getting started with twitter in 14 easy steps

on monday, june 1, from 10 am to noon, i'll be leading a workshop called getting started with twitter. the workshop is part of USF's center for instruction & technology and is for USF faculty, staff, and librarians.

this blog post serves as a rough outline for what we'll most likely be covering. comments and feedback encouraged.

getting started with twitter

intro: who are we?

basic twitter

1. creating a profile

2. following other people

3. tweeting

4. replying

5. RTing

advanced twitter

6. linking (with tinyurl)

7. favoriting

8. DMing

9. searching twitter

10. finding yourself (or the @yourname link)

enhanced twitter

11. tweetdeck, tweetie, and apps like that

12. integrating twitter with facebook

twitter tips

13. thinking about thin and thick tweets

14. already existing information optimally uploaded, or aeiou

wrap-up: collective brainstorming session about how each of us may use twitter in our academic (or not so academic) lives.

update: here's a photograph of today's workshop participants!

students sharing media

this week, all 28 students in DMP and ESF joined (or were already on) twitter, giving us an individual and collective platform for presentation, conversation, and collaboration.

i've been encouraging my students to take their already existing information (blog posts, flickr sets, foghorn articles, USFtv clips) and optimally upload it to twitter. already existing information optimally uploaded, or aeiou, in 140 characters or less.

in the last week alone, the USF twitterverse has been aflame! stephanienow shared her recipe for raviolis. melstrikesback made a mixed tape (with sound!). skblackburn shared her pics of pelosi. smhz, _Kerr_, and elisamaite shared perspectives about teaching college students. and joelAweston, teresacgarcia, and Kellimccloskey, or the north beach crüe, shared their culinary recommendation for ESF's first field trip.

also through twitter, the foghornonline met jonnyhech and a video game columnist was born.

it's a promising spring semester.

twitter assignment

twitter assignment for digital media production

1. last thursday (feb 5), you received the first part of this assignment: in the next 24 hours, open a free twitter account, build a profile with your real name, and find and follow all members of digital media production class.

2. through class readings and discussion, you have learned about tweets, replies, and retweets. you have read about tinyurl, twhirl, and tweetdeck. experiment with these apps, as well as other twitter apps not discussed in class, and find a platform or platforms that suits your needs.

3. through class readings, you have learned about how frozen peas started a movement, about twitter being used in times of war, and about twittering libraries. begin thinking about how you can use twitter for an organization or movement to which you belong and/or believe in. think outside of yourself.

4. through twitter search, find people who tweet about some of the topics discussed in digital media production. follow who you want but certainly follow people who use digital media smartly and creatively. be mindful of who and how many you follow.

5. in class on tuesday we'll talk about the difference between thin and thick tweets. compose at least one thick tweet and be ready to demo it on thursday.

6. on tuesday we'll also talk about already existing information optimally uploaded, or aeiou. compose at least one aeoiu tweet and be ready to demo it on thursday.

7. demo your work (3-5 minutes) in class on thursday. your demo must include: a) addressing one element of your profile, b) the way and ways you access twitter, c) a person or persons you added via your twitter search, d) your thick tweet, and e) your aeiou tweet. wow us.

8. after thursday's demos, comment on your classmates' content.

9. continue using twitter throughout the spring semester.

hints: consider your audience. experiment heavily. follow instructions.

rule: if you have no work to demo, do not come to class.

blogging 101 workshop

today, with help from two recently graduated seniors, i conducted a blogging 101 workshop for USF staff, librarians, and faculty. the workshop took place at the center for instruction and technology and was part of CIT's june tech-intensive workshop series.

we began at 10 am and i immediately made three promises:

1. you will walk out of here with a blog.

2. you will have a better understanding of how to use a blog and how to sustain a blog.

3. you will have lunch.

we then followed, sorta, this eleven step process.

1. introductions: who are we?

2. discussion: what do you want from a blog? what are your goals?

3. start a blog! (we used blogger)

a. sign up
b. name your blog
c. choose a template
d. done

4. write and publish one blog post.



5. then, lunch! offline! away from computers!

6. settings (with special attention paid to comments setting)

7. everyone comment on two or three other blogs ("blogging is 51% writing blog posts," i declared, offering zero evidence for my statistics, "and 49% commenting on other people's blog posts.")

8. tags and tagging

9. importing images to your blog

10. basic page elements (with a show-and-tell example of creating a blog roll)

11. strategies for sustainability (aeiou)

lis and sara, the two recently graduated USF seniors (and davies scholars) who helped me teach the workshop, were excellent. anytime a workshop participant had a question or showed some techno-frustration, lis or sara would be there with a tip or a suggestion. my thing is students teaching students but students teaching professors is pretty cool too.

something to remember - good learning environments require good food! having lunch was not only a delicious way to divide the three-hour workshop, it was also a welcomed opportunity to log off, walk away from our computers, and interact directly with our food and colleagues.

to keep a blog, you need to feed the blog. i hope the following get fed:

Stan Buller's The End of Government??
Ellen Kelly Daley's Expecting Seamus J
Life Transitions
Tom Lucas' A Jesuit's Garden by the Golden Gate
marcella's Global Sense: Youth Network Resource
My Dog is Better Than Your Dog!!!
Greg Pabst's fishlanguage
Renate's ResearchIdeaForum

aeiou @ acrl

starting tomorrow, i'll be in baltimore, maryland for the association of college and research libraries conference. this is the national conference for academic librarians, which includes community college, college, university, museum, and research librarians. on friday, i am giving an invited talk about what i like to call already existing information optimally uploaded, or aeiou. if you're in the area, please swing by.

in the meantime, if you are curious about how to make a scarecrow wedding, here is the answer! (thanks george)