Sunday, December 30, 2012

Better Know Your Chapter! - Challenge #4 - Twitter


You may not have a twitter account -- you may have no desire to "tweet." But I'm sure you've heard of twitter. It seems as if you can't watch a news program without being invited to "follow us on facebook and twitter."

Although I use twitter, I certainly don't use it to its potential, and I'm probably not the best one to write this post. On the other hand, I can probably give you enough information for you to be tweeting in no time, should you desire.

To explore twitter or set up an account, go to http://twitter.com You will see a screen that looks like this:


You can view our twitter page by going to http://twitter.com/hcgsohio. You will be able to view the page and use the search box, but you will be unable to post a message or "tweet."

 If you already have an account, you will see a tool bar that looks like this once you have logged in.


As a new user (and for this challenge) we are going to focus on the search box, and the blue box with a pen to the right. You can use the search box to look for people you may know, societies that may interest you, or topics of interest. I searched on HCGS and our Society came right up. We are listed as @HCGSOhio. If you have an account, you can "tweet" right away. A "tweet" can not be longer than 140 characters -- and they will let you know when you get close to 140 characters.

You've also probably heard of the term #hashtag. A hashtag is nothing more than a key word. For instance, if you wanted to tweet something about genealogy, you may use the hashtag #genealogy or #familyhistory. Hashtags are important because they can be used to find others who are interested in genealogy or, conversely, allow them to find you. Like most social media, twitter can be as easy or as complicated as you like. If you want to know more about it, you can go to the twitter help page.

Challenge #4

1. Click on the link to twitter.com/search.

2. Search for HCGS in the search box.

3. If you have an account, tweet something using the #HCGSOhio hashtag.

4. Search for #genealogy in the search box and see what other contacts you could find who share an interest in genealogy.

5. Remember, if you want to "follow" someone, you have to have an account. For these, and other questions, go to the twitter help page linked above. The nice thing about these tools is that they are available if you want them and can just be ignored when you don't.

Our Social Media Coordinator, Jenny Moorman Davis, set up our Twitter page with its wonderful background. She manages this page and would be happy to help you should you have questions. Just leave your questions in the comment box for this post.

We really appreciate those who chose to accept one or more of these challenges. The wonderful thing is that they will always be here, should you want to come back and find the information again. Just use the blog search box and type in technology challenge.

If you haven't made that genealogical resolution for 2013, perhaps you can consider becoming more familiar with the Chapter website, blog, facebook page, or twitter page. Hopefully, you realize that we have a lot to offer each other, and that together we will be a much stronger Chapter as we move ahead together.

Happy 2013!

Submitted by:
Kathy Reed

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