This week I was in the right place at the right time (that is, logged on and paying attention) to participate in two different "forums" on Twitter. The first was during the NCIS episode on Tuesday night: Pauley Perrette (Abby) live-tweeted throughout the episode, taking questions from fans and pointing out important things for us to notice. I definitely practiced some convergence during the episode: I was watching it unfold on TV, reading Pauley's tweets, and chatting with some real-life friends on Facebook, who were likewise watching and tweeting. Pauley answered my question and that of my Twitter and real-life friend Chamene, so we had a little self-congratulatory chat on Facebook.
The second event was one that takes place biweekly: #runchat. Two moderators, @RunningBecause and @iRunnerBlog, direct a conversation among runners every other Sunday. I stumbled across it by accident because someone else re-tweeted the notification that it was starting, so I decided to join in. The moderators asked five questions:
Q1: I missed this one because I came late to the party.
Q2: What are your running goals through the end of June?
Q3: If you run in the dark, what do you do to stay safe?
Q4: What is your "home" running route?
Q5: What wildlife have you seen on the run?
And my answers:
Q2: Gotten lazy lately, so my goal is to get back up to speed & shed the winter weight! Plus, training for my 1st tri. #runchat
Q3: Wear a headlamp & watch moving shadows-- those usually tell me when a car is coming. #runchat
Q3: Also look for houses with lights on, just in case-- don't think I'll ever need it, but it makes me feel safer! #runchat (someone responded to this one with "Good advice! Thanks!"-- I didn't even know it was advice!)
Q4: Just in my neighbourhood, but I like it! Sometimes I go to Town Lake to change it up. #runchat #Austin
Q5: Just dogs. And men who *appreciate* female runners. #runchat
Q5: Oh, and some geese that tried to have me for lunch one time. I swear they're trying to poo on me, too. #runchat
At the end of #runchat, I had two new followers, who apparently found my answers interesting. And in addition to following them back, I'm also now following the moderators. I'm definitely tuning in for the next #runchat on Easter Sunday.
I've heard a lot about these Twitter "forums" but i've never actually participated. I often see them advertised on TV in connection with a TV show ( ex: NCIS, White Collar, and Psych). Your post has encouraged me to try it out the next time I see one happening.
ReplyDeleteI seriously did a happy little dance when Pauley Perrette answered my question! You should definitely join in-- it's fun!
ReplyDeletehmm.. apparently geese are quite problematic for runners.... I wonder what's up with them.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Twitter had forums. I guess that's what I get for completely ignoring this SSN for the most part. This is much cooler than just regular tweeting because there seems to be much more interaction. Not bad intern.
My personal theory is that geese believe humans to be a source of food, and if I don't bring them food, then clearly I am the food.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a forum as such. You add the relevant hashtag to the end of your tweet (in this case, #runchat), and then to keep up with the conversation, just click on or search for that tag. Voilà, instant chat session.
Haha I'm totally with you in how great it feels when someone replies or retweets your tweet. I'm not very active on Twitter normally, but my marketing professor brought in a writer from the Statesman last week to give us a workshop on using Twitter for free press. We were actually tweeting during class! I remember a tweet that read, "Tweeting in class...because my professor told me to!" Anyway, I learned many great things about Twitter and its benefits for marketing. However, I also realized that Twitter is more like a game. The suspense of waiting (and hoping) for someone to reply to you, or to wait and see what other people think, is captivating. It definitely has a different feel to what we know as "social networking sites."
ReplyDeleteThe ability Twitter has to reconstruct social situations is truly baffling. I didn't know about these Twitter "forums." Thank you for sharing. The revolutionary aspect Twitter has on communication creates the type of crowdsourced information production that you discuss in your post.
ReplyDelete@Anairis: I did a happy dance the first time someone ever retweeted me, too. It's oddly exciting! :)
ReplyDelete@Blake: They run the full gamut of interests, really, but unless someone you follow mentions it, I think they're hard to find. I read some writer-y ones from time to time, but I've never joined in... I think that will have to change.