Prior to entering the MA Public History program I had been hesitant to get involved with Twitter. This was partially due to not understanding the benefits that Twitter had to offer a MA student and also because I had no idea how to manage a Twitter account or what I should be tweeting. In my perspective Twitter was more for entertainment, used by celebrities to connect with their fans or for people to share pictures of what they had for lunch. Once I got involved with Twitter it did not take long to see that it could be used for so much more.
It took some time to get used to this social media platform. Unlike Facebook where the people viewing your posts are usually your friends and family, Twitter can be much more public. There is also the defining characteristic of Twitter, the tweet limit of 140 characters. This was difficult to manage at first, and I found myself constantly editing and tweaking posts so they could fit within the word limit.
While at first it was difficult to get the hang of Twitter, with practice I became more comfortable with tweeting, retweeting, learning how to shorten URLs, etc. Once I found my footing on how to use the technical aspects of Twitter, the next challenge was figuring out how to get followers and who should I follow.
At this moment I currently have 49 followers. While this does not seem like a lot when compared to people who have millions of people following them, as a new Twitter user I am still proud of my modest 49. An effective method I found so far in regards to getting new followers is to not be afraid to tweet at someone.
As a digital historian there have been several projects that I have created that are online and available to the public. Instead of keeping these projects hidden away in a tiny corner of the internet where only your friends and family will see it, try going out on a limb and tweet it. Better yet, direct that tweet at people and organizations that might be interested. This is a great way to get retweets, followers and maybe even an individual or a business interested in the work you are doing.
Another useful trait of Twitter is for keeping you in the loop. Because you can choose who you follow and thereby control what kind of content is coming into your twitter feed, you will often be exposed to tweets that spark your interest. Due to Twitter I have found out about several events that I may have never heard of on my own.
While it is not an obvious use of Twitter, this social media platform can also be useful when looking for jobs. Forbes magazine posted in 2012 an article entitled "4 Ways to Use Twitter to Find a Job". The article notes that from 2011 to 2012 the amount of people who used Twitter to find a job jumped from 26% to 34% and those numbers are projected to increase.
During my time using Twitter I have seen various historical organizations such a London Heritage Council, Parks Canada, Canadian Heritage, etc. tweet about job postings. This allows you to track organizations that you may be interested in and get a heads up about job postings.
Overall my Twitter experience has been very positive. I have learned a variety of new skills and became less anxious about using social media to promote my work. Twitter is an important resource for digital historians who wish to advertise their online projects. So if you don't already have an account consider getting one and have your own experiences in the Twitter-verse.
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