Twitter - Staying Relevant with 140 Characters

Twitter's been around since 2006 and in the public eye since 2007, but recently it's exploded into the consciousness of the general population. I think we can all agree that when a social technology makes it into the heads of Congress, it's no longer "the-latest-thing." But now that Twitter's hit the mainstream, the social network possibilities have multiplied.

I recently Twittered a conference – the EDUCAUSE Southwest Regional Conference 2009. We settled on a common #hashtag and kept up a constant commentary throughout the event. (Do a Twitter search on #SWRC09 to see the conference tweets.)

An interesting dynamic develops during live event Twittering, with some correspondents giving a play-by-play account while others carry on a back channel conversation, analyzing and discussing events in real time (in practice, the Twitterers tend to slip back and forth between modes). Throw in remote participants who's only connection to the conference is via the Twitter postings, and you have a fascinating, temporary community with unique interactions. Definitely a topic for further investigation.

Some useful and provoking Twiitter links...

How Twitter was Born

Embracing the back channel

The audience revolts at SXSW

Intermediated Conferences and Backchannels

How Twitter's spectacular growth is being driven by unexpected

Twitter Teacher

Twitter in the Classroom #1

Twitter in the Classroom #2

Podcast on recent Twitter developments

Twitter for academia

Everything Twitter

Useful Twitter tools