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This is going to help so many people. Thanks for sharing the link.
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Oh, wow…Twitter is something I just can’t get the hang of. Maybe this summer…but good for you and good luck, Stacey!
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It’s been over a year for me, Tara, and I’m still trying to find my groove. My feeling is that if it’s not for you, then don’t sweat it. Though it is worth one more try.
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Yay! I’m so glad that you are hosting a chat! I will do my best to be there as well using my twitterchat (I don’t use tweetdeck, though I’m thinking maybe I should based on the other comments…) I learn a lot from watching and participating in chats. Thanks for going out of your comfort zone!
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Me… hosting? Not yet. This is Cornelius’ chat. Hope to “see” you there, Melanie.
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Stacey, Twitter chats are my favorite thing about Twitter. I think I am addicted. When I chat I use two browsers. On one I have my tweetdeck. I add the column for the chat. I add the column for the chat. Then I move the column next to my interactions column. (Click edit, click on the arrows until the column is where you want it). Once I have tweetdeck set up (on Google Chrome, which is where I have tweetdeck located), I open up Safari and go to tweetchat.com and enter the hashtag of the chat. I then have both these windows open side by side. I do most of my commenting on tweetchat because it automatically adds the hashtag for me. However, I like to have my tweetdeck up because I can see who is interacting with me specifically. Does this make sense?
But honestly, tweetdeck for your first chat will be just fine…..
As I said, I’m a little addicted to Twitter chats….
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It doesn’t quite make sense yet, Deb, but I have a feeling it will once I get the hang of it. I’ll shoot you an email once I get my sea legs once I have more questions. THANKS!
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Tweetdeck should work find. Copy the hashtag so all you need to do is paste it into your tweets. And don’t get frustrated if you can’t catch everything. Pay attention to your replies and whatever else you can keep up with. 🙂
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That’s great advice. Thanks for the tips!
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Stacey, I’m so glad that you will be joining us! Here is a quick video I shot to answer your question.
https://tegr.it/y/16y2n — (You’ll need Microsoft’s video software to view it. It’ll prompt you for a free download if you don’t have it already.)
I can’t wait to “see” you tomorrow!
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This is so helpful, Cornelius!
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Stacey, So glad you will be joining us – it has been an incredible PD experience this past year, and in recent months SD’s from the TCRWP has been hosting chats on focused topics, which has been AWESOME. It’s great to have a “tweep” join the conversation. 🙂
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I’m looking forward to it, Ryan. “See” you tomorrow.
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Stacey, I have found TweetDeck the easiest way to participate in chats. It’s really very straightforward. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble using it. The problem I always have is keeping up with the tweets. Sometimes they come so quickly, it’s hard to read them and respond in a thoughtful way.
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I already started playing around with it and it’s pretty simple. Thanks!
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Will they be using storify to capture all of the tweets? This is how I follow up after the chat (with #1stchat) in case there are tweets I missed… Have fun-it moves fast so just be in that moment!
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Yes, they’ll be archiving it. Thanks for the tip!
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