Personal Purpose of Social Media Twitter Project
As a professor in a communication department that has historically focused on more traditional speech communication concepts, I wanted to integrate an interactive perspective to studying and analyzing media content with my cross-listed Speech Communication/Journalism/Digital Media Design 210 course “Media History and Effects” this spring. Since the course combines both historical and current concepts about Media Literacy and the impact of different mediums on society, I thought this was an excellent chance to pilot the interactive social media project. Students were charged with the “Twitter Project”—signing up for the service and interacting on Twitter at least once a day throughout the entire semester. Topics were open, to creating a new post extending a discussion from class, posing a question to me or their classmates about the course, to sharing cool websites that illustrate and support basic class concepts. The idea was to integrate course content into the shared space and make the (to me) large class feel more intimate and connected—hoping that energy would translate into the classroom. This was my third time teaching the course. With past classes, I felt disconnected from students who did not directly engage during in-class discussion—so I hoped for a more personal experience between students—both among one another and myself with the Twitter Project.
How Social Media was Introduced in the Classroom
I introduced Twitter to 25 students during the second class session. After an informal survey, only a few students maintained Twitter accounts, as Facebook appears to be the popular form of online social media at our school. After setting up my account (MHE210) I asked students to follow suit, creating class-only usernames that did not reflect their given names for creativity and anonymity. (Users can, however, take the extra step and click on the username to find out who it really is.) After establishing a class presence and following classmates and myself, students followed 5 public figures outside the class—1 business, 1 media organization, 1 music artist, 1 politician, and 1 television/film star. I asked students to lock their Twitter privacy so only their followers could see content. Students were asked to follow trends from their classmates, me, and the public for the entire semester to see how the social medium was used by all their followers, known as “Tweeps.” Students replied and posted to any of their Tweeps in our “Twittersphere.”
I established formal etiquette rules within the Twitter class site. Citing the assignment sheet:
- Our Twittersphere is a public forum for our class, so treat it with the same care you would a research paper. Tweets should be grammatically correct. No abbreviations such as “thx, lol, u” accepted. Sorry. Correct spelling is expected.
- You only have 140 characters per Tweet, so being concise with your Tweets might be a challenge. Avoid posting 3 or 4 Tweets about one subject back-to-back.
- Once you Tweet something, it’s there, published. You can’t take it back.
- Differing opinions may occur within our Twittersphere, which is one of the reasons Twitter exists. It will get you thinking and commenting about things outside the classroom. If you’re shy, all you have to do is type. You’re human. You have opinions. Share them.
- There easily can be plagiarism issues with Twitter. If you don’t properly “cite” or “Retweet” when taking information from someone else’s Tweet, that is direct copying without citation. So, the Twitter Project assumes all the same guidelines as in-class assignments as noted on the syllabus.
- Mashable’s “Top 7 Twitter Tutorials on YouTube”: http://mashable.com/2009/05/31/twitter-tutorials-youtube/
- “Beginner’s Guide to Twitter”: http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html “Introduction to Hashtags”: http://twitter.pbworks.com/Hashtags
- Mashable’s “HOW TO: Retweet on Twitter”: http://mashable.com/2009/04/16/retweet-guide/
- AEJMC’s “The Popularity of Twitter Among Celebrities”: http://aejmc.org/topics/2010/01/the-popularity-of-twitter-among-celebrities/
WHY TWITTER?
The goal of the Twitter project is to participate in—and then critically analyze—the pop culture Twittersphere within our class. For example, you’ll constantly be keeping your eyes and ears open for anything that pops up in the media that relates to class discussion. Your goal should be to post comments and/or links to these items, as soon as possible, before anyone else in the course, and engage in online discussion.
How to do it: Create an individual class-only Twitter handle (username) and begin to build a social media network within the course. http://twitter.com/ Plan to update your status multiple times daily (Monday through Friday minimum) and reply to others’ tweets as appropriate. This Twitter account is meant for Media History & Effects use only during the semester. If you currently maintain a Twitter account, you’ll need to create a new one for class use only.
You will need to follow me (mhe210) and all your 210 classmates. In addition, follow a set of 5 public figures to see how they use Twitter as a form of public communication: 1 business, 1 media organization, 1 music artist, 1 politician, and 1 television/film star. Do not follow friends outside of the course during the semester.
You can access help guides on Blackboard. As you build your Twitter “portfolio,” keep in mind that the end goal is to learn about and contribute to media literacy and culture through your posts and discussions.
TWITTER TERMS
Tweet: A post on Twitter.
Tweep: Your Twitter followers (like Facebook friends)
Twittersphere: The Twitter world—including your Tweeps and content
From http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html & http://twitter.pbworks.com/Hashtags
Think of Twitter as a room full of people, all sitting in a circle. It’s a conversation. When you update your status, you’re speaking to everyone. All can hear what you have to say. (Like a Facebook Status Update.)
Replies @
If you want to direct your comments to one specific person in the circle, but loud enough that everyone else can hear, you use the “Reply” function. You address the person by using their Twitter user name preceded by the “@” symbol. For example: @Iloveradio I think the NBC Late Night shakeup is for ratings rather than content.
(That’s letting the specified user know your thoughts along with the whole class. Like a Wall Post.)
Everyone who is following Iloveradio and me will see the message, but I am specifically directing it to Spence. (Those who are not following both of us will not see the message.)
You can also use the Reply function to refer to someone by name. For example: I just had a discussion about the pros and cons of reality TV with @thebachelor and @princecharming. The thing about replies is that they are “clickable links.” If someone who is following me, clicks on one of the names, they will automatically go to that person’s Twitter page. This will give them the opportunity to follow that person, too. In other words replies are similar to the new Facebook Tag function.
Direct Messages d
Continuing with the metaphor of a conversation with a room full of people, you can also use the “direct message” function. This is like whispering in one person’s ear. They can hear you, but no one else can. You are directing the message to them and only them. For example: d mhe210 Dr. M, Can we meet after class tomorrow to discuss the project?
Hashtags #
Hashtags are a community-driven convention for adding additional context to your tweets. They're like tags on Flickr. You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. So if we were discussing American Idol in class, the first person to comment about it would create a hashtag for discussion. If you choose to comment about something to the whole class about American Idol, you would then use the same hashtag in your post #idol For example: Simon leaving is going to destroy the entertainment appeal of the show. #idol
Retweet RT
Retweeting is how Twitter users share interesting tweets from the people they are following. In essence, it’s citing the original author of the Tweet you also want to share on your page. Copy and paste the original tweet and send it out. To give credit to the original person, users usually put “RT” plus the originator’s username at the beginning of the tweet. Here’s an example: The Twitter user @benparr Tweets: I just heard that Apple is releasing new iPods in July! You retweet by posting RT @benparr I just heard that Apple is releasing new iPods in July!
TWITTER ETIQUETTE
- Our Twittersphere is a public forum for our class, so treat it with the same care you would a research paper. Tweets should be grammatically correct. No abbreviations such as “thx, lol, u” accepted. Sorry. Correct spelling is expected.
- You only have 140 characters per Tweet, so being concise with your Tweets might be a challenge. Avoid posting 3 or 4 Tweets about one subject back-to-back.
- Once you Tweet something, it’s there, published. You can’t take it back.
- Differing opinions may occur within our Twittersphere, which is one of the reasons Twitter exists. It will get you thinking and commenting about things outside the classroom. If you’re shy, all you have to do is type. You’re human. You have opinions. Share them.
- There easily can be plagiarism issues with Twitter. If you don’t properly “cite” or “Retweet” when taking information from someone else’s Tweet, that is direct copying without citation. So, the Twitter Project assumes all the same guidelines as in-class assignments as noted on the syllabus.
You will earn up to 100 points with the following guidelines as indicated. 1=low, 30=high
- Cohesiveness of its theme: You have a regular daily presence and make posts. You’ve found a natural place in the Twittersphere. Your posts are professional and coherent. (1-30)
- Thoroughness of your engagement with the technology and fellow Tweeps: You actively used the tools of Twitter technologies (#hashtags, @replies, retweets) to make sense of and contribute to class content. Your replies and hashtags contribute to our MHE Twitter community. (1-20)
- Thoughtful inclusion of course material in your use of Twitter: You thoughtfully incorporated your interpretations from readings and course discussion rather than simply link to stories and headlines. You contributed to the dialogue using classroom theories and concepts (instead of simply sending tweets without any academic context). (1-30)
- Evolution of your Twittersphere as a whole as the course progresses: You clearly enhanced your social and technological use of Twitter over the course of the semester. Your end product looks significantly better than your first couple of weeks of using Twitter. (1-20)
- *It’s in your best interest to fully immerse and engage in the Twitter Project! Should any student earns less than 70/100 points from the Twitter project (C -), the final course grade will automatically be reduced 1 letter grade. For example, an A+ would be reduced to a B+.
I used the third-party application “Hootsuite” (http://hootsuite.com/) to manage Tweets. I logged in a few times a day to add to the conversation, answer questions about coursework, and provide general class feedback on assignments or make announcements. The program enables scheduling of posts, so I was able to plan when information I wanted to share would be available. Hootsuite displays posts, direct mentions, and direct messages on one screen. The program provides general statistics for users—so I could see averages of how often students posted or followed internet links provided for grading purposes. I used my mobile phone to receive updates from direct messages—so I could respond quickly to students if necessary, similar to a personal email.
One class session I had to attend a university luncheon, so I needed to miss class. I thought it would be fun to have an online “Tweet-Up” with the class so they would still engage in material throughout the period. I divided the class into 5 groups and scheduled a question to appear every 15 minutes. The groups—using Twitter only—had to work out the answer within the 15 minutes online and post a “final answer.” While many students felt pressure to perform, in the end they came together and provided well thought out answers. It was a success.
Students also completed a formal written assignment halfway through the semester about how their public figure Tweeps use Twitter. Students conducted a mini-textual analysis of public tweets and connected findings to in-class content implementing the Uses and Gratifications theoretical framework. The assignment asked:
- Using public tweets from the past 2 weeks, figure out what Uses & Gratifications category was alluded to the most. Explain your reasoning and provide examples (direct quotes) from your public figures. Back up your answers with plenty of class discussion.
- Based on your observations so far this semester, explain why you think public figures maintain Twitter pages. Do they use Twitter/social media for more personal or professional reasons? Why or why not? These are your opinions. Connect your opinions to current Media Effects class discussion.
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