2. What is Twitter? Real-time information network News, sports, entertainment, shopping, etc. Personalized “feeds” User-selected content Only information from who you “follow” 2

3. What is Twitter? 3

4. What is a Tweet? Burst of information 140 characters or less Opinions, links, photos, videos Usually publicly visible Other users subscribe (“follow”) Tweets displayed in chronological order on “timeline” 4

5. What is a Tweet? 5

6. Why do people use it? News Opinions (giving and receiving) Interacting with friends, celebrities, legislators, public figures Most say: “to stay informed” 1/3 of adults under 30 get news from social media (34% TV, 13% print) 6

7. Why do people use it? News – Before everyone else 7

8. Why do people use it? News – Before everyone else 8

9. Why do people use it? Organizing/Grassroots 9

10. Why do people use it? The most popular tweet ever: 10

11. Egypt Protests organized on Twitter Over 200,000 protestors: 11

12. Egypt 1 week before: 2,300 tweets/day Next week: 230,000/ day Internet blocked 4 days later 18 days after first tweet: Mubarak resigns 12

13. Terminology Retweet (RT): Sharing someone else’s tweet with own followers. More = further reach. Hashtag (#): Symbol in front of word or phrase. Identifies subject matter. Trending: When a particular hashtag is being used frequently, that topic is “trending” 13

14. Terminology Handle (@): Username, symbol in front. GAO = @ABAGrassroots Direct Message (DM): Between individuals, not public (except for mistakes) Modified Tweet (MT): Same as retweet, but original content is edited Hat Tip (h/t): Acknowledge originator of content 14

15. Advocacy News/Information: “Inside the beltway,” articles, charts, RT’s, etc. Education on ABA issues/legislation: Letters, articles, websites, facts, other groups/tweets, etc. Increasing issue relevance: using hashtags, joining other groups, live tweeting, Q&A, etc. 15

16. Advocacy Driving constituents to take action: write letters, phone calls, op-eds, tweet & retweet Communicating directly with legislators: 100% in Senate, 90% House. Mentions, retweets, etc. (e.g., ABA Day) Internal information: Keeping track of ABA issues and staying on top of current issues 16

17. Best Practices Length: Leave room for RT, comments and handle; Under 100 = 17% higher Frequency: 3-7 per day; relevant, but not overwhelming Timing: 11AM-6PM; FB: weekends & lunch, Twitter: mid-week and leaving work; Hootsuite Pictures: More RT’s Stay Current: Late= Irrelevant 17

18. Voice: Professional, but human; Talk with, not at; NO: OMG, <3,, foul language, harsh words; spelling and grammar important (rare exceptions) Interacting: Respond to all questions; interact with followers & other organizations; RT’s are gold What NOT to Do: Best Practices 18

19. What NOT To Do “I thought I was posting on my personal account!” 19

20. Insensitive/Inappropriate: What NOT To Do 20

21. The Future Be on the look out for relevant content: articles, charts, quotes, facts, websites, pictures, etc. Let us know when an issue is “hot” or when we should stay away Future advocacy around single issue: coordinated effort with traditional advocacy, grassroots and social media 21