Category: social media


  • 10 … no 11 Reasons Tweet at your conference or event.

    10 … no 11 Reasons Tweet at your conference or event.



    I have always had “10 Reasons” for tweeting at conferences, but I added an 11th entry this year because it is important. Enjoy!

    Twitter bird

    I started tweeting at events when I realized that I was spending as much time and effort tweeting out the most relevant points of the session I was in as I spent taking notes – plus, the notes I took were less relevant than my tweets, since I was only tweeting out the best parts!  Tweeting at conferences has allowed me and others to share info from sessions we may not have been able to attend. Once I committed to live tweeting conferences, I got a lot of great, positive feedback about it from other attendees. I have had many people come up to me and say

    “Hello @kentbrooks”  

    It has been a great way to meet other conference attendees and more. Here is a summary of my top reasons to Tweet at a conference

    Reasons to Tweet at a Conference

    1. Take Conference Notes … I type faster than I write.
    2. Archive Conference Notes…  The Archive is immediate and public.
    3. Share Conference Notes… Just point people to your Twitter Feed.
    4. Build a Personal Learning Network PLN… This goes beyond people you meet at the conference. People not attending the conference will be following the the back channel and you will make connections there as well.
    5. Meet Fellow Attendees… Whether the conference is small or large, finding a way to connect is the most valuable part of any conference.  
    6. Gain Insight to Some of Your Own Thoughts... After the conference I can go back through thread to review important items.
    7. Share Resources… Links, images and people to follow all will become part of your social conference experience.
    8. Allows you to Summarize Important Points140 280 characters at a time forces conciseness. This helps me evaluate my understanding (or lack there of) of a conference session.
    9. Learn from Sessions held Simultaneously…I can partially remove my frustration at not being able to to attend 3 or 4 conference tracks at a time since I can glean ideas, links and comments  from different sessions.
    10.  It helps me Confirm I am in the Right Session…Keeping an eye on the twitter stream allows me to head to a different simultaneous session if the topic in another sessions turns out to be more directly related to my work, if I am unsure of a certain content or if the session just stinks.  (This may be rude, but with limited travel $$$ we have to make the most of any conference and glean the very best ideas from sessions we attend).
    11. It is simply a lot of fun. Conference tweeting should be fun, empowering, and inspiring. It should create opportunities for interaction. It’s all about engagement, community building and enhancing participation in the event.

    Amazing, isn’t it…technology humanizing the experience of a live gathering of people.




  • Twitter Palooza Rules of Engagement for #RMUG19

    Twitter Palooza Rules of Engagement for #RMUG19

    Twitter Palooza — #rmug19

    RMUG Twitter Game Rules of Engagement

    The RMUG conference is almost here. RMUG “Twitterpalooza” will give attendees the opportunity to interact via social media to participate in quests to earn daily prizes as well as entries which enters game participants in the grand prize drawing. Start earning credit toward great prizes in the days leading up to RMUG 2019.  Tweet I am going to #rmug19 to earn your first Twitterpalooza entry.

    #RMUG “Twitterpalooza” will give conference attendees the chance to win prizes through social media challenges. In addition, participants can gain entries into a grand prize drawing. The goal of Twitterpalooza is to provide conference attendees additional opportunities to collect/archive/share notes, make meaningful social collisions, and have a little fun.

    For each entry earned the game participant will be entered into the grand prize drawing (to be announced throughout the conference). Prizes will be chosen using http://www.randomresult.com

    1)  Early Bird

    Early Bird Tweeters can tweet “ I am going to #RMUG19″ or “I made it to #RMUG19” + #earlybird for a Grand prize entry

    Start earning credit toward great prizes in the days leading up to RMUG 2019.  Tweet “I am going to #RMUG19 #earlybird” to earn your first Twitterpalooza Grand Prize entry.  

    Most Pre-Conference Tweets Top 2 = PreConference Prize  + Grand prize entry

    2) Daily Games

    wydec_Great_Retweeted_badge.jpg

    The Great Retweeted

    The most retweets at the end of the day rewards the original Tweeter. All tweets must use #RMUG19 to be counted. Top 2 Great Retweeted earn a gift card and and a Grand prize entry

    wydec_top_conversationalist_badge.jpg

    Top Conversationalist

    Top 5 per day  (Only one entry will be awarded per person, if someone is top conversationalist multiple days our grand prize entries will go to the next 5) This is a ranking based on a combination of tweets, mentions, and retweets.  Grand prize entry

    wydec_top_tweeter_badge.jpg

    Top Tweeter

    Top 3 per day  (Only one entry will be awarded per person, if someone is top tweeter multiple days our awards will go to the next 3) Grand prize entry + LCCC

    wydec_Local_Flavor_badge_oilcity.jpg

    Local Flavor Prize

    Pic in Front of any business/ restaurant gets an Entry into the grand prize drawing Examples: Pic in Front of Jackalope, pic with the Sir Barton Memorial

    To earn an entry, a picture must include: you + #rmug19 + #RMUGlocalflavor + #wyoming

    3) Random Trivia

    Keep an eye out for spontaneous questions asked by @DutroJoe . Trivia questions could range from Jackalope history to computing  topics and everything in between. Watch for hashtags #RandomTrivia accompanied with #RMUG19.

    3 Random Trivia prize gift cards will be awarded per day. Must use #RandomRmugTrivia and #rmug19 hashtags when answering questions.

    4) Vendor Bender

    We love our Vendors! The first 5 no 11 people to take a picture with all of our on site vendors will earn a prize and an entry in the grand prize drawing for $100 Amazon Card.  Must use #RMUGVendor #rmug19 + Vendor Twitter Handle for each picture.

    Here are your on-site RMUG 2019 vendors:

    Touchnet  = @TouchNet
    Fox & Weaver Consulting = @foxweavconsult
    Lift Team Coaching = @LiftTeamCoach
    Star Rez = @StarRez
    Shamrock Solutions = @ShamSolutions
    Ellucian = @EllucianInc
    Kaufman Hall = @kaufmanhall
    ZeeMee = @zeemeeapp
    Ferrelli = @Ferrilli1
    Softdocs = @Softdocs
    Synoptic = @SynoptixSocial
    Prophix = @prophix

    5) The Big Kahuna:  Where’s Edie?

    If you see @ediemiller12  in the hallway, Tweet  a picture of her and you  + “I saw Edie at #RMUG19 + @ediemiller12  to earn a badge and an entry into the Grand Prize Drawing.

    5) RMUG Buddies  #rmugbuddy

    Where’s Your RMUG Buddy?

    Look for the your kindred #rmug19 attendee buddy with the same number or picture on your conference lanyard and earn a gift card + an entry in the grand prize drawing by tweeting  “Here’s my #rmug19 #rmugbuddy

    Get Your Prizes

    At the end of the last session on Friday we will aggregate and daily prizes will be awarded and announced via Twitter. They can be picked up before the end of sessions on Friday at 12:45.

    Entries for Grand Prize Ends after the final session Tuesday. At the end of the last session on Tuesday we will aggregate and daily prizes will be awarded and announced via Twitter. The Grand Prize winner will be announced during the wrap-up period. All prizes must be picked up on Friday by 12:45pm

    Thursday Giveaways

    1 Most Pre conference Tweets = Coffee Mug

    TBD Random Trivia  

    3 = Top Daily Tweeters  (1st Backpack, 2nd Blanket & 3rd T Shirt)

    2 = Top Retweeted Tweets  (Winners choice of shirt or mug)

    Friday Giveaways

    TBD = Random Trivia

    3 = Top Daily Tweeters  (1st Hot Drink Tumbler, 2nd T Shirt & 3rd Coffee Cup)

    2 = Top Retweeted Tweets  (Stadium Seat & T Shirt)

    2 = Completing Vendor Bendor (1st Backpack, 2nd Blanket & 3rd T Shirt)


  • A 3 Step Twitter Intro for Conference Attendees

    A 3 Step Twitter Intro for Conference Attendees

    Conference Tweeting is the best networking tool I have ever encountered. It has given this  “wee acorn” the chance to mingle with the “giant oaks” of my profession.  When I get to mingle with several hundred or several thousand of my closest friends at events such as RMUG, Educause, eLive, and AACC I always hope to pick up a little of their savvy and experience.  Although, Even when I don’t attend a conference, I often watch the twitter feed and learn from afar.

    To engage effectively there are a few steps you can take to prepare.  I usually post a few tips on conference tweeting during events but, I was asked recently,

    “I do not understand Twitter, so your article was a bit of a motivator to learn. Any suggestions?”

    Introduction to Twitter

    Twitter is referred to as a microblogging tool.  It lets users post short comments (the limit is 140 280 characters in length) for people who follow their Twitter feeds. You decide what to read, by say, signing up for news feed or following:

    1. Experts in a given field
    2. Celebrities
    3. CEO’s
    4. Companies
    5. Friends
    6. Co-Workers

    In February 2019 Twitter claimed more than 321 million monthly active users.  To begin following some of these folks you must sign up to follow people so that posts will show up on your own Twitter page.

    Getting Started with Twitter

    Step 1:  Get a Twitter account If you already have a Twitter account, skip to step #2

    1. Go to twitter.com
    2. Fill in your name, email and create a password and click Sign up.
    3. Create your Twitter handle/username — think of who you are and what you will represent with this username.
    4. For a quick intro review the video below

    Step 2: Follow The Conference Hashtag!

    What is a Hashtag? By Definition a Hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media websites and applications, especially Twitter, to identify messages on a specific topic. I think of it as an aggregator of information by topic.

    Picture of the hashtag
    1. Login to your Twitter account.
    2. Click the Connect button at the top of the screen
    3. Search for the following Twitter handles  or hashtag by typing the username in the box next to the search button and then clicking on Search:
    4. The RMUG 2019 conference hashtag for example is #rmug19
    5. Look for the key twitter handles for your meeting. For eLive19 two to watch for were @EllucianInc and @TeamEllucian


    Step 3 Start Tweeting

    “Smart Phone or Mobile Device”  – If you have a phone or mobile device with a marketplace for apps, download the Twitter app.

    “PC or Laptop” –

    1. Go to twitter.com
    2. Login
    3. Let the tweeting begin

    Don’t know what to tweet?

    Start with:

    1. What are you doing? Where?
    2. What are you learning? From whom?
    3. If you’re in a conference session and see a great hyperlink…tweet it.
    4. Share, Share, Share

    Tweet what you learned or examples:

    1. Great #rmug19 Opening Session Key point of talk was….
    2. Thanks @kentbrooks for the great info on……

    There are more in depth posts and training tools on how to be good a Twitter. I would suggest you seek out those as well. Hopefully this will help you get started making meaningful social collisions with this powerful communication tool.


  • Turning Twitter up to 11: Prepping to Tweet as a Conference Attendee

    Turning Twitter up to 11: Prepping to Tweet as a Conference Attendee

    Turning Twitter Up to 11…at least since yesterday

    turning twitter up to a 11 Image of a volume dial  turned up to 11
    “Let’s Keep Twitter at 11”

    So what is this, “Turning Twitter up to 11” stuff? It developed from to a reply to a Twitter post I made about a previous blog which provides 11 reasons to Tweet at a conference. In a post several years ago I gave 10 reasons to Tweet at conferences. In the updated post I added an 11th reason. After posting I got a reply from one of my Twitter buddies, Joe Fisher with the image above and the accompanying thought (I think) that to get most out of Twitter interaction we really need to turn it up a notch. Thus the meaningful social collision, “Turning Twitter up to 11” was born.

    Getting the most out of any conference or event is hard work.  Spending time before you get to a conference will pay big dividends during and after the conference.  Prepping well is good advice regardless of whether you’re Tweeting the event or not.  If you are Tweeting it becomes even more important.  Preparation will allow you to take great notes which are shared in real or near real time, make connections, gather links to great resources and find people who are incredibly knowledgeable about topics which interest you.  Twitter has gone way beyond a tool which lets you tell people what you’re eating at dinner.  So how do you prepare?


    Preparation Fundamentals
    Charge your Batteries.  Nothing is more frustrating than nearing the end of a session and seeing your device screen asking you to take the following step:

    power off screen message


    If your using your laptop it is still likely that you will have to plug in at some point in the day while IPad and phones will likely hold up during an average conference day if they are fully charged.   A long day will likely require either recharging or carrying supplemental battery power.
    Build a Tweeting toolkit. This collection of tools will be different for each person. Most people will just use their phone, but to tweet fast and accurately you will likely need multiple tools for multiple reasons. I will provide a detailed listing of what I use and why. My Tweeting Toolkit consists of hardware, software and apps.   I usually have my laptop, my iPad with Data Plan (See BYOW below) and my phone.  The laptop is still my key device.  Remember my primary personal goal in all of this is to archive and share conference notes. I type faster than I write and I still type faster at a keyboard than with just my phone. My iPad is used primarily as a monitoring device. For monitoring a Twitter feed I have used several tools, but I seem to always come back to Hootsuite. Hootsuite is sometimes referred to as a Twitter Client. I will describe these in more detail later in this post.


    Software I started tweeting at conferences as a way to archive and share my notes. I am one of those people who try to sit in the front row and take vigorous notes. I pay no attention to those speakers who say, “My slides will be available after the conference” or “Give me a business card and I’ll shoot you my slides later” If they are a half way decent present there is plenty of content discussed which isn’t in the slide deck. Those are the nuggets I am trying to capture. My notes for years were taken in Microsoft Word, however in recent years I have switched to Google Docs. The addition of Twitter to this note taking frenzy was simply a way to share and archive those notes.   If you’re going to share those notes quickly or in near real time the software in conjunction with a process is very important.   I have experimented with Evernote but still feel that Google Docs is the best tool for me at this point. I have also tried to just use my phone. It works fine but I simply don’t like it as well.


    BYOW.  Bring Your Own Wireless.  Granted this is better than in the past, but I have NEVER been to a conference where wireless coverage is 100%. There is always one tiny obscure conference room in the corner of a facility that has no wireless, even at the best tech conferences.  Finally, don’t get frustrated.  Even if bring your own wireless there is likely going to be some locations in a conference facility where you can’t get the conference wireless signal and your BYOW doesn’t have sufficient signal either. This may be a time where you kick back and focus on the speaker.


    A Twitter Client is a service or application which is designed to display Twitter feeds as well as other tools to enhance your usage of Twitter.   The most common and important feature with this genre of tools is feature that displays multiple columns side by side. If there are multiple hashtags you wish to follow you can assign each column a hashtag and watch more than one at the same time. Some of these tools/ applications allow users to send messages (called tweets) directly while others give users the ability to create more complex tweets which they then have to manually post through Twitter itself.

    Hootsuite my current favorite, has both free and paid versions. The free version allows you to manage up to five social profiles. Not only can you post to Linkedin or Facebook, but in case you’re Tweeting from multiple accounts you can manage those from a single location.   Hootsuite does include reporting and a tool for internal conversations between colleagues or friends.   In my view it provides the greatest number of twitter threads and capability to monitor those threads.
    I have also used TweetDeck, but Twitter purchased it and made it a web only tool. TweetCaster is free with iOS, Android Windows Phone and Blackberry editions. You can also post to Twitter and Facebook. It’s most interesting capability is the “Zip It” function which gives you the capability to hide difficult followers tweets without unfollowing them.
    The final item in my toolkit is my cell phone. My phone is used for tweeting commentary and pictures which I use when I want to tweet that great picture or slide and want to provide more meaning than any 140 280 characters I could type.  By the way I do love having 280 characters. That change has been really good. Be ready when you pull out the camera phone to share that really great slide as someone nearby will tell you the slides will be available on the conference site.  Just smile and go on.


    Other things to Think about
    Give credit when credit is due. If you are Tweeting someone’s work, be sure to give them credit. You should do this by making it clear who is speaking by including their Twitter handle, Use quote if possible. If the speaker doesn’t provide a twitter handle, you might be able to find it with a quick Google search for their name, their institution, and the word “Twitter.” This should homework should be done in advance so you can focus on the speaker and their comments.
    Start tweets correctly. Don’t start the tweet with “@.” The @ symbol in Twitter is always the first character in someone’s Twitter handle. If it is appropriate to start with “@” insert a period and then the username (e.g., “@kentbrook”). One of the characteristics of Twitter is that if you start a tweet someone’s username, only the people who follow you and that person will see the tweet. Inserting a period allows everyone who follows me to see that tweet. Of course, if you’ve used hashtags properly, everyone following that hashtag will see your tweet whether you use the period or not.
    Text Expansion. Text Expansion is not something I use regularly but I know some people I have spoken with really like it as a way to speed up their tweeting.

    At this point you should be seeing the types of things that should be included in a conference tweet:

    • A Conference Hashtag
    • A Session Hashtag
    • A Username for the person speaking.

    Text expansion allows you to create a piece of text with the three items listed above and then assign a keyword to that piece of text.   For example, if someone were to do this while I was speaking at a Conference in a session with a session hashtag as follows #s101 would look like this:
    @kentbrooks #elive19 #s101
    If I assign the above text the keyword “ttr” I can simply type “ttr” in my Twitter client and the speaker and hashtags are automatically created.   The software will even put your cursor in the right place so that you can start typing immediately.   When you go to your next session you simply change your text. The key is preparing before the event.
    Decide who to follow. A great way to do this is by following the conference hashtag prior to the event.  There are always a few people tweeting in anticipation of an event. If they are tweeting before an event they likely will be tweeting during the event.  Build a “who to follow” list prior to the event.  For example prior to the 2014 American Association of Community Colleges Annual Conference I made and shared a list of the 12 Must Follow Community College CEOS.  That list was tweeted and retweeted over and over through the course of the conference.  I also received several recommendations on who to add to the list.  Very good input and I now follow many more of the exceptional leaders in the community college world, some of them now follow me. I have added to the list each year since then…and guess what some more of them may even get added to my list next year.
    Know all the Conference Hashtags. In a previous post I wrote about hashtags.  Learn, share and use the conference hashtag. The most important thing to do for conference tweeting is to use the hashtag associated with the conference. By using the conference hashtag, others who don’t follow you will still be able to find your tweets using Twitter search. Most conference organizers these days specify the hashtag: Ellucian for example provided #elive19 for the Ellucian Live 2019 conference. If you find yourself at a smaller conference and there is not a hashtag, you might have to create one. Search.Twitter.com will lead you to a list of hashtags that have already been used in the past or are currently active. If you find an existing conversation on the hashtag you’re thinking about using, you might want to go with something else which is not as frequently used.
    Prepare to take some breaks. This is a mindset mostly, but if it’s important to consider that you might need a break from tweeting or reading the stream(s). So take a break every couple of sessions and practice the art of undivided attention. Supposedly, if you are really fast you could be sent to Twitter jail. I haven’t seen this happen in the conference setting, but is possible I suppose. That is all of now. Happy tweeting.


  • The 15 Must Follow Community College Presidents on Twitter 2018

    The 15 Must Follow Community College Presidents on Twitter 2018

    To do the 2018 Most Social Community College list…or to not do the list…that was the question.  Well, for awhile I had decided I would not publish my list of Tweeting Community College presidents I began in 2014. I am publishing my first book this summer (more on that below) and between the book project and the day job I have been booked (yes pun intended).
    However, as we approach the 2018 American Association of Community College Conference, I got a couple of questions about when the list was coming…and so (sigh)…here it is. The 2018 list of Social Community College CEOs on Twitter.  This list is much larger than the list I started in 2014.  In fact, I only did the Top 12 in 2014, because that is how few community college presidents were tweeting.  My total list of community college presidents tweeting that I watch has grown has grown to 88.
    number of Community College presidents joining twitter by year
    I am again confident this very social group of community college presidents will keep everyone informed on the happenings at the annual @aacc meetings as they keep their respective institutions informed via social media. The presidents listed are on the list because they use Twitter to create a unique social relationship with their campus constituents.  I use a formula which I developed 4 years ago when I started this list which considers many factors beyond the number of tweets. Last year I tweaked it slightly as Twitter now allows you to create Moments.  So presidents who have Twitter moments get points for using that part of the resource as well.  I also give Kent Points. Those are for stuff I like such as having fly-fishing listed in their profile.  Fly-fishing hasn’t helped anyone get on the must follow list, but hey it is my list so I might as well have some fun with it!

    As this list is now in its 5th year I am at the point where the cumulative data is beginning to shed some light on how this tool is used for communication. by community college presidents.  With that in mind I have begun categorizing usage and although this is in its beginning stages I have the following so far,

      1. The Student Helper – They seem to focus on using the tool to engage with students.
      1. The Lurker –  Lots of likes and retweets.  They don’t tweet a lot, but they are watching.
      1. The College Booster  – Lot’s of tweeting about college events. It is obvious they love supporting encouraging their college constituents via Twitter.
      1. The Undecided – Very inconsistent both in volume and content.  It is obvious they only log on every once in a while and are probably thinking…”Is this a good idea or not?”
      1. The Shotgun Approach  – The content is quite varied.  Lot’s of college stuff, lots of personals, and lots of community.  I don’t think this is necessarily bad, but certainly.
    1. The Strategist – The content is college focused,  combines aspects of being a student helper, a lurker, a college booster and a smattering of the shotgun approach to their tweets.

    Not quite sure if I will ever name names under the above categories, but is certainly obvious to me from watching over the past five years the approach to using the tool is quite different from president to president.
    Here are a couple of other observations

      1. I added more community college CEO’s (19) to the list this year than were tweeting in 2013-2014
      1. Ones of the most interesting trends in my data relate to presidents (about 10) who once tweeted have stopped.  Some have simply stopped. Others are still engaging (aka lurking) by following new people and liking tweets but they have stopped sending out their own tweets.  It is clear many are monitoring social media even if they are not engaged.
    1. Two of the new entries on this list, Kirk Nooks and Tyjaun Lee became aggressive and effective Tweeters at the same time in 2017. As they are presidents on different campuses at Kansas City Community College I wonder if it is part of a broader strategic institutional plan for using social media at that institution. Here are the new entries on my list to follow for 2018.
    Para Jones @PrezParaJones Stark State College
    Carole Goldsmith @DrGoldsmith777 Fresno City College
    J Michael Thompson @JMichaelThomson Cuyahoga Community Collge
    Margaret Hamilton @margebern Lane Community College
    Mark Mitsui @prezmitsui Portland Community College
    Kirk Nooks @PresidentNooks Metro Community College Kansas City Longview
    Tyjaun Lee @MCCPVPres Metro Community College Kansas City Penn Valley
    Daniel Phelan @dphelan59 Jackson Collge
    Kim Ennis @BSCCPresident Bevill State Community College
    Pat Gentile @NSCCPrezPat North Shore Community Collge
    Brian Albrecht @AlbrechtBryan Gateway Technical College
    Jerry Weber @jweberbc Bellevue Technical College
    Jennifer Methvin @methvinCrowder Crowder College
    Kevin Drumm @PresidentDrumm SUNY Broome Community College
    Cris Valdez @RichlandPres Richland Community Collge
    Sandra Kurtinitis @DrK_CCBC Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland.
    Amy Morrison Goings @LWTechPrez Lake Washington Institute of Tech
    Grethen Mullin Sawicki @CCACNorthPres Community College of Allegany County
    Lorraine Morales @LLorraine0 Pima Community College
    Everette Freeman @EveretteCCD Community College of Denver

    Not sure if this list will continue next year, but It has been fun, and I have learned a lot.  However, but as we all know sometimes priorities change and I am now pretty busy with my book projects.    When I first published that list there were really only a dozen Community College Presidents Tweeting and only a half dozen doing it effectively.  I felt it was important to support the effective use of the tool for community college leadership. That has changed and grown and there are many community college CEOs who understand the benefits and power of social collaboration and how it’s used to communicate and collaborate with campus constituents.  The pioneers among Community College Presidents using this mode of communication in my estimation were,  Anne Kress @MCCPresident,  Margeret McMenamin @drmcm, and Karen Stout @drkastout
    I wrote a blog a few years back called, “My Three Tweeting Presidents”  based on a presentation those three did at AACC. Thanks for communicating with all of us.  I for one appreciate your work.
    If I am not working on this list, then what am I up to?  Well, I have been doing some other writing and need the time now and over the next couple months to finish up my book, “Old Boston:  As Wild As They Come” It is the nonfiction story of an 1886 Southeast Colorado Boom Town that became one of the wildest towns on the western frontier.  Let me just say…Old Boston by Kent Brooks Book Cover

    “This Boston town on the Colorado prairie certainly lacked the culture and refinement of its New England namesake. Gunfighters, saloons, gamblers and painted women prevailed.”

    While growing up and working for my relatives I drove over the location at Boston Colorado townsite.  all the time. In fact today it is just the intersection of two country roads.  See me (Grey Shirt) and my cousins standing at the main intersection of what was Boston Colorado 1886-1889. Note the Colorado prairie of my youth behind us.
    9th-and-main-boston-colorado is now just the intersection of two roads
    My cousin tells me a few years prior when you were moving farm equipment and got a flat tire with a square nail you knew it was from one of the buildings which made up Boston. I have the good fortune of being able to compile a story hidden in my hometown library for the past 100 years.
    The top picture on the cover is, “A Cowboy Funeral” and my grandma taught in a one-room school about a mile and a half from that location.  The bottom picture is the intersection of the two main streets in Boston. Yep, I get to tell a New Tale of the Old West.
    As for tweeting at @aacc 2018 below is the list of newcomers to my list followed by the entire list.  If you are not sure what to think about conference tweeting I would encourage you to read my blog “10 Reasons to Tweet at a Conference.”  I hope this helps you in knowing which community college presidents to follow on Twitter. Happy tweeting to all of you.  I have learned so much from each of you.
    P.S. Let me know who is missing from this list and whose name I spelled wrong!

    Mark Frison @markfrison Assiniboine Community College
    Marcia Ballinger @PresBallinger Lorain County Community College
    Tom Huebner @EMCCHuebner ‏ East Mississippi Community College
    Pam Eddinger @PamEddinger Bunker Hill Community College
    Lori Sundberg @Dr_LoriSundberg Carl Sandberg College
    John Rainone @dslccprez Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
    Scott Ralls @Nova_Prez N. Virginia Community College
    Joe Sopcich @JCCCprez Johnson County Community College
    John Downey @brdownj Blue Ridge Community Collge
    Joyce Ester @DrJoyceEster Normandale Community College
    Charlene Dukes @pgccpres Prince George’s Community College
    Pamela Luster @sdmesaprez San Diego Mesa College
    Kris Williams @HCC_DrW Henderson Community College
    Samia Yaqub @ButtePresident Butte Glenn Community College
    Joanna Anderson @SFCCpresident State Fair Community College
    Jo Alice Blondin @clarkstatepres Clark State Community College
    James Mabry @PrezMabry Middlesex Community College MA
    Thomas Newsom @MesalandsPres Mesalands Community College
    John Cox @CapeCodCCPrez Cape Cod Community College
    Devin Stephenson @DevinStephenson Three Rivers College/ Northwest Florida Community College
    Thomas Chesney @ThomChesney Brookhaven College
    Mark Brainard @DrMarkBrainard Delaware Tech CC
    Billy Stewart @ECCCPresident East Central Community College
    William Serrata @WSerrata El Paso Community College
    Jeremy McMillen @GC_President Grayson College
    Terri Winfree @PSCpresident Prairie State College
    Monte Sullivan @LCTCSpresident @LCTCSpresident
    John Sygielski @HACCSki HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College
    Constance Carroll @carollsdccd San Diego Community College District
    Christa Slejko @prezSlejko North Lake College
    Kevin Boys @ssccpresident Southern State Community College
    Dawn Lindsay @AACC_DrLindsay Anne Arundel CC
    Deneece Huftalin @SLCCHuftalin Salt Lake Community College
    Steven Gonzales @gwccprez GateWay Community College
    David Harrison @DHarrisonCSCC Columbus State Community College
    Jeff Jochems @JeffJochems1 Richwood Valley Campus, Ozarks Technical Community College
    Edna Baehre @EdnaKolov Tidewater Community College
    Thomas Isekenegbe @president_BCC Bronx Community College
    Charlene Newkirk @CCACSouthPres CCAC
    Mary Graham @mgrahamMGCCC MS Gulf Coast Community College
    Cynthia Bioteau @PresBioteau Florida State College at Jacksonville
    Cliff Davis @CliffDavisMO Ozarks Technical Community College Table Rock Campus
    Margaret McMenamin @drmcm Union County Community College
    Yves Salomon-Fernandez @prezyves Cumberland County College (Incoming)
    Jean Conway @jeanlconway Eastfield Colleg
    Kindred Murillo @kindredmurillo Southwestern College formerly Lake Tahoe Community College
    Anne Kress @MCCPresident Monroe CC
    Ronnie Nettles @CLCCPresident Copiah-Lincoln Community College
    Gail Mellow @GailOMellow LaGuardiaCC
    Anthony Beebe @DrAnthonyBeebe  Santa Barbara City College
    Luke Robins @PC_Prez Peninsula College
    Joe May @ChancellorMay Dallas County CC
    Stephen Scott @DrStephenCScott Wake Tech Community College
    David Armstrong @BrowardCPrez Broward College
    Mick Starcevich @KirkwoodPrez Kirkwood
    Darren Divine @CC_PrezOffic Casper College
    Glen Fenter @presifent Mid South Community College
    Jim Jacobs @DrJimJacobs Macomb Community College
    Michelle Johnston @RioPresident Rio Grande Community College
    Tim Stokes @tstokes3084 South Puget Sound Community College
    DeRionne Pollard @DrPollard_MC Montgomery College
    Brian Albrecht @AlbrechtBryan Gateway Technical College
    Kevin Drumm @PresidentDrumm SUNY Broome Community College
    Kim Ennis @BSCCPresident Bevill State Community College
    Everette Freeman @EveretteCCD Community College of Denver
    Pat Gentile @NSCCPrezPat North Shore Community Collge
    Carole Goldsmith @DrGoldsmith777 Fresno City College
    Margaret Hamilton @margebern Lane Community College
    Alex Johnson @triCprez
    Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland
    Para Jones @PrezParaJones Stark State College
    Sandra Kurtinitis @DrK_CCBC ‏ Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland.
    Tyjaun Lee @MCCPVPres Metro Community College Kansas City Penn Valley
    Russell Lowery-hart @LoweryHart‏ Amarillo College
    Jennifer Methvin @methvinCrowder Crowder College
    Mark Mitsui @prezmitsui Portland Community College
    Lorraine Morales @LLorraine0 Pima Community College
    Amy Morrison Goings @LWTechPrez Lake Washington Institute of Tech
    Grethen Mullin Sawicki @CCACNorthPres Community College of Allegany County
    Kirk Nooks @PresidentNooks Metro Community College Kansas City Longview
    Lee Ann Nutt @NuttsForTomball‏ Lone Star CC
    Thuy Nguyen @FoothillPrez‏ Foothills College
    Juston Pate @JustonPate Elizabethtown Community & Technical College
    Daniel Phelan @dphelan59 Jackson Collge
    Sasan Poureetezadi @sasankp Interim prez Mesa CC
    Christina Royal @christinaroyal7 ‏ Holyoke Community College
    J Michael Thompson @JMichaelThomson Cuyahoga Community Collge
    Cris Valdez @RichlandPres Richland Community Collge
    Jerry Weber @jweberbc Bellevue Technical College

  • 10 Reasons to Tweet at Ellucian Live 2018

    Here is the latest version of my “10 Reasons to Tweet a Conference?” post.  It has changed slightly over the years but is still very relevant.  Hope it is helpful.  The primary reason to Tweet…

    Share, Share, Share

    Tweeting at conferences has allowed me and others to share info from sessions we may not have been able to attend.  Once I committed to live-tweeting conferences, I got a lot of great, positive feedback about it from other attendees. I have had many people come up to me and say “Hello @kentbrooks”.  It has been a great way to meet other conference attendees.
    Since it turned out to be a great way to meet other conference attendees I kept on tweeting. I’ve gotten the bulk of my Twitter connections through live-tweeting conferences. Live tweeting doesn’t just build recognition among attendees of the conference, either.  Live Tweeting is essentially engaging on Twitter for a continuous period with a series of focused Tweets.   These tweets are also generally aggregated with a hashtag.
    Following a conference attendee on Twitter may well be the new currency for exchanging contact information. My experience sharing contact information via Twitter is better than the brief come and go business card exchange which I often refer to as the  “business card trading ritual”.  It provides an immediate benefit for you as you to follow them on Twitter, and then often on other social media. I find this more valuable than the 60 minutes of a conference session + the 5-minute rush to talk to that presenter immediately following the session.
    Those following a conference Twitter feed along at home are participating in what is often referred to as the “backchannel”. The term “backchannel” generally refers to online conversation about the conference, a topic or a speaker. The backchannel conversation is a real-time conversation alongside the primary event activity or live spoken remarks.
    More than once I have had requests from one of the Wyoming CIO’s to live tweet the Ellucian Live conference since they were not going to be able to make it to the meeting.   Also, I have actually been paid a couple of times to live tweet a conference.  Pretty cool eh?   All in all, I have found it is easier to meet more people at conferences through live tweeting.  Ironic, isn’t it? …technology humanizing the experience of a gathering of people.   Here is a summary of my top reasons to Tweet at a conference
    10 Reasons to Tweet at a Conference

    1. Take Conference Notes … I type faster than I write
    2. Archive Conference Notes… The archive is immediate and public
    3. Share Conference Notes… Just point people to your Twitter Feed
    4.  Build a Personal Learning Network PLN… This goes beyond people you meet at the conference
    5.  Meet Fellow Attendees… Whether the conference is small or large, finding a way to connect is the most valuable part of any conference.
    6.  Gain Insight to Some of Your Own Thoughts... after the conference, I can go back through the thread to review important items
    7.  Share Resources… links, images, and people to follow all become part of your social conference experience
    8.  Allows you to Summarize Important Points…When the character limit was 140 characters at a time it forced you to be really concise. The 280 character limit is really nice in the conference setting.  It still forces you to be concise but gives you a little more flexibility to share those important points shared by the speaker. This summarization also helps me evaluate my understanding (or lack thereof) of a conference session.
    9.  Gain from Sessions held Simultaneously…I can partially remove my frustration at not being able to attend 3 or 4 conference tracks at a time since I can glean ideas, links, and comments from different sessions.
    10.  It helps me Confirm I am in the Right Session…Keeping an eye on the twitter stream allows me to head to a different simultaneous session if the topic in another session turns out to be more directly related to my work, if I am unsure of a certain content or if the session just stinks. (This may be rude, but with limited travel $$$ we have to make the most of any conference and glean the very best ideas from sessions we attend).

    Happy Tweeting


  • The Digital Campfire of Social Media and How it Sparked a Book Project

    Greetings from an unseasonably mild but windy Casper Wyoming.  I have a little bit of reflection and a couple of messages related to a local history blog, social media,  and the sparks that lit a book project about one of the wildest little towns of the old west.   Four years ago,  I launched Bacacountyhistory.com.  At that time I stated,

    Maybe this project stops with a few blog posts and a couple of tall tales, or maybe we can transform the content into an update of the big brown Baca County History book from the early 1980’s.  

    Here we are four years later with a great collection of blog posts from multiple folks.  In conjunction with this blog is a realization on my part of how powerful social media can be for recording and sharing local history.  The primary social media tool I am speaking of for this post is Facebook.  Over the past few years, an ever-increasing number of members in two different Facebook groups have provided a continual stream of memories about the place where I grew up, Baca County Colorado as well as surrounding areas in Southwest Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle and the Lamar Colorado regions. Those Facebook groups have been a primary catalyst for more than one of those blog posts
    I usually end up coming back to some technology angle since my day job as the Computer Director at Casper College, usually pushes me that direction.   I must say that beyond the sharing of  history of the county where I grew up,  the technological application and interaction of the Baca County Facebook community and its members fascinates me to the “nth degree”
    On the negative side
    Social media and digital social networking isn’t for everyone. However, it is such a massive part of all our lives; whether we embrace or reject the media, it is not to be ignored. I don’t want to get too much into the negative aspects of social media other than acknowledging they are there and that I sometimes can’t believe what I see,  Usually, on the negative side I am thinking….”What is wrong with these people?”
    On the positive side
    I have grown to think of our Facebook groups as a digital campfire. That descriptor was given to me by Technology/ Geek Rock Star and friend Wes Fryer.  For a moment assume a digital campfire is a gathering place where a whole lot of folks who are in a whole lot of different places in life have found common ground.  The fire is a place to gather together and swap a few tales and warm up before having to get up go out and face that cold, cold world.  If this is true, then the folks where I grew up have found a digital campfire with Facebook.  To them, all I can say is….”you all have done good!”
    On the positive side I find it fascinating that it’s entirely possible to have hundreds of friends on Facebook. They may not be friends I know on a personal level and spend time with in the real world on a daily or weekly basis. But they’re friends nonetheless. Some are childhood friends, some childhood heroes, and some college acquaintances I have reconnected with.  Some I spent a whole lot of time with, and there are several people I consider friends who I have never met face to face— some I probably will never meet  — but that doesn’t lessen the connection we have made these recent years thanks to social networks.
    I waffle back and forth on whether face to face contact to the phone might be better for conversation but the true advantage of how we are connecting on these Facebook groups is that we can use these tools on our terms.  As individuals or time is stretched to greater lengths by work and family commitments. However, social media offers a chance to communicate speedily and efficiently.
    With a phone call, for example, you can’t just say what you want to say and then hang up. That would breach phone etiquette and be seen as downright rude. Instead, with a phone call you have to swap pleasantries before saying what you want to say, and then swap more pleasantries before the conversation comes to a close. Sometimes we may describe it as cold, but it certainly provides some efficiencies that allow for interaction with more people than maybe we were able to in the past.
    Facebook has allowed us to share interests with others who have those same interests, such as a shared county history.  Facebook, does for example when preparing to connect us asks you to list interests. This makes it much easier to find common ground with other users.
    This release of info does require the sharing of information, and in the process giving up a degree of privacy, which is cause for some people to reject social media outright. Keeping key personal information private is necessary, but sharing likes, dislikes, interests, thoughts, and views which contribute, it could be argued, to an open society.
    As with most things in life, there are pros and cons.  When used in moderation, with checks and balances on how younger people, in particular, are using them, social networking sites are just a tool.  What is our hearts often is what comes out, so we all need to be wary of how these tools are used.
    So what is the book that has been sparked?  For me personally, the journey is not yet a Baca County History book update (although I still think it is a good idea) as was originally thought four years ago.   But instead it has become a more focused book  I am calling, “Boston: Wild As They Come” with a two-part goal, which is first, to tell the story of the now extinct town of Boston Colorado and second to celebrate frontier newspaperman Sam Konkel who has given us a great historical treasure 100 years past its the original publication.  He wrote a series of newspaper articles which provides us what he remembered of those old days.  One social media conversation led to another and another and then a trip to the Baca County Museum and then……yes, this project really is a new real-life tale about the old west in 1886 Southeast Colorado.  And to answer your question…no it is not historical fiction.  It is those actual events and people of that old time town.
    I am not sure I would have gotten involved in this book project without social media, but at this point, we are on track for a late spring 2018 launch.  I have several angry stabby editors blazing away at the narrative and hopefully, I’ll be ready soon to tell everyone when pre-launch sales will open. It has also sparked a couple of side projects that could easily develop into another book or two.    To provide a bit more of an idea about what I am doing with this book project,  I have provided the book cover, a brief description of the story and my Table of Contents as is stands today, (February 2018).
    Boston 1886
    On the eve of November 15, 1886,  four members of the Atlantis Town Company stopped on the Southeast Colorado plains preparing to stake out and establish Boston, Colorado.  Though short-lived, (1886-1892) Boston was home to personalities ranging from common homesteaders, flat earth advocates, cowboys, and outlaws including the Jennings Gang before they became famous in Oklahoma.  Frontier newspaperman Sam Konkel joined the joined the town company to promote Boston and described it as “The Utopian City of the Plains.” Old Boston was built to catch the railroad and support commerce and agriculture in southeast Colorado but it quickly became one of the wildest little towns on the American old west frontier.
    Book Cover
    Old Boston by Kent Brooks Book Cover
    Draft Copy of Old Boston Table of Contents February 2018
    Draft-Copy-of-Old-Boston-Table-of-Contents-February-2018
    Note: This post is originally posted at bacacountyhistory.com


  • The 15 Must Follow Community College CEOs on Twitter 2017

    The 15 Must Follow Community College CEOs on Twitter 2017

    As we approach the 2017 American Association of Community College Conference in New Orleans I thought I would push out my 2017 list of Social Community College CEOs on Twitter.  This list is much larger than the list I started in 2014.  In fact, I only did the Top 12, because that is how few community college presidents were tweeting.  My total list of community college presidents tweeting has grown to 67.  A dozen of those setup twitter accounts between 2104 – 2016.
    I am again confident this very social group will keep everyone informed on the happenings at the meeting.    To kick off this barrage of social info I am going to give a shout out to my former colleague, Joanna Anderson,  who is now the President of State Fair Community College in Missouri and who is doing a great job of sharing campus events.  The presidents listed are there because they use Twitter to create a unique social relationship with their campus constituents.  I do have a formula which I developed 4 years ago when I started this list which takes into account many factors beyond the quantity of tweets.  This year I did tweak it slightly as Twitter now allows you to create Moments.  I also give Kent Points.  Those are for stuff I like such as having fly fishing listed in their profile.  It hasn’t helped anyone get on the must follow list, but hey it is my list so I might as well have some fun with it!
    The following are my newcomers to my comprehensive list of Community College presidents who Tweet and two of these (Tom Huebner and Scott Rails) moved on to my must follow listing.

    Monte Sullivan @LCTCSpresident @LCTCSpresident
    Marcia Ballinger @PresBallinger Lorain County Community College
    Mary Spilde @maryspilde Lane Community College
    Deneece Huftalin @SLCCHuftalin Salt Lake Community College
    Tom Huebner @EMCCHuebner ‏ East Mississippi Community College
    Sasan Poureetezad @sasankp ‏ Interim President at Mesa Community College.
    Mark Brainar @DrMarkBrainard Delaware Technical Community College
    Scott Ralls @NOVA_Prez Northern Virginia Community College
    John Downey @brdownj ‏ Blue Ridge Community College
    Christina Royal @christinaroyal7 ‏ Holyoke Community College.

     
    My more comprehensive list of community college CEO’s who are using Twitter in 2017 to communicate is also provided at the end of the post.  This would be a great list to watch during the 2017 conference.  This year watch for the hashtag  #AACC2017  The Community College CEOs on my must follow list push out quite a number of Tweets, but more importantly they are using Twitter to network professionally, share information and keep their campus community up to date.    
    What is important about this list is that these presidents use Twitter to promotes their institution, stay involved in student and campus activities as well as interacts with leaders from business, politics other schools.  They all use the tool a little differently but all have managed to develop a social media approach that makes sense for them.
    The top 15 in my view understand the benefits and power of social collaboration and how it enables institutions to better serve and collaborate with campus constituents.   Well done.  

    The list below includes the top 15 and more of the most social CEO’s in the community college world.  
    Other community college presidents to follow on Twitter:

    First Name Last Name Twitter Handle Institution
    Joanna Anderson @SFCCpredient State Fair Community College
    David Armstrong @BrowardCPrez Broward College
    Edna Baehre @EdnaKolov Tidewater Community College
    Marcia Ballinger @PresBallinger Lorain County Community College
    Anthony Beebe @DrAnthonyBeebe San Diego CC District
    Cynthia Bioteau @PresBioteau Florida State College at Jacksonville
    Jo Alice Blondin @clarkstatepres Clark State Community College
    Kevin Boys @ssccpresident Southern State Community College
    Mark Brainard @DrMarkBrainard Delaware Technical Community College
    Constance Carroll @carollscddc San Diego Community College District
    Thomas Chesney @ThomChesney Brookhaven College
    Jean Conway @jeanlconway Eastfield Colleg
    John Cox @CapeCodCCPrez Cape Cod Community College
    Cliff Davis @CliffDavisMO Ozarks Technical Community College Table Rock Campus
    Darren Divine @CC_PrezOffic Casper College
    John Downey @brdownj ‏ Blue Ridge Community College
    Charlene Dukes @pgccpres Prince George’s Community College
    Pam Eddinger @PamEddinger Bunker Hill Community College
    Joyce Ester @DrJoyceEster Normandale Community College
    Glen Fenter @presifent Mid South Community College
    Mark Frison @markfrison of Assiniboine Community College
    Steven Gonzales @gwccprez GateWay Community College
    Mary Graham @mgrahamMGCCC MS Gulf Coast Community College
    David Harrison @DHarrisonCSCC Columbus State Community College
    Tom Huebner @EMCCHuebner ‏ East Mississippi Community College
    Deneece Huftalin @SLCCHuftalin Salt Lake Community College
    Thomas Isekenegbe @president_BCC Bronx Community College
    Jim Jacobs @DrJimJacobs Macomb Community College
    Jeff Jochems @JeffJochems1 Richwood Valley Campus, Ozarks Technical Community College
    Brad Johnson @johnsfam Northeast Texas Community College
    Michelle Johnson @RioPresident Rio Grande Community College
    Anne Kress @MCCPresident Monroe CC
    Ron Langrell @JRonLIII Bates Technical College
    Dawn Lindsay @AACC_DrLindsay Anne Arundel CC
    Pamela Luster @sdmesaprez San Diego Mesa College
    James Mabry @PrezMabry Middlesex Community College MA
    Joe May @ChancellorMay Dallas County CC
    Jeremy McMillen @GC_President Grayson College
    Margaret McMenamin @drmcm Union County Community College
    Gail Mellow @GailOMellow LaGuardiaCC
    Kindred Murillo @kindredmurillo Lake Tahoe Community College
    Ronnie Nettles @CLCCPresident Copiah-Lincoln Community College
    Charlene Newkirk @CCACSouthPres CCAC
    Thomas Newsom @MesalandsPres Mesalands Community College
    Eloy Oakley @EloyOakley Long Beach Community College District
    DeRionne Pollard @DrPollard_MC Montgomery College
    Scott Ralls @NOVA_Prez Northern Virginia Community College
    John Rainone @dslccprez Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
    Barbara Risser @barbrisser Finger Lakes Community College
    Luke Robins @PC_Prez Peninsula College
    Yves Salomon-Fernandez @prezyves Cumberland County College (Incoming)
    David Sam @dasam Germanna Community College
    Stephen Scott @DrStephenCScott Wake Tech Community College
    William Serrata @WSerrata El Paso Community College
    Christa Slejko @prezSlejko North Lake College
    Joe Sopcich @JCCCprez Johnson County Community College
    Mary Spilde @maryspilde Lane Community College
    Mick Starcevich @KirkwoodPrez Kirkwood College
    Devin Stephenson @DevinStephenson Northwest Florida Community College
    Billy Stewart @ECCCPresident East Central Community College
    Tim Stokes @tstokes3084 South Puget Sound Community College
    Monte Sullivan @LCTCSpresident @LCTCSpresident
    Lori Sundberg @Dr_LoriSundberg Carl Sandberg College
    John Sygielski @HACCSki HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College
    Kris Williams @HCC_DrW Henderson Community College
    Terri Winfree @PSCpresident Prairie State College
    Samia Yaqub @ButtePresident Butte-Glenn Community College District

     


  • Preparing to Tweet as a Conference Presenter

    The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare.

    Preparing for social media usage at a conference from the vantage point of a presenter is a little different than as an attendee.  Preparation is key if you want to enable your audience to do the best job of sharing content from your session.   If you want to share as a presenter, there are a few things you can do to make it easier for those attendees sharing via social media.
    Provide your Twitter handle. You can help people do a good job tweeting your presentation by providing them your Twitter handle at the beginning of the session.  Provide your handle in your opening remarks and on your first slide. If you’re not on Twitter, it’s worth thinking about signing up, just so people can provide attribution for your work.
    Provide the Conference Hashtag and Session Hashtag. Again, provide these at the beginning of your session to make it easier to share. Of course if they don’t know your conference hashtag by the time they are at your session it probably not going to matter anyway.
    Upload your presentation to your website.  People often want a copy of your presentation.  You can go through exchanging information through what I described earlier as the “ol’ business card trading ritual”  and email it…or you can prepare in advance.   Upload your presentation to your website and then use a URL shortening tool such as:
    bitly.com
    tinyurl.com.
    You can present them at the beginning with your twitter handle.  You can also provide them in a closing slide which allows attendees to easily tweet your session materials for others to access.   If you have uploaded the presentation to your conference web site share it prior the conference and during the conference with the conference hashtag.
    Expect to be tweeted. Twitter is used extensively at event and conferences these days. People assume that tweeting is fine unless they are specifically asked not to tweet. For example, I have been in sessions with specific vendors where they give you a sneak peek at a new technology.  Knowing I am a prolific event tweeter they have asked not to tweet a particular part of a discussion or presentation.  If you are asked to not tweet a session, don’t.  Show respect to those who wish not to be tweeted.
    Kent as a Presenter 2017-03-19-10.55.44
    Encourage Questions via Twitter To take questions via twitter you may need a device other than the one you’re presenting from with a tool such as Hootsuite which allows you to watch one or more twitter streams.  With the stream for your conference easily accessible, you can watch for questions related to your session.  There is a little bit of multitasking required if you are presenting alone, but it is doable.  Some people have no problem asking questions during a session, but sometimes using twitter you will get questions from a person who is unwilling to speak up in a crowd.   If you have a co-presenter, you can coordinate who will watch the twitter stream for questions.
    I do acknowledge not all speakers do want to share outside of the confines of the meeting room.  However, extensive sharing via social media is becoming more and more commonplace.  The more prepared you are, the better the experience will be for those attending your session.


  • The Magic of the Conference Hashtag: An Ellucian Live Primer #elive17

    The Magic of the Conference Hashtag: An Ellucian Live Primer #elive17

    For me…Twitter is another way for this “wee acorn” to mingle with the “giant oaks” of my profession.

    What is a Hashtag?

    In general, a hashtag is a word or phrase used in social media conversations which begin with a pound (#) sign and which are written without spaces in between. i.e. #kentbrooks.   The main use of a hashtag is to bring conversations on the same topic into a single thread to make it convenient for interested individuals to view and compare ideas.  Twitter is not the only platform that uses hashtags.  This humble little guy is used by Facebook,Google+,  Tumblr and Instagram. It is likely important to note that LinkedIn is one the major social platforms which does not use hashtags.   Chris Messina is credited with being the first to propose using the hashtag to aggregate topics of interest.    Messina’s 2007 hashtag proposal is shown below:
    chris messina tweet which started the hashtag as an aggregator -2016-04-09-08.50.45

    Conference hashtags which I have seen and tracked include:

    #elive17 Ellucian Live 2017 Annual User Conference
    #innama  League for Innovation at the Community College 2015
    #aaccannual  2014 American Association of Community Colleges
    #NACCE2013 National Association of Community College Entrepaneurs 2013
    #edu13 Educause 2013
    #broadbandwyo  Wyoming Broadband Summit
    #mtmoot = Mountain Moodle Moot

    The primary hashtag for Ellucian Live 2017:

    #elive17

    Other hashtags you may use depending upon the tweet at Ellucian Live 2017:

    #edtech
    #highered
    #highereducation
    #commununitycollege

    Examples of how to use

    You would tell people you are looking forward to the Ellucian Live 2017 conference  by tweeting something like this:
    sample use of a conference hashtag-2017-03-19-07.58.18
    Traditionally Twitter is the 140 character messenger tool.  Forget for a moment that longer tweets are now allowed just for a moment (and probably for the whole conference as long tweets usually make no sense in a conference setting).  First, notice the character count shows I still have 70 of my 140 characters available.  My experience tells me to leave at least a dozen characters unused.  If you use all 140 characters in your tweet, your followers will need to edit your tweets before they can add in their comments and retweet.  I have seen various studies that indicate that you get 15– 20% more engagement with shorter tweets and Twitter indicates that that tweets under 100 characters see a higher engagement rate.
    A conference hashtag allows conference attendees to interact during the event.  You also commonly see hashtags used during other live events such as sporting events or political events.
    One of my favorite resources for finding out what are the most popular hashtags at a given time is found at Hashtags.org. It has both a free and a paid service.  the free service shows what is trending over the past 24 hours. With the paid service you can also store and monitor hashtags over time.
    Another service which is owned by Hootsuite also provides a great resource for finding hashtag trends is What the Trend.  They not only tell you what is trending but they also provide a quick explanation of why it’s trending.
    https://twitter.com/trendinghashtag

    How Hashtags Are Created?

    It doesn’t take fancy tools to apply a hashtag to your messages. All you need to do is type your text and then insert the hashtag at any part of the message and then send. Of course, the hashtag is not just any word. It has to be a carefully thought target keyword that is relatable, so that other Twitter users will be inspired to use it for their own, as well.
    When the hashtag you’ve created has developed a following, clicking on it will lead you to the list of Twitter users who have adopted it in their own conversations. You can also communicate with newfound Twitter friends through here. In a way, an effective hashtag creates a community online. They are also great for monitoring visibility of your message on multiple social media networks.
    There are certain letters and characters that are not allowed for use with hashtags. For example, if all the characters in your hashtag are numbers, as with #1234, it won’t work. You can read more about what you cannot do with hashtags on What Is Not Allowed With Hashtags.

    Tips On Making And Using Hashtags

    Here are some tips to make sure the hashtags you’re using are achieving their objectives.

    1. Is the hashtag new?

    Search.Twitter.com will lead you to a list of hashtags that have already been used in the past or are currently active. If you find an existing conversation on the hashtag you’re eyeing, you might want to go with something that is equally targetted but not as frequently used.

    2. Go easy on the sentiments.

    Some hashtags have failed to fly because they poked too much on the emotion of the public, as with the word ‘love’ or ‘hate’. These two are too strong words to summon so if you’re going to use them to create a following, make sure that there really is a large sense of love or hate for the topic. Politicians have often used ‘love’ to start a Twitter thread on them and found the results ineffective and downright disappointing.

    3. Use industry keywords.

    Brands and popular industry terms are highly relatable and, more likely than not, Twitter users will find use for such hashtags in a particular event. The controversial hashtag #NBCFail for instance may not have been actively searched by Twitter users but the fact that it carried a brand name made it easy to micro-bloggers to jump in and create a massive conversation around it.

    4. Be careful where you use your hashtags.

    Designer Kenneth Cole (@KennethCole) made a huge blunder in 2011 when he inserted the #Cairo hashtag in the same message he was promoting his newest collection.
    The tweet read: “Million are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at httpL//bit.ly/KCairo -KC”.
    After much backlash from the public, Cole has removed the offending tweet and issued an apology on his Facebook Page.
    Hashtag abuse is not uncommon, although with proper etiquette orientation it should be out of conversations entirely.

    Here’s Twitter‘s official statement on hashtag abuse.

    “The following behaviors and others like them could cause your account to be filtered from search, or even suspended:

      • Adding one or more topic/hashtag to an unrelated tweet in an attempt to gain attention in search.
      • Repeatedly tweeting the same topic/hashtag without adding value to the conversation in an attempt to get the topic trending/trending higher.
      • Tweeting about each trending topic in turn in order to drive traffic to your profile, especially when mixed with advertising.
      • Listing the trending topics in combination with a request to be followed.
    • Tweeting about a trending topic and posting a misleading link to something unrelated.”

    I am looking forward to engaging in Meaningful Social Conversations with you at Elive 2017.  Every time I get to thinking I am way behind with all of this technology stuff I get a question that reminds me that most of us are struggling to adapt to this hyper-connected world of ours.  We are just at different levels and ultimately we need each other.  As long as we continue to learn and continue to help each other we will be OK.  See you in Orlando.
    Check out some of my other posts on conference tweeting and learn who to follow at the Elive 2017 conference:

    Like local history?  Check out my local history blog about the plains of Southeast Colorado at BacaCountyHistory.com
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