What is Twitter and How Can I Use It?

Kyleen Burgess

Area Information Management Agent

Region 3

What Is Twitter?

• People want to connect• Asks one question - What Are you

Doing? • Answers must be under 140 characters• Can be sent via mobile texting, instant

messaging or the web

Twitter Background

• Started in 2006• 2007 Twitter Inc. was founded• Approx. 26.5 million US users

– 25% don’t tweet – 50% tweet once every 76 hrs.

• Has it share of spam/junk

Twitter Demographics

• 11% of users ages 12-17• growth has come from adults who might not have

used other social sites before• Use of social networking by people aged 35 to 54

grew 60 percent in the last year. • Almost everyone under 35 uses social networks• Facebook = identity / Twitter = issue of the day

How Does It Work?

• Create an account (sign up)

• Find people to follow

• Tweet to your hearts content– Remember twitter is more about

broadcasting, not so much about connecting with people

Who to Follow?

• Clients– Ask for twitter names - search

• Co-Workers– @Jbcoltrain, @rconlon

• News Sources – @WAVY_News, @WAVY_Weather,

@CNN_Newsroom

More following

• Colleges from afar– @pflores @uwcesedtech

• Information Management Agent– @misskyleejean, @jdorner

• Announcement Services– @ncce_news, @NCStateNews

The Language of a Tweet

• @ directs a tweet to another person

• RT@ is a retweet and means that someone is reposting something else someone posted

• # - “Hash tag” used to identify common topics/trends

Twitter Applications

• Allows you to send and receive updates versus traditional log-in

• Some work with Facebook– Twhirl – TweetDeck– TwitterFox

• *all run on both Mac’s and PC’s

How Can I Use Twitter In Extension?

• Program Updates• Program Advertising• Moth Counts/Planting/Harvest

Conditions• Helpful tips/tricks/hints

– Energy Conservation, Food Safety, Growing Together News Tips

@Tykerman1’s Twitter Suggestions

• Converse – Twitter only becomes valuable, fun, interesting, entertaining, educational if you get involved.

• Look – Find other people or businesses that interest you. Plenty of areas out there to keep you in the conversation.

• Learn – Don’t be annoying. Learn the features of twitter. If you don’t know, ask. Someone sitting in their office or tractor will help you.

Resources

• http://bit.ly/BiAhj (NY Times Article)

• @Tykerman1’s CNN interview – Twittering from the Tractor– http://bit.ly/CtZcs

• Twittering FAQ: http://bit.ly/zO8N

• Welcome To The Future: http://bit.ly/7IUcr

Thank you!

• Kyleen Burgess - Region 3 IM agent

• @misskyleejean

• Kyleen_Burgess@ncsu.edu