About the Assignment
Blogging is when people publish their ideas for a (mostly) unknown audience in posts of any length. Twittering (or micro-blogging) is when people publish their ideas in a much shorter format to a known audience. The Twitter tweet (the name of each post) is 140 characters long. Just as with blogging, one cannot fully grasp the medium without engaging with it. So, we are going to engage it over the course of the semester as use it, first, as a way to engage our readings outside of class and, second, connect to people who are in fields or have a general interest in areas relating to our research project. These connections will lead us to learning more about our topic from more diverse means than we could have ever thought. It will also provide us with the opportunity to interview someone associated with our professional interests.
Getting Set Up
- create a Twitter account that is not anonymous and has as short a username as possible (short usernames save precious characters; just as with Facebook, Twitter values authenticity; you will not gain followers and people will not let you follow them without authenticity; if you already have a Twitter account with an pseudonym for your username be sure your real name is associated with the account)
- create a professional bio that locates you as a student at Rowan University, identifies your area(s) of study, and lists a few personal interests (Twitter is excellent for blending the personal and professional)
- make your account open for anyone to follow; having a locked account essentially tells your audience that you would rather not know who they are and results in them not requesting the your follow approval (if you are concerned about spam and/or who is following, in the Settings enable the option to get an email whenever you have a new follower; this will allow you to see when someone follows and to Block them if necessary)
- add a link to your module group blog
- if you have a smart phone, install the Twitter phone app or any 3rd party Twitter app you like (I use Tweetbot, but it is pricey)
- in the Settings
- under the Mobile tab, set your phone number and when you’d like text message alerts (I have it set for DMs because they are rare, and not after 11pm)
- under Security and Privacy, I recommend UNCHECKING Tweet location, Personalization, and Promoted Content
- add a photo of yourself or something that you feel represents you in some way
- follow @billwolff, @jcourtzy @rowanuniversity, and everyone in your module and the prior module(s):
- Module 1: @zbllz, @cmb4291, @autieblesam, @gabbieciarlante, @giannacamarota, @dicodedxlll, @randi_le, @kelciflynn, @tina_gatta, @alexisharmon407, @raj_1114, @bkaminsky1, @rachelkru, @xofabolousdawn, @gabrlund, @shannoncara, @tara_oday, @christpalmer, @jenerusolomon, @jenna_vargo, @jennwesner
- Module 2: @emboltonn, @nicolettececero, @kristinacsaszar, @lizditzel, @fordj25, @marissagehin, @kristaeh31, @rebharmon, @husseyjared, @jmoslowski, @colleen_n1, @samanthapicone, @coreyraz, @nreilly25, @lindseyromoff, @deangsebastian, @lastilts, @samisugarman
- Module 3: @wolfman71691, @catlettsamantha, @mikefotosru, @adamcgoscinski, @hamilt35, @msbh16, @julss827, @alexislane22, @juliamchale52, @ashmcmichael, @carlynorman08, @chelsearay98, @samantharegina8, @elizabethmromeo, @trumainesherry, @laurenstren, @trushk84, @sydneyweisser, @yeungc7
- Any tweet that is about class in any way should include the #tfwf14 hashtag.
- tweet an announcement of each of your blog posts including the title, the link to it, the #tfwf14 hashtag, and your blog’s hashtag
- I encourage you to experiment with one of the many Twitter desktop and mobile apps (such as Tweetbot and Tweetdeck), which are overwhelmingly useful for organizing and posting Tweets (as with my mobile, I use Tweetbot).
Part 1: Live-Tweeting Class Discussion and the Readings
Starting the 2nd week of the module, each class period will have several students assigned to live-tweet the class discussion. The goal here is to try to take what is said in class and bring it to the online space where others, including those in class, can engage that discussion. Often these discussions diverge from what is happening in class, and that is fine.
When live-tweeting, you can tweet:
- quotes that people (including @billwolff) said
- thoughts or comments about what has been said (funny snark is okay; mean snark isn’t)
- links to things associated with topics being discussed (such as videos, photos, articles, etc)
- @mention the authors who we are discussing to let them know we’re discussing them and what is being said
- other fun stuff
Be sure to use the #tfwf14 hashtag. Though others in the class should join in the conversation, but we want to be sure this discussion doesn’t take away from the FTF discussion.
I’d also like you to start live-tweeting as you are doing the work for the module. That is tweet about what you are reading about. These can be quotes that intrigue you or just thoughts about the texts. Be sure to use the #tfwf14 hashtag. Try to limit tweets like, “This article is boring. #yawn,” as such tweets will make to look foolish and show little thought about the text itself. You should @reply to other class members frequently so that we can begin discussions about the work outside of the classroom and then continue those discussions when we meet in the classroom. Add the #tfwf14 hashtag to all “live tweets.”
There is no required number of tweets to tweet as your readings, work, or in-class discussions, but it is expected that each should garner many tweets. The more you tweet the more engaged the class can and will become in a dialogue outside the class. Do, however, be sure to make it clear what you’re reading, working on, or discussing. This can be done in the content of the tweet or by using a hashtag for an author’s name (such as #bolter)—you can even search to find the author’s Twitter username and add it to your tweet. This is important because we want to be sure we know which text you’re tweeting about.
Live-tweeting works most effectively when students begin discussing the texts online. And, as one student recently wrote in a reflection on their work:
From a student: “Live tweeting while reading … is helping me to read better. I think of the reading more as a conversation now.” Yay!
— Bill Wolff (@billwolff) February 27, 2014
Part 2: Tweeting from Everywhere but Twitter (#tfebt)
Starting the second week of class, I’d like each student to tweet links to 7 different articles, blog posts, or other writings per week, that in some way discuss, cover, illustrate, or further the ideas we are talking about in class and/or the subject of your blog. The whole article does not have to be on the subject of the technologies of writing or the subject of your blog; rather, it can be tangentially related. These tweets should contain the hashtags #tfwf14 and #tfebt. There are five main goals for this part of the Twitter assignment:
- to show the immediacy of the topics were are discussing in class
- to engage with the class ideas outside of class
- to help make the module a space where we share ideas found online
- to provide links from which students can blog and/or add to their ecology
- to see how apps can work for you
To find your articles to link to, (if you have a smartphone or tablet) I’d like you to start with Zite. Zite is an awesome little app that allows you to choose your interests. Once you choose them, every time you open the app, new articles relating to your interests will appear. If you find one you like, you can tweet it, sent to Pocket, email it, text it, and so on. Very powerful for moving information from one place to the other, storing it for later, and sharing it with peers. I’ve been using it daily for months, and find it invaluable. The most interests you have the better, and the more you share stories the more those kinds of stories you get. It’s all very well conceived.
If you don’t have a smartphone or tablet, a web-based alternative you can use on any computer is Prismatic. It works similarly to Zite: you choose interests, and once you do every time you log in, new articles relating to your interests will appear. If you find one you like, you can tweet it, email it, and share on Facebook. It does not yet connect to Pocket, which is unfortunate. Once we learn Pocket and Feedly, I’d like you to start sharing links from those sites, as well. Though we are not discussing them in the module, you might also consider setting up a Google Email Alert for one of several topics that interest you and/or set up an account at IFTTT and create a recipe for when certain topics appear so you can be alerted when something is published.
On Twitter @replies and RTs
@reply/@mention
The @reply is the oldest of the user-created functions of Twitter (when Twitter was released it didn’t have the @reply). Twitter has made the functionality of the @reply quite complex but here are some samples to help us along the way: When you @reply to a follower (or click the “reply” arrow under a tweet) the tweet will only be seen by those who follow both you and the person you are replying to:
@thisistomwink This tweet will be seen by Tom & people who follow both Tom & me. People who follow only me and not Tom will not see it. — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
If, however, you have something you want to say that you think that Tom and all your followers would like to see, there are several options:
.@thisistomwink Note the . before the @reply. The period allows the tweet to be seen by Tom & ALL my followers. — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
.@thisistomwink Note the . before the @reply. The period allows the tweet to be seen by Tom & ALL my followers. — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
I’ve just posted “Awesome Blog Post Title”! http://t.co/f5610S4aKq cc @thisistomwink @authormentioned @otherauthormentioned #wecf13 — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
These tweets, however, will not be seen by all of Tom’s or any of the @mention’s followers. If you’d like those people to see the tweets, you can either cc all of them by going through the follower list (a pain in the neck) or politely ask the person to retweet (RT) the tweet to their followers:
I’ve just posted “Awesome Blog Post Title”! http://t.co/XTyG9NqUpk cc @thisistomwink Please RT! — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
Retweet/RT/MT/Retweet to Followers
You will see retweets in your feed in a variety of formats as different Twitter apps employ different means of retweeting. The web site asks if you want to “retweet to your followers,” which just forwards on the tweet and adds a little icon letting your followers know it has been retweeted. To retweet a tweet to your followers, all you do is click the little retweet link under the tweet in your timeline. A pop-up window will appear asking you, “Retweet this to your followers?” Then click Retweet. This functions allows users to filter the kind of information they send forward. Some tweets will have an RT in front of it. The RT was created by the users; though it’s functionality has been abandoned by Twitter many of the Twitter apps still use it because the users like it. It allows you to comment before the tweet so you’re not just forwarding something on:
Yes, excellent. #wecf13 RT @mhawksey: Great post by @readywriting looking at ‘How to Archive Your Favorite Tweets’ http://t.co/ciMNcr5vXy — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
Some tweets will have an MT where an RT might go. MT stands for “modified tweet.” This happens when you want to RT a tweet but doing so exceeds the 140 character limit. By writing MT, you are indicating that you changed some of the words in the original but are keeping the original meaning intact:
MT @stainwaynerook: Impostor syndrome is def my biggest fear in blogging. Not good enough/fresh enough etc http://t.co/U4q6fN7Rv7 #wecf13 — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
In other instances you might see a tweet hat has quotation marks around it. This is a retweet that says, basically, that you are quoting a tweet:
“@CMaxwell_: Excellent column about of the evolution of TV “fandom” from @EW http://t.co/9wyB5Y85gB #wecmondays” — Bill Wolff (@billwolff) September 10, 2013
All of these options succeed in doing the same thing: taking a tweet from a person you follow and sharing it with all your followers. Use each as needed depending on the goal of your tweet.