OER Guest Post: Tips for following conference hashtags on Twitter

By Christina Vines on behalf of #AmplifyFE

The shift towards online and hybrid events in response to the pandemic has encouraged many to get more familiar with networking online. 

“Networking is an important part of a strong FE community” explained Emma Procter-Legg and Chloë Hynes in the recent #amplifyFE article by InTuition (The latest editions of inTuition journal are available only to SET members). The article outlined how to take advantage of the wide range of online opportunities that can help you learn and share knowledge with peers.

Today’s post will focus on social networking sites, in particular Twitter. As the Open Education Conference approaches and we welcome new ‘Tweeters’ to the #altc and #OER22 community, I thought it would be helpful to share some top tips for our newcomers or noobs as I like to call them. 

Why Twitter… 

If you can’t attend in person, joining the community online is a great way to get involved in conference conversations, and network and connect with others at events. Twitter is considered one of the best social networks for professional development; a place for breaking news and ‘followers’ to gather a whole host of information. 

Or as Twitter puts it;

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and coworkers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. People post Tweets, which may contain photos, videos, links, and text. These messages are posted to your profile, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.” 

TWITTER

Checkout this new user FAQ for more information. 

Top Tips

1. Use the conferences designated hashtag 

Including a conference’s designated hashtag in all of your Tweets will help connect your Tweet to the broader conversation and increase the chances someone interested in the event or your content will engage with your Tweet.  

To keep up to date with the latest Open Education Conference news, we invite you to follow @OERConf and the hashtag #OER22. 

2. Get to know your community

By checking out an event’s key / featured speakers your find out who are the ‘important’ people to be following, this year’s OER speakers can be viewed here . Speakers are likely to be in the midst of the conversations across twitter, making them great people to follow to keep up to date.

Remember to tell your followers you’ll be attending the conference in advance. This will help you connect with other attendees prior to the event, organise get togethers at in person events or even divy up the schedule so you don’t miss out on sessions happening at the same time.  Feel free to use one of our NEW #AmplifyFE images or #OER22 artwork  by the lovely Bryan Mathers @BryanMMathers – openly available for you to share on social media.

3.  Follow Hashtags …. They are everywhere

• Don’t just limited yourself to following the conference hashtag – I’d encourage you to explore related hashtags like #altc, #AmplifyFE you could even checkout hashtags from previous OER conferences including #OERxDomains21 or future events like #altc22

4. Understand Conference Netiquette 

Not everyone likes their photo taken … don’t be the one to share something you shouldn’t have. Make sure to check the event’s rules regarding taking and sharing photographs, both at in person and online events.

Check out this years #OER22 netiquette

5. Add context, value and insights

It’s okay to lurk but if you want to get more involved try retweeting, liking, commenting or sharing your own tweets (don’t forget the hashtag!) 

Try not to sit  retweeting what everyone else is saying, remember to share your thoughts and knowledge… it’s important to recognise that you may know more than you think! You could retweet and like content, comment on others posts or you just share your thoughts and comments by tweeting.

Catch up after the event using the conference hashtag. Just because an event has ended doesn’t mean you can’t follow the hashtag any more, share resources or carry on session discussion but remember to follow the conference netiquette.

You could investigate some of the following opportunities ahead of #OER22:

• Explore tips for online participation 
• Share #OER22 conference blog posts 
• If your registered head over to the #OER22 Discord (once open) for even more networking opportunities 
• If your joining us in person prepare your social activities or plans to explore London

Are you a part of the further education community?

If you are looking to share news about your work, find experts to collaborate with or learn more about specific subject areas, then the AmplifyFE network can help. 

• Tag your posts #amplifyFE on social media, and we will help you spread the word.
• Sign up to our mailing list to keep informed and get involved. 
• Visit our website to learn more about how to get started, find the right networks for you and join in the right conversations with our guide to hashtags. 
• Look out for updates on our new Community Space by following #AmplifyFEspace

Head over to our website https://amplifyfe.alt.ac.uk/ and listen to this episode of the VocTech Podcast to find out more about AmplifyFE.