Twitter is useful to express messages in 140 characters or less, but what if you want to up the communication? Amongst the uses of a hashtag comes the Twitter chat. Twitter chats originated by communities that formed using hashtags, and would then meet at specific times to discuss certain topics. Likely this was the offspring of using a specific hashtag during a live event for a meta discussion that increased engagement and provided clarifications.
If you have yet to get the basics down for using a hashtag and why it’s important, check out this 15 minute webinar we recorded. It will highlight the various uses and how to find communities on Twitter.
The first step to joining a Twitter chat is locating one that relates to your interests. For this example I will be using #SmFastFwd, a social media based chat that occurs every Wednesday at 12 p.m. EST [More Information]. Now that I have identified that #SmFastFwd is the chat to join, I will need to find a tool that will help me keep track of the conversation. While Twitter allows you to click on a Hashtag to see what other people are tweeting with it, the site does not refresh quickly and you have to manually tell it show more tweets. There fore it would be wise to use one of the following three methods: Tweetchat.com, Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.
TweetChat
Tweetchat is the crowd favorite when it comes to chatting on Twitter as it was specifically designed for this type of communication. The ease of use also makes it a favorite option, and you don’t need to sign up for an account. Simple sign in and allow the application to access your Twitter stream and you can begin chatting in second. The video will give you a detailed approach to using Tweetchat and highlighting the various features.
Using Tweetchat.com on Vimeo.
Hootsuite
Personally Hootsuite is how I maintain the various social networking accounts that I manage, however it’s not ideal for Twitter chats. Unlike Tweetdeck or Tweetchat the refresh rate is slower, or you can manually update it to keep track. For chats that have fewer people in them this can still be a useful tool. On the other hand Hootsuite also allows you to add a stream and embed it directly into a webpage, but this isn’t necessarily user for most chat participants.
Using Hootsuite for a Twitter Chat on Vimeo.
Tweetdeck
Tweetdeck is another well used tool similar to Hootsuite, but it’s refresh rate is more fluid. For busier, well known Twitter chats it may be difficult to follow along using this tool, but the continuous realtime flow is much better than Hootsuite. Another downside to Tweetdeck is that that you generally have to download the client onto your computer to use it. If you are a Google Chrome user you can also use a new plugin until they fully develop a Web based application for all browsers.
Using Tweetdeck for a Twitter Chat on Vimeo.
Pretty easy, right? If you ever have any problems joining a chat feel free to tweet me @thejournalizer.
This article was created for @lindleyashline after asking how to join the #SmFastFwd chat. Do you have a commuications or social media question? Just send me a message and I’ll research it for you!
