Twitter as a Reference Tool Jim Holland Instructional Technology, Arlington ISD
About Me ● http://sidengo.com/jholland ● Educator ● Author ● Presenter
Resources & Contact ● www.digitalgoonies.com ● Twitter: @talljim ● Email: verytalljim@gmail.com
Other TLA 2013 Sessions Librarians on the Loose: Revolutionizing the Library Using Web Tools (Saturday, 12:00)
Backchannel ● the practice of using networked computers to maintain a realtime online conversation alongside the primary group activity or live spoken remarks ● Today's Meet: http: //todaysmeet.com/jim3 ○ Free ○ No logins ○ Expiry periods
"The secret of being an industry leader: follow people smarter than you! Expand on what they share. Share it again." Jim Holland Digital Explorer
Twitter as a Reference Tool? ● Twitter vs. Google searching ● Google can't filter out what your colleagues are doing, searching, sharing ● Current trends ● Honest reviews of material ● Quick feedback ● Quick communications
Twitter Basics ● 140 character limit ● URL shortening ● Hashtags
Types of Tweets See Quick Reference Page ● Normal Tweet ● Mention ● @Reply ● Retweet (RT)
Using Tweetdeck A Better Way to Manage Your Twitterverse
Tweetdeck Basics See Quick Reference Page ● Installation of Client ● Chrome App ● Alternatives ● Mobile Apps
Adding Columns See Quick Reference Page for full list ● Subject columns (#hashtag)- try multiples with the OR operator ● User columns (@username)- try multiples with the OR operator ● Lists (we'll get to this)
Tweetdeck Searching ● Simple Searches: keywords & operators ○ ○ ○ ○
http://tinyurl.com/twitteroperators Curriculum ideas & lesson plans Book reviews Specific authors
● Search filters ○ Show only results with specific items ■ images ■ links
○ Show only results in a specific language
Geocode Searching ● Get geocode of a location from http: //geocoder.us/
● Search within a radius from geocode ○ keyword "library" tweeted from within 5 miles of my house ○ library geocode:32.640575,-97.152862,5mi
● Great way to find local Twitter users
Twitter Lists ● Group @users together in a list ● Can search for posts within a list ● Follow people you aren't following ● Can share your lists with others!
Creating Lists ● From within Tweetdeck or Twitter ● Choose name & privacy (changing the privacy later can have issues) ● Add description (for sake of others) ● Add members (up to 500) ○ You don't have to be following them ○ Can be @name or Full Name
Sharing Lists with Others Must ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
get the URL first! Go to Twitter, not Tweetdeck Select Options (gear icon) Select Lists Click on name of desired list Copy the URL in the browser's address bar
Format: https://twitter.com/username/listname
Finding Others' Lists ○ Use Twitter, not Tweetdeck ○ Visit a profile ○ Click on Lists ○ Click on the List you want to subscribe to ○ Click the Subscribe button
Subscribers vs. Members ○ Member: a user who has been added to a list, whose posts show up in the list posts ○ Subscriber: a user who follows a list but whose posts are not included in the list posts ○ You cannot add yourself as a member to someone else's list ○ You are automatically a subscriber of your own list
Lists & Tweetdeck ○ You cannot subscribe to a list from within Tweetdeck ○ You can create a list from within Tweetdeck ○ You can add a list as a column in Tweetdeck ■ Your own lists ■ Lists you subscribe to ■ Lists of others (that are public) ○ You can remove members from your list in Tweetdeck
Managing Lists ○ Basic- adding/removing members to individual lists ■ Twitter ■ Tweetdeck ○ Advanced- adding multiple users to multiple lists ■ http://www.twitilist.com/ ■ http://twitlistmanager.com/
Twitter Extras ● Twitter Simbols ○ http://www.simbolostwitter.com ○ Add symbols to your tweets ○ Must post from the web app ● TweetShrink ○ http://tweetshrink.com/ ○ Type text & it finds ways to shorten your tweet ○ Copy and paste into a post or tweet from within the web app
Resources & Contact ● www.digitalgoonies.com ● Twitter: @talljim ● Email: verytalljim@gmail.com ● LinkedIn: Jim Holland