For those of you who don’t know, I’m a big fan of college sports, especially football and basketball. I’m starting a new Twitter chat with Julia Prior (@julia_prior) called #NCAAchat. The inaugural #NCAAChat is Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. EST. I invite all of you to come on out!
In light of the new chat, I wanted to provide a crash course about Twitter chats. In my opinion, Twitter chats may be one of the best ways to start networking on Twitter. It allows you to chat with people who are in similar industries and/or have similar hobbies. But, for many, it can be a bit overwhelming. I’ve put together some advice to make the learning curve just a bit easier.
Use Tweetchat or Tweetgrid To Follow Chats
Twitter.com, smartphone apps and Tweetdeck might be good for the casual twitterer. But, Twitter chats are more fast-paced and it can be hard to keep up with the conversation. Tweetchat and Tweetgrid make it easier to follow along.
Favorite Tweets During The Chat
Twitter chats are fast-paced and there are many tweets that can get lost in the conversation. During the chat, make sure to favorite tweets to read later. I usually do this with article and blog post links. And, it also works to save useful nuggets of information and advice.
Start Small
It’s okay to be overwhelmed at first. Some people just dive into chats, and that’s great and commendable. Others need to take it more slowly. In that case, pinpoint a few chat users and then reply and retweet what they have to say. It goes along way in building meaningful online relationships. Plus, it helps you get more comfortable with the chat environment.
Follow along with NCAAchat all week long on our blog and Facebook fan page.
