Fresh Thinking

30th November 2009

Paul WebsterNAVCA – ICT Support

and Development

@all Should really deliver this presentation and explain #twitter in just 140 characters – but don’t think that would tell you much!

“Online applications, platforms and media which aim to facilitate interaction, collaboration and the sharing of content”

www.universalmccann.com

structured way, communication is free and lateral: anyone can talk to anyone else. The web is creating a culture of working with people not for them. Work is most satisfying and creative when it’s work with people rather than for them.”Charles Leadbetter, March 2009

“In the world of the web the main principle is that you can freely communicate with anyone you need to regardless of title or hierarchy. Even if decisions are made in a hierarchical or

Old media - Web 1.0 . . .

. . static websites with no interaction, text heavy content.Information was just fed TO viewers

(Others – if you dare!)

New media - Web 2.0 . .

. . is interactive websites, open comments allowed, conversations and social networking WITH viewers encouraged

.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/briansolis/

Steve Louie fajalr

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• Built on SMS mobile phone technology – most accessible form of mobile media.

• Allows users to send and read other users' updates - text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Can be sent by phone, webpage or application.

• Updates displayed on user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them.

• Can be used to alert masses of people, quickly, efficiently and cheaply – about an event, report or campaign.

• Powerful to ‘ask the (worldwide) audience’ a questions and collate responses – much easier than by email.

• A great way to reach a wide, yet targeted audience and widen your network.

• Commoncraft Video explaining Twitter

Twitter ...

Visit

3 ‘rules’ of Twitter

• Have an identity

– Bio, website and introduction. Be yourself Twitter is people not organisations

• Search and follow

– Find people to follow and don’t be shy to follow people – broaden your network to people you may not normally encounter

• Conversations

– Twitter is conversational – not a broadcast, tweet frequently and tweet naturally

3 Twitter commands

• @ - At message

– Messages can be sent with no prefix, but could get lost in the ‘noise’ a message prefixed with @<username> will appear in that persons stream

• # - Hashtag

– Used both formally (e.g. #swineflu) or informally (e.g. #dbuc09) to group and associate similar tweets about a news story or event

• DM – Direct message

– This can only be read by the two people it is sent between (both must be mutual followers) – but maybe not what Twitter is about?

3 ways Twitter is useful to me

• Biggest circle of link-minded friends – 650 who may be able to help with lost laptops or film queries (or work!)

– Ask a question from the audience?

• Extra conference attendee

– Twitterfall

• Eyes and ears for your organisation – who is talking about areas that interest you ... – or even directly about you

– Twitter Search for Voluntary Sector

– Also wider ‘news as it happens’ – TwitScoop

Link to TwitScoop

Events AS they happen not AFTER they have happened

But if you have to go away …

… there is always Twitter in a Newspaper!

The Twitter Tim.es

Twitter Lists …

… organise followers by topic, region, type of person etc.

3 ways that others use Twitter

• Dogstrust - @dogstrust @dogstrust

– Very popular in keeping supporters up to date with the cause

• Womens Resource Centre - @whywomen @whywomen

– Good use to raise awareness

• Tameside 3rd Sector Coalition - @t3sc @t3sc

– Conversations with local groups

There are many more national and local front-line and infrastructure orgs using twitter - just search!

3 ways that CVS are using Twitter

• Halton Voluntary Action

– Harvest feedback from Development Workers on the ground

• Telford & Wrekin CVS

– Conversations leads to results

• Merton Connected

– Feed of news and information

There are many more national and local front-line and infrastructure orgs using twitter - just search!

Visit

Halton Voluntary Action

3 ways that CVS are using Twitter

• Halton Voluntary Action

– Harvest feedback from Development Workers on the ground

• Telford & Wrekin CVS

– Conversations leads to results

• Merton Connected

– Feed of news and information

There are many more national and local front-line and infrastructure orgs using twitter - just search!

Visit

Telford & Wrekin CVS

3 ways that CVS are using Twitter

• Halton Voluntary Action

– Harvest feedback from Development Workers on the ground

• Telford & Wrekin CVS

– Conversations leads to results

• Merton Connected

– Feed of news and information

There are many more national and local front-line and infrastructure orgs using twitter - just search!

Visit

Merton Voluntary Service Council

3 LIOs that use Twitter

• @vamanchester - Link

• @hvastuff - Link

• @mertonconnected - Link

... and 3 more!

• @southlincscvs - Link

• @warringtoncvs - Link

• @t3sc - Link

• there are many and the number is growing, 23 at the last check

3 Problems with Twitter

• At first feeling unheard until connections made

– Don’t give up

• Very ephemeral – tweets have a short life span

– Put in effort - but take seek results and take-away - now

• Lots of ‘noise’ and need to keep checking

– Can be managed using RSS feeds and searches

3 tips for Twitter

• Check for ‘@ replies’

– these are messages people have sent in reply to you

• Set up ‘saved searches’

– find out what’s being said about topics that interest you

• Don’t expect instant results!

– Its not like Facebook (popular) or MSN (instant conversations)

3 features that make Twitter versatile

• API

– The interface is open so anyone can and does build applications for specific purposes

• Built on SMS

– The simplist form of mobile communication

• RSS

– The ‘currency’ of social media – all Twiiter streams can be accessed by an RSS reader

3 Twitter trivia's

• Average age of Twitter user is 31 [Pew Internet – December 2008]

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/02/study-twitter-users-are-mobile-urban-and-engaged-online.ars

• Why is it called Twitter? “The definition is 'a short burst of inconsequential information,' or 'chirps from birds’. We wanted to capture the feeling, the physical sensation you're buzzing your friend's pocket. [Jack Dorsey - co-founder of Twitter]

• How many tweets have been sent? - http://popacular.com/gigatweet/

• NAVCA News @navcanews

• Sports @navcasport

• ILP @navcailp

• Every Child Matters @navcaecm

• ICT Champions @ictchampions

• LCPU @lcpu

• Learning & Development @navcalandd

• NAVCAboodle @navcaboodle

/ (ALL) NAVCA Twitter accounts3 NAVCA Twitter accounts

3 ways to keep up with Twitter

• A ‘Twitter Client’

– To watch all the tweets of those you follow (e.g. Twibble or Twhirl)

• An ‘RSS reader’

– All Twitter updates have RSS and can be subscribed to in a feed reader such as ‘Google Reader’

– These can be ‘mashed’ into combined feeds, e.g. of all NAVCA Tweets or all LIO Tweets

• An ‘Email Delivery Service’

– ‘Feed My Inbox’ will deliver a list of the Tweets from each account you tell it to monitor in the form of an daily email

Finding your Way!Photo: flickr.com/photos/worldwidewandering

3 Twitter – Good Work Practices

• Tweets about your organisation represent it to the world

– Don’t say anything in public that can’t be backed up

– If asked about work treat as you would an email or phone call

• Be positive and link to the organisations website

– But don’t overdo as Twitter is the personal faces of the org

• Check who you follow and who follows you

– Do they add to your work-related Twitter conversations, even if not ‘sector’ friends, or are they celebs and marketing spammers?

As with any internet based communication (web browsing or email) whilst at work it should be related to work

• 10 million people visited Twitter in February 2009 (worldwide); traffic to Twitter in the UK increased by 974% in last year. [ComScore and HitWise]

• Nearly one-in-five (19%) online adults ages 18 to 24 have used Twitter, as have 20% of online adults ages 25 to 34.

• Median age of a Twitter user is 31. Median age of a MySpace user is 27, Facebook user is 26 and LinkedIn user is 40. [Pew Research Center]

3 more boring stats about Twitter!

Why would you use it?

Access to a GLOBAL audience enabling many voices

F R E E!!! (in most cases)

Your ideas and messages can be shared & spread very quickly

Can take on a creative life of its own

Very high profile – the latest ‘buzz’

Portrays the human voice of your organization

You want share ideas in progress and let others join in and help

It may be messy – so be prepared to deal with this

You are already clear in your aims, but open to contributions

Why wouldn’t you use it?

Tracking sites can be time consuming – so have a clear plan

Needs fast internet connection (ADSL / Fibre) – rural issues

Can be intimidating if not used to using the internet / technology

Fickle – constantly changing ‘current fashionable product’

Not there to be controlled – groups may take your message and rebroadcast it, so it is important to listen to the social networks

Be prepared for your organisation to change how it works

Looser control on organisation message and authorization - won’t work if your message is written in stone, not electricity

Invest time in staff learning new skills and the time to make it an organizational habit

Thanks

The Regional ICT Champions:

Website - www.ictchampions.org.uk

Newsfeed - http://bit.ly/ictchampnews

My news and thoughts about technology in the sector:

on my Tumblr page http://watfordgap.tumblr.com/

on Twitter @watfordgap or email paul.webster@navca.org.uk