Twitter: A Fantastic Networking Tool

Hey everyone!  I’ve got another Twitter related blog post for you today. 

There are numerous aspects of Twitter that I’m still discovering how to use.  A few days ago I participated in my first tweetchat.  I was apprehensive at first because finding a chat and then attending it seemed difficult. 

I wanted to find a chat that featured discussion of PR.  The first one that I planned on attending never happened.  It was listed on a schedule but as I waited for the tweets to start, there was just silence.  That night I decided to test out tweetchatting by participating in a chat that gives advice from college students to high school students and their parents.  I tried to give some tips that have helped me be successful in college and stress the importance of financial aid/scholarship awards.  While this tweetchat was interesting I still wanted to try to find one that would help me learn more about PR.

I went searching for a new chat the next night and found one.  The hashtag was #prwebchat and it was devoted to discussing current trends and social media in relation to PR.  As the chat began I was very anxious.  I introduced myself as a student studying communications and PR and said how I would appreciate any tips, tricks, or advice from PR pros.  Many people were happy to oblige and sent some great links to articles and information on PR.  They also helped me find some information that might help me prepare for my summer internship. 

One of the discussions in the chat was about what sources people are using to discover news.  I had never heard of some of the sources or online news hubs, so the participants in the chat gave me new items to discover.   Social media has caused PR to explode and discovering as many outlets as possible will be vital to my success in the industry.  

Another aspect of the chat that I find interesting is that the transcripts remain online after the chat has ended.  There are many monitoring websites used to help place all of the tweets in one place, making it easier to read.  One of these sites is TweetReports. An hour after the tweetchat ended someone mentioned me on twitter who saw my question on tips for networking and wanted to give some input.  She explained that when she was a student she found that participating in tweetchats is a great way to start networking.  I really appreciated this encouragement.

Twitter continues to be a phenomenal networking tool.  The opportunity to network on Twitter is always available and has helped me connect with individuals around the globe.  This is crucial for students studying PR, which is a field, based completely on what you know and whom you know.   Having the ability to talk to real professionals from all over the world simultaneously it amazing.  I plan on participating in more tweetchats in the future. You should too!  A helpful article that has advice on finding tweet chats can be found at this website: Twitter Chats: What are they and how to find them?

If anyone has any suggestions for their favorite tweetchats leave a comment.  I’d love to participate in another one.          

Thanks for reading!