Peabody Essex Museum's Social Media Committee presents a series of "Social Media 101" talks on pertinent platforms for the staff. This presentation is on Twitter for museum professionals

1. Getting
Started
with:
“new twitter” by Flickr user MDGovpics
CC BY 2.0

2. Twitter for museum
types

3. Twitter for museum
types
Twitter is the #1 social media tool I use.
It’s kinda awesome...

4. Twitter for museum
types
Twitter is the #1 social media tool I use.
It’s kinda awesome...

5. Twitter for museum
types
Twitter is the #1 social media tool I use.
It’s kinda awesome...
It can be a valuable tool for your museum
work and professional development.

6. Twitter for museum
types

7. Twitter for museum
types
You can use it to:

8. Twitter for museum
types
You can use it to:
• find interesting stuff,

9. Twitter for museum
types
You can use it to:
• find interesting stuff,
• disseminate your work,

10. Twitter for museum
types
You can use it to:
• find interesting stuff,
• disseminate your work,
• discuss projects,

11. Twitter for museum
types
You can use it to:
•
•
•
•
find interesting stuff,
disseminate your work,
discuss projects,
find collaborators and colleagues, and

12. Twitter for museum
types
You can use it to:
•
•
•
•
•
find interesting stuff,
disseminate your work,
discuss projects,
find collaborators and colleagues, and
build your own personal professional network.

13. Twitter for museum
types

14. Twitter for museum
types
In the next few minutes we’ll explain a
bit about what Twitter is for, how it
works, and how you can use it.

15. Twitter for museum
types
In the next few minutes we’ll explain a
bit about what Twitter is for, how it
works, and how you can use it.
Ready?

16. Twitter for museum
types

17. In short, Twitter acts
like a serendipity engine
making it more likely that you can bump into
interesting people and content online, with
minimal effort on your part.

18. But first, a little
history…
Twitter began with a simple
premise. Jack Dorsey simply
wanted to know what his
friends were up to.
So he and his partners started
a company...
“new twitter” by Flickr user MDGovpics
CC BY 2.0

19. The SMS text message protocol allows for 160
characters, so Twitter picked 140 characters as
a limit to leave room for addressing, and voila!

20. The SMS text message protocol allows for 160
characters, so Twitter picked 140 characters as
a limit to leave room for addressing, and voila!

21. The SMS text message protocol allows for 160
characters, so Twitter picked 140 characters as
a limit to leave room for addressing, and voila!
World’s first tweet. Pretty deep, huh?

22. Twitter misperceptions

23. Twitter misperceptions
Isn’t it just people describing what they had
for lunch?

24. Twitter misperceptions
Isn’t it just people describing what they had
for lunch?
Only if you’re @neilhimself or @StephenFry.
Twitter celebrities tend to use Twitter as a
broadcast medium. For the rest of us, it’s
more conversational.

28. Twitter misperceptions

29. Twitter misperceptions
Can you really say anything of value in 140
characters?

30. Twitter misperceptions
Can you really say anything of value in 140
characters?
Yes.

37. Twitter misperceptions

38. Twitter misperceptions
I don’t know anyone else on there, so how
can I be “part of the conversation?”

39. Twitter misperceptions
I don’t know anyone else on there, so how
can I be “part of the conversation?”
Follow people. Chances are, people you
know, or know of, are already on Twitter.
We’ll show you how.

40. Twitter lingo
cuz you gotta talk the talk
if you’re gonna walk the walk...

41. Twitter lingo
Handle:

42. Twitter lingo
Handle:
Your Twitter username, whatever comes after
the “@“ sign. Mine is @erodley. It’s like an
email address. It’s how your tweets are
identified and how others identify you.

43. Twitter lingo
Timeline:

44. Twitter lingo
Timeline:
Your timeline is what you see when you log
into Twitter – by default you’ll be on the
Home screen, which consists of your own
tweets, tweets from people you follow, and
Retweets.

45. Twitter lingo
Follow / Followers:

46. Twitter lingo
Follow / Followers:
This is the basis of the Twitter network. If you
Follow someone you see what they tweet
and retweet in your timeline; if they follow
you, they see your Tweets.

47. Following tips

48. Following tips
• Follow plenty of relevant people so you
have a steady stream of content.

49. Following tips
• Follow plenty of relevant people so you
have a steady stream of content.
• This does not mean you should Follow
everybody you encounter. Following too
many people makes Twitter less useful.

50. Following tips
• Follow plenty of relevant people so you
have a steady stream of content.
• This does not mean you should Follow
everybody you encounter. Following too
many people makes Twitter less useful.
• Unfollow people or organizations over time
if you stop reading their tweets.

51. Twitter lingo
Hashtag (#):

52. Twitter lingo
Hashtag (#):
A pound sign, or hashtag is a way to
categorize tweets on a similar topic or
belonging to a particular group of Twitter
users. The hashtag is used to identify
keywords or topics in a tweet. It’s also a
meme with the kids nowadays.

53. “I was sooooo not there on time! #Fail”

54. Twitter lingo
RT:

55. Twitter lingo
RT:
Retweet. Passing on someone’s tweet to
everybody who follows you as a way of
amplifying the reach of a tweet. Celebrities
serve an important role as retweeters. Get
Neil Gaiman to RT something of yours and
your follower count will go through the roof.

56. Twitter lingo
MT :

57. Twitter lingo
MT :
Modified retweet. We work in museums,
where people who have delicate sensibilities
abound. Sometimes a tweet is too long to RT
without editing it. Some prefer to indicate
that they have done textual violence to the
original in order to pass it along.

58. Twitter lingo
Tweep(s):

59. Twitter lingo
Tweep(s):
People you know on Twitter

60. Twitter lingo
Thread:

61. Twitter lingo
Thread:
A conversational string of tweets, usually
replies to an original tweet.

62. Twitter lingo
Tweetstream:

63. Twitter lingo
Tweetstream:
The often mesmerizing stream of tweets that
will cascade down your window once you
start to follow people. It can be distracting,
too. Don’t be afraid to turn it off and get to
work.

64. Twitter lingo
DM (or Direct Message):

65. Twitter lingo
DM (or Direct Message):
A Direct Message is a private message sent
between users, like a mini-email. It does not
appear on the public network.
It’s important to note that only people you
follow can DM you (and you can only DM
people who follow you).

66. DM tip

67. DM tip
Tweets like ‘New position in my department
– DM me for details’ are bad idea, because
not everyone reading the Tweet will actually
be able to message you.

68. Twitter lingo
Favorite:

69. Twitter lingo
Favorite:
A tweet you’ve starred.You can use it as a
filing system, via your Favorites screen so you
can keep track of useful tweets or links.
Trawling other people’s Favorites is a great
way to unearth interesting content.

70. Twitter lingo
Reply / @ / Mentions:

71. Twitter lingo
Reply / @ / Mentions:
You can tweet directly at somebody to
converse. If you use the Reply function, your
tweet gets tacked onto the thread. If you
mention a user (include their handle) in your
tweet, they’ll see it.

72. Twitter for museum
types

73. Twitter for museum
types
OK, so enough lingo. Let’s look around
Twitter and set you up.

74. Twitter interface

75. home screen

76. your timeline

77. @Connect

78. # Discover

79. Me

80. Favorites

81. Favorites

82. Favorites

83. Favorites

84. What does it look
like when you:

85. What does it look
like when you:
•
•
•
•
•
find interesting stuff,
disseminate your work,
discuss projects,
find collaborators and colleagues, and
build your own personal professional network.

86. Finding stuff

87. Disseminating work

88. Disseminating work

89. Disseminating work

90. Discuss stuff

91. Discuss stuff

92. Discuss stuff

93. Find people stuff

94. Find people stuff

95. Build your network

96. Build your network

97. Build your network

98. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
1. Go to http://www.twitter.com and register
for an account.

99. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
2. Compose a short bio.

100. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
2. Compose a short bio.
This is really important – This is what will
give people enough info to follow you. Try to
mention topics you like as well as where
you’re from.

101. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
3. Upload a picture of yourself.

102. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
3. Upload a picture of yourself.
Just do it.
We are none of us movie stars, but profiles
without pictures scream “I don’t really care.”
Make it a pretty picture if you don’t want
your mug splashed up on screen.
Just don’t leave it blank.

103. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
4. Start following people and organizations.

104. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
4. Start following people and organizations.
Strangely enough, we’d recommend starting
with @peabodyessex

105. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
5. Send your first a tweet, using the Compose
new tweet box in the top left hand corner.

106. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
5. Send your first a tweet, using the Compose
new tweet box in the top left hand corner.
Remember tweets need to be 140 characters
or less. Watch the counter in the corner.
Write a few initial tweets to seed your
timeline. It’s fine to start with “I’m new to
Twitter!” or “I’m gonna tweet about
contemporary art issues and philanthropy”.

107. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
6. Search for a hashtag

108. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
6. Search for a hashtag
Try #AAM2013 or #curating.

109. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
7. Search for something that interests you.

110. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
8. Retweet an interesting tweet.

111. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
8. Retweet an interesting tweet.
You can RT by hovering over a tweet and
clicking the Retweet button which then
appears.You can also Favorite things to refer
back to later.

112. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
9. Follow some people
10. Voila! You’re a Twitter user.

113. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
9. Follow some people
Press the blue Follow button on their
profiles. Their tweets will now appear in the
timeline on your homescreen.
10. Voila! You’re a Twitter user.

114. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
10.Voila! You’re a Twitter user.
10. Voila! You’re a Twitter user.

115. Twitter in 10 Easy Steps
10.Voila! You’re a Twitter user.
Welcome aboard, tweeps!
10. Voila! You’re a Twitter user.

116. If you have questions or
concerns, email me at
ed_rodley@pem.org,
or DM @erodley.
And stay tuned for
details on our next
workshop!
Questions?