Monday, July 07, 2025, 7:26PM | 
MENU
Advertisement

TweetChat can be rewarding for an open mind

TweetChat can be rewarding for an open mind

Are you confused about social media? Does Twitter make your heart flutter? You're not alone. In many cases, figuring out the value and best practices for these takes time and a very open mind because they stretch the limits of the way you already like to use your time.

So imagine how difficult it can be when you take one of these already mind-stretching concepts and you use it in a way that takes you even farther off the main fairway. That's how you'll probably need to think of TweetChat.

TweetChat is using Twitter as an open chat mechanism, typing your words in an open conversation -- like shouting on a crowded street so everybody on the block can listen in.

Advertisement

Let me lay some groundwork, to head off confusion.

Twitter allows you to send public messages to whomever is following you online or via smartphone. These are called tweets. Each tweet is limited to 140 characters, so you need to be brief.

Anybody with a Twitter account can look at what you have posted, as long they know your Twitter handle; mine is @dradin.

Twitter also allows you to include hashtags in your message to indicate the subject area. Each hashtag starts with a # sign and indicates that you want people to know it's about a specific topic or person.

Advertisement

As I write this, a popular hashtag in Pittsburgh is #WhenMcCutcheonDealEnds (because the Pirates recently signed outfielder Andrew McCutcheon to a new multiyear contract). So I can search for that hashtag to follow what others are saying about the contract.

When you conduct a TweetChat, you ask all participants to be available during a specific time slot and use the same hashtag with all their tweets during that period. It becomes a conversation in which everybody can have their say. Confused? Don't worry; it's hard to catch on until you see it in action.

A couple of weeks ago, a local nonprofit called Building Bridges for Business held a TweetChat in which a guest, consultant Gina Schreck from Littleton, Colo., answered questions about social media.

Ms. Schreck showed up and TweetChatted her first words, "Productivity & PJs. Together at last." Of course, she also included the required hashtag: #SmallBizPgh to make sure it was seen by all participants. Linda Handley and Amanda Wodzenski, both executives at Building Bridges for Business, led the conversation when needed.

Conducting a conversation or presentation in this manner definitely made it a bit more fun. But it also showed how fragile the concept is.

First, it was not the most efficient way to spend time or learn a subject -- you really had to want to geek out for an hour. Second, I found it annoying whenever anybody would retweet one of the questions, answers or comments using the #SmallBizPgh hashtag.

Each retweet would echo back to the audience after the discussion had moved on.

So it wasn't perfect, but it was an interesting experience. Undoubtedly somebody will improve on the experience with new tools. Sit tight. It can only make the process better, and you'll want to be ready when that happens.

First Published: March 11, 2012, 5:00 a.m.

RELATED
Comments Disabled For This Story
Partners
Advertisement
Pirates team owner Bob Nutting talks with general manager Ben Cherington during spring training Monday, Feb. 17, 2020, at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.
1
sports
Jason Mackey: How misplaced loyalty and a lack of true urgency have put the Pirates in a lousy spot
Showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout the region on Monday afternoon, with a potential for gusty winds and some localized flash flooding.
2
news
Storms could bring heavy rain, flooding to Pittsburgh region this week
The “Bible House,” the early headquarters for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society -- an integral part of the Jehovah’s Witness congregations --was built in what's now Pittsburgh in 1889. It served as the organization's headquarters for nearly 20 years before it was moved to Brooklyn, NY and later to upstate New York.
3
news
Silence and shame: How the Jehovah’s Witnesses sex abuse crisis in Pennsylvania unfolded
Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington enters the press room to take questions from the media about the firing of manager Derek Shelton on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
4
sports
Pirates GM Ben Cherington: ‘We’re not like a win or two away’ as he's not ruling anything out ahead of deadline
The Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a 1,878-bed immigration detention facility in Philipsburg, PA, is where many are held after being arrested by ICE in Western PA.
5
news
ICE detentions surge across Western Pennsylvania, new data shows
Advertisement
LATEST business
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story