Twitter — I Think I Get You!

Take a look in the top right-hand corner of our Blog. Yes the Society for One-Place Studies is on Twitter (and you can follow us!). But if you are like many of us where social media is concerned you are probably wondering “what’s the point of Twitter?” Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy social media and I was impressed with the use of Twitter for up-to-the-minute news when any international, political or weather-related situation occurs. But how does that translate to using Twitter with family history. When I asked the question, many devoted tweeters explained it to me. Twitter is:

• a lightning speed conversation,
• a crowd-sourced discussion with everyone posting in tight 140 character sound bites,
• the ability to follow any topic by using hashtags,
• a platform to follow certain tweeters and/or have them follow you for all the latest news and/or links,
• immediate and constantly changing, and
• did I mention that cute little bluebird (or is that a blue bird?)!

Back in February 2011, I opened a Twitter account just in time for RootsTech. I read through the instructions (can’t help it, I am a reader), read a few blog posts about how and why people used and loved Twitter, searched for the correct hashtag to follow the RootsTech discussion, followed a few genealogists who I knew were attending the event (and who intended to tweet to those of us who stayed home), and then sat back to watch Twitter in action.

First, I noticed there was a secret language (when you only have 140 characters, you have to get creative). Second, those individual tweeters were all at the same session (in the same room) and many had the same take-away moments so I saw the same comment tweeted from perhaps 20 people and then, (quite unhelpfully in my opinion) retweeted (what was up with that?). Third, the tweets came fast and furious. I have good eyesight but trying to follow the tweets was like watching a foreign film (while reading all the printed dialogue). Add to that the constant refreshing of the conversation while attempting to compose the occasional tweet (which showed up about 50 tweets past the original tweet) and my conclusion was that Twitter was not really my cup of tea. And I really wanted to like Twitter because so many of my genealogy friends did.

Every so often I would go back to Twitter to try to figure out what my friends saw in it that I didn’t. But it just did not jell for me. One reason was that some tweeters posted the exact same comment several times throughout the day and/or posted their comment under several different Twitter handles. It’s a bit like seeing the same article in every newspaper. Useful takeaways were few and far between and often, due to the 140 character limit, you simply saw a link that required you to click through to see the article and learn anything. Twitter seemed to be an out of control expressway where the drivers drove when and where they pleased (few signals, no lanes and other cars on that expressway had to take care or be run over).

Now, fast forward to November 2013. Because a funny thing happened in my Google+ stream. Jen Baldwin posted that she would host a Google+ hangout for small groups of Google+ users. She planned a 60 minute get together in a relaxed setting (we were all sitting in front of the computers) so we could learn how to use Twitter, ask any questions, and get some tips and suggestions on how to get the most from Twitter (I was hoping to learn how to get anything from it!).

At the close of our hangout, I said to myself “I think I’ve got it!” So, if you are new to Twitter or have not figured out why you might want to use it (especially for family history and one-place studies) I am sharing what we learned a few weeks back and hopefully you will get it too! In order to understand Twitter, I had to visualize what it was for and then how to use it and not use it (thanks Jen).

• If Google+ is a dinner party (where you sit with a few people for an extended period of time and discuss topics in great detail) then Twitter is a cocktail party
• When you go to a cocktail party the point is to mingle – you grab a drink and an appetizer, take a quick look around, and then join first one group and then another (you flit)
• You listen to the ongoing conversation and when there is a lull or you can add something on point, you jump in and make witty banter (not a dissertation and not a heated political discussion)
• You might network by sharing your card (your twitter handle), making a suggestion, answering a question, or offering to send a link to your new acquaintances
• And then, you move on to the next group and do the same thing all over again
• A cocktail party usually has a variety of people – you never know who you might meet and you want to make a good impression so Jen had a few suggestions:
• Don’t be the person who shouts his/her arrival
• Don’t be the bore who drones on and on about themselves
• Don’t be the person who goes to each group and says the same thing (you know the person who is there to sell themselves but they never engage in conversation or want to listen to or learn about anyone else)

With all the various conversations going on throughout the day on Twitter, how do we focus on using Twitter for family history and one-place studies (and how do we get rid of all that extra noise)? Come back on Wednesday for Part II of this Twitter post.

 Tessa Keough