We’ve given a a few workshops on live tweeting for conferences and one of the points we emphasize is that Twitter discussions don’t have to be ephemeral. When the conversation is especially vibrant, it’s usually a good idea to collect that conversation somehow. In our workshops, we’ve usually talked about Storify. It’s a good tool when you’re archiving discussions from a relatively short period of time. The tool discussed here is good when you have a hashtag that’s been used for a long time–maybe related to your program or your annual conference and you want to make use of that data. –The Social Mediums.Â
Author: Lee Skallerup Bessette
When we think about social media, what comes to mind is usually the big platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. But there are many other tools that fall into the category, including apps that let you live-stream. ONe of our jobs as Social Media Fellows is to help groups in our respective programs live-stream events and to plan to make live-streaming a success. We have all the tools that the GC has to take advantage of, though (high quality web cameras, IT staff, etc.). But what can you do with simpler technology like you’re phone? This interesting article from the Graduate Center’s own Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy (JITP) describes using an app for live-streaming in a journalism class, but it has implications for any kind of streaming you might want to do as part of you research, organizing, etc. — The Social Mediums
Using snappy images is a good way to boost the popularity of your social media posts. Not only do people respond more quickly, and often more positively, to images, most social media platforms privilege images, meaning that they take up more space or remain on the top of the feed longer. So we make use of Flickr commons images regularly. This quick tip from ProfHacker introduces a bookmarklet that autogenerates the attribution text you need to correctly cite a Flickr commons image. — Social Mediums
The past few blog posts have been articles that encourage us to think about the ways we purposefully (and unpurposefully) may shape our social media landscape. This article, from the Chronicle of Higher Education, flips the focus from what we see to what others see.Â
One of the jobs that we have as Social Mediums is consulting with faculty and students in our programs to construct social media plans. Social Media has become ubiquitous enough that it seems organic, but it is generally purposefully driven (even if it’s not always obvious what our purpose is). Through the process of professionalization or even just the usual processes of time, our social media persona that we want to project may change. Certainly there are calls now for the current U.S. president to consider his social media strategy even if he won’t change who he is. It’s not always a case of “authenticity” but of “appropriate.”
So we share this article on taking care of your social media feed. We think of it a bit like caring for a garden. Sometimes pruning helps keep the paths and ways clear so that people can better enjoy the view. — Social Mediums
