Live by Example

As previously discussed in this column, when it comes to Twitter, there is no “right way” to do things. Learning the right balance of tweets, re-tweets and replies to meet your needs and increase your return on (time) investment is a learning process like any other. For this column, I’ve compiled a list of educators and technologists that I look to as good examples of using Twitter in an approachable way to network, share, learn and grow.

Programs:

@MAET – Michigan State University Master of Arts in Educational Technology – Shares information on upcoming program events as well as what is new in educational technology. This account is excellent at interacting with program students and others.

@CapMSU – Michigan State University Campus Archaeology – @CapMSU – The MSU Campus Archaeology program excavates sites around the MSU campus and shares their findings with the campus community. This account provides a fascinating historical perspective and shows us what archaeologists do and how they work.

Individuals:

@gravesle – Michigan State University – Leigh is the coordinator of MSU’s Master of Arts in Educational Technology program and shares excellent articles and resources.

@Tjoosten – University of Wisconsin Milwaukee – Tanya is very open to sharing her adventures in educational technology at UWM and has great information.

@UWM_CIO – University of Wisconsin Milwaukee – Bruce Maas is the CIO for the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and very accessible to education colleagues on Twitter. He’s an excellent example of transparency and availability in leadership.

@NealCross – Southwest Baptist University – Neal is an instructor, a learning management system administrator, and very collaborative in his work. He is interactive, helpful and fun to follow.

@Captain_Primate – Michigan State University – Ethan is a professor at MSU and an expert in digital humanities. He is an evangelist for open access teaching and learning, and he teaches his courses outside of the central campus learning management system, using WordPress and more.

@kevinoshea – Purdue University – Kevin is a technologist working closely with online education and is adept at putting Web 2.0 tools to work.

Publications/Organizations:

@Educause, @EducauseReview – EDUCAUSE is a non-profit association with the mission of advancing “higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.” Stay apprised of upcoming events, interesting educational technology news and new study data by following them on Twitter.

@mashable – Mashable is not geared specifically toward higher education, but they offer excellent, short articles on Web 2.0 tools and innovative ways to use them. I get much of my technology news from Mashable and have found them to be an invaluable resource for explaining how things work.

Businesses:

TechSmith: @TechSmith, @TechsmithEDU, @jingTips, @SnagItTips – TechSmith takes a very approachable stance with their customers, offering beta membership, technical support and tips via Twitter. They are always on the lookout for people using their products in innovative ways.

Biggby Coffee: @BiggbyBob, @T_C_B, @BiggbyJedi, @BiggbyFelicity – Biggby Coffee could write the book on using social media in business. The company founders are active, reaching out to customers and offering glimpses of what goes on behind the scenes. Employees obviously love the company, making the excitement contagious.

Insomniac Games: @insomniacgames is an independent video game developer that takes support to new heights using Twitter. Have a question about one of their games? Ask them on Twitter and you’ll often have a response the same day.

Who do you follow that you find interesting? Would you like to add to this list? Please e-mail your favorites to jlknott@gmail.com. You should also follow @etcjournal on Twitter for information and updates each time a new article is posted.

6 Responses

  1. Yahoooo! thanks for the mention…one small correction Tom is @T_C_B , not @T_C_M

    @designowl is another great BIGGBY follow, but you can type in the word BIGGBY under ‘find people’ / search and see how many other great BIGGBY tweople are out there!

    Have fun, B-Happy, Make friends, Love people, and Drink great coffee :)

  2. Well, hey there @jlknott! Thanks so much for mentioning BIGGBY here! Twitter is such a natural extension for BIGGBY–the kinds of interactions that are happening moment-to-moment on Twitter are the exact same sort of exchanges that are happening every minute of the day in our stores between our baristas and our guests, so yeah, we love it!

    And can I just say how very happy I was to pull phrases like “reach out,” “love,” and “excitement” in your comments about us?! You definitely GET it!

    Thanks again and have a great week!
    -Jeremy aka @BIGGBYjedi

  3. Very interesting article. I’m on twitter and enjoy seeing companies really get to know customers. I’ve seen BIGGBY COFFEE really do a great job and have fun with it!

  4. Hey, everyone! Thanks for illustrating the point about interactivity. :)

    I’ve updated the post to be accurate with @T_C_B, that was a doozy. Sorry!

  5. BIGGBY COFFEE is all about reaching out in the community – and twitter is a fun place to do that! Our motto: B happy, make friends, love people, have fun and drink great coffee is evident each day… It is an awesome place to work at and tweet about!

  6. A really useful list Jessica thanks. I will add them to my long list of people to follow.

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