Live Tweeting: How Much is Too Far?

We are all aware that social media has unmistakably changed the game in many ways. From Twitter to Periscope, there are so many ways to be interactive with the public. Live tweeting is something that has a very thin line. Where do you draw the line?

Live tweeting is tweeting during an ongoing show or event. The Academy Awards, GOP National Debate, or Grey’s Anatomy can all be live tweeted about. Lets look at some positives and negatives of this 21^st century craze.

Negatives

1. Spoiling a Show- If you are missing the finale of your all time favorite television series, stay off Twitter. You are guaranteed to find out what happens before you watch and ultimately become irritated you scrolled down to refresh your feed. For those live tweeting during a show, don’t give things away and everyone will be happy.

 2. False Facts- It is important to have an opinion on a political or social matter, but make sure you fact check before you send out a 140-character rant. Stating untrue statements can easily get you roasted by one of your followers in a matter of seconds. It is important to stay on top current events, but think before you type.

3. Not Actually Watching- The whole point of live tweeting is to interact, but there is a point where this can be taken too far. How many individuals live tweeting are casually typing at a commercial break vs. ignoring what is on television. Stay interactive, but make sure to actually tune in before sharing favorite moments or thoughts.

Positives

1. Diverse viewpoints- It is interesting to see what everyone has to say. Diverse viewpoints are a good thing and not everyone has to agree. It gets people thinking and learning more about a subject. As stated earlier, just make sure to do your homework beforehand.

2. Connect with Others- Almost every television series or live event nowadays has a custom hashtag to go along with it. Using the hashtag is a great way to connect with other active users or even those behind the show itself. Live tweet right and you might gain yourself some more followers or get a shoutout from your favorite character.

3. It’s Fun!- At a conference or on your couch, live tweeting is meant to be fun. Pay attentions and share your thoughts or favorite red carpet dress. Tweets are meant to be casual, so don’t take it too seriously and use it as a positive.

Tips to Improve Event Social Media Coverage

Recently, I've had the pleasure of attending several events and covering them via social media. However, I've also had the displeasure of attending several events and covering them via social media.  While I enjoy my job, it can sometimes be difficult to keep up, keep track, and keep within your data limit. Here are a few quick tips that I've adopted to help me while I'm updating social networks during events.

• Keep Up | Sometimes the pace at which you have to send updates to social media can be pretty overwhelming. The best way to combat this is to use a scheduling application like Hootsuite or Buffer. They allow you have regular content posted during the event so you have an opportunity to actually enjoy being present. However, you should still continue to check each network to make sure that all updates are going up on time and without any grammatical errors. If something noteworthy happens that you didn't plan for, make sure to account for that and post content on that as well.
• Keep Track | A great way to know everything that has been posted to each social network is to develop a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet can serve as a visual aid to ensure accountability and make sure every necessary topic is covered. It helps to break it down by social network so you know exactly what needs to be posted on which platform. It eliminates confusion and checking tasks off your list makes live updates much less daunting.
• Keep Within Your Data Limit | Lately, I've been running into the problem of going over my monthly data allowance. During these events I'm expected to cover, I find myself in areas with either poor wifi service or none at all. The best thing to do is to arrive to the venue early to sort everything out ahead of time. If you discover the venue does not have wifi you have access to, take time to find a "safe place," like a nearby cafe, to plan all of your posts ahead of time as mentioned before. If that's not an option, you might just have to bite the bullet this time around. We're public relations students so we'll have to get used to it!

Have you had to create social media content during an event? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below!

Ellen DeGeneres Breaks Twitter and Shatters Records

Last night Ellen DeGeneres returned to host the 86th Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars. In classic Ellen style she had the audience laughing all night long. From poking fun at Jennifer Lawrence tripping for the second time at the Oscars to ordering pizza for the hungry celebrities, including a very pregnant Kerry Washington, Ellen kept the crowd thoroughly entertained. 

However, what was most memorable was her live tweeting during the show. Ellen gave the viewing audience at home access to all of the backstage fun. She even took a selfie right on stage! But what had to be the best, and most memorable, moment of the night was when she took a huge, star-studded picture for Twitter. Her goal? To break the record of most retweets. Needless to say, the shot including Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Peter Nyong'o, Angelina Jolie, and the funny woman herself, did exactly that. 

Before the end of the show, Ellen came back on stage to announce that the selfie not only broke the record for most retweets, but had actually broken Twitter! Today the photograph stands in first place at a whopping 2,661,781 retweets and counting. That easily tops the photo that previously held the record: Barack Obama embracing wife Michelle after winning the 2012 reelection. 

It's no secret that live tweeting at home during your favorite shows has become a popular trend. But perhaps Ellen will usher in a new fad: live tweeting while hosting. It's interactive, fun, and allows the audience to really be a part of an experience that seems so far away. Way to be inclusive, Ellen!

Live-Tweeting Tips

With a few national and regional conferences under my belt, I have truly embraced live-tweeting. It is a really easy way to generate meaningful content for your Twitter account - if it is done well.

Be sure to keep the following tips in mind, provided by this PR Daily article, to ensure you are adding value to the conversation and remember to have a charger handy because live-tweeting definitely drains a smartphone's battery!

1. Use the event hashtag

If there isn’t an event hashtag, make one up. Just keep it short, because every character counts. Using a hashtag will group all your tweets, enabling people searching for the event hashtag (or the hashtag you think up) to find them. It also makes it clear to your followers that you are tweeting about a certain event , not just spouting off random sound bites.

2. Tag speakers and companies in your tweets

This will not only make your presence known to those participating, but will also increase your chances of being retweeted.

3. Engage with other live-tweeters

Use the hashtag to search for others who are tweeting and start a conversation. From there, you can always ask to take the conversation offline.

4. Don’t tweet too much

You will overwhelm your regular followers who will not appreciate a barrage of out-of-context tweets. Though there is no ideal number of tweets, you should decide where the balance lies between over-dominating the conversation and not contributing enough.

5. Take pictures, and incorporate them into your tweets

Tweets with pictures are 94 percent more likely to be retweeted, according to Social News Daily, so use that camera.

The Supreme Court & Social Media

From the president to hundreds of municipal officials, many government-affiliated people and businesses have given in to social media. However, there is one federal agency that lacks social media use and does not seem to be giving in anytime soon; the U.S. Supreme Court.

After waiting all day to find out Wednesday's two major decisions on very controversial issues, the social media world was buzzing with excitement. Hashtags like #DOMA #Prop8 and #Scotus were popping up all over the Twittersphere. Yet, the news of the decisions did not break digitally; they came out on paper.



Decisions by the high court are handed down pretty much as they've always been: written rulings posted without notice nor prior missives indicating timing or outcome. Once the rulings are issued they are then distributed in paper form simultaneously to interested parties. This old school process is deliberative and leak-free makes sense and seems to work well.

But, is there a chance the Supreme Court will delve into the ever-popular realm of social media? Experts think not however with a digital age upon us you never really know.

What do you think? Will the high court start tweeting in the future? We want to know your opinion!

The Pros and Cons of Live Tweeting

Today in a world run by social media, especially in PR, live tweeting seems to be taking over events of all sorts. Many PR industry pros are taking advantage of this new phenomenon to promote their events and even provide a hashtag for tweeters to use at their event. 

Live tweeting is great way to engage audience members as well as endorse an event and their company. Tweeters are able to share quotes, photos and event details to all their followers. Also, live tweeting allows one to connect with followers, realize similar hobbies and opinions as well as stimulate conversation. Although this new conversation can be beneficial, there is also a problem with live tweeting.

With PR pros constantly connected to social media and their cell phones, live tweeting can easily become another distraction. When one is using their phone to tweet, they are more likely to check text messages, emails and other tweets, taking away from the speaker and event. In addition, when one is furiously tweeting and typing away, you miss much of what is being said. One could miss an important fact, message or quote because you are looking at your phone. When everyone is looking at their phone, there is no focus on the speaker and it comes off rude, even if people are tweeting quotes.

Since it is presidential debate season, we see millions of tweets surrounding the debates, but it begs the question, how much of the debate are you actually watching? Are you watching just to tweet, to show your followers you are “engaged” and to tweet at others, or are you watching to become informed on the issues. Live tweeting takes away one’s engagement to an event or TV segment.

Live tweeting has its pros and cons, but when does live tweeting go too far?

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Brianna Rooney

Live Tweeting: The "Active Audience" Has Taken On A Whole New Meaning

I'll admit it; I have become competely obssessed with Twitter, and I am not the only one. Recently, Twitter has been blowing up the social media scene. More social media users are turning away from other popular forms, notably Facebook, and dedicating themselves to Twitter. Ever since Twitter blew up the social media scene in 2006, tweeting has become more socially acceptable in formal settings.

"Live tweeting" has become a new term in recent years. Maybe it is because the new generation has an addiction to knowing what is happening at every second of every day or perhaps it is the thrill of updating the world on the latest gossip. I see this "live tweeting" trend in its full form every week at our PRSSA meetings. It started becoming a trend at our meetings sometime last school year and has gotten even bigger now that more of our members are Twitter fiends (a.k.a. me).

 Our Temple University chapter meetings usually last about an hour. After a full day of classes, it seems like a long time to dedicate your full attention to. To keep members interested, engaged and active, encourage live tweeting!

Here are three tips on how you can incorporate live tweeting into your any type of programming or presentation:

1. Choose a hashtag that relates to your event specifically. For Temple University PRSSA meetings, we use #TemplePRSSA. If attendees consistently use the hastag, it will make it easier for others to recognize your organization or event.

2. If you have a speaker or presenter who is on Twitter, encourage your members or attendees to tag them in their live tweets.

4. Track the hashtag. See what your members or attendees are saying, and retweet them as encouragement, too.

With live tweeting, you never know the conversations that could be started. It is a great tool for getting an audience involved and egaged.

How do you use live tweetting? Let us know!

Surgery and Social Media

The Swedish Medical Center has begun a new campaign to raise awareness around treatment options for those with hearing loss. The campaign consists of a video series developed by Dr. Douglas Backous, medical director of the Center for Hearing and Skull Base Surgery at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle, Washington and the use of Twitter and Instagram.

The series began in September and will end October with a live chat. Each week, a short video was released discussing topics such as what a cochlear implant is, how to prepare for the surgery and answers to frequently asked questions. What differentiates the series is the culimination of the campaign, set to take place on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7:40 am, which will include live-tweets and Instagram photos taken during a surgery. The use of social media during surgery is the first of its kind  and may set a new standard in the medical industry.

The live-tweeted and Instagrammed surgery will comprise of a live feed of still images during the surgery taken from inside the operating room. In order to view the stream, viewers simply need to follow @swedish and #swedishhear. To date, the hospital has already acquired almost 10,000 followers.

As an advocator of the deaf community I will definitely be tuning in, will you?

For more information about the series and to tune in visit www.swedish.org/SwedishHear and follow them on twitter @swedish and #swedishhear.

Tweeting Live From...

On Friday, I started to follow the Huguely trial on Twitter, @NBC29Huguely, after hearing from a co-worker about the horrific story of college student George Huguely, who killed his on-again, off-again girlfriend Yeardley Love, a student at the University of Virginia.

The account, @NBC29Huguely, did a continuously great job tweeting live. The account strategically carried the story of the trial by using the correct tone, creating an effective hashtag, limiting who they followed, and associating themselves with a news station.
The account live-tweeted everything that happened in the court room, in the compelling tone of a novel. @NBC29Huguely created a hashtag, #Huguely, and used it effectively when referring to the defendant, or the case in general, encouraging the story to trend. They also asked their followers if they had any questions about the case, recognizing that there might be some discrepancies and conversations to be had.

Another beneficial thing that the account did was only follow six users, other outlets that were exclusively following the case. By only following six users, it limits the disturbances in the timeline when a user, or rather follower, is reading the case. The users that they are following add more detail and contributing to the case and the account’s pre-existing tweets, giving the follower a better picture of the courtroom environment.

Finally, by associating itself with a news outlet, @NBC29Huguely, it highlighted its ethical obligation to report the case objectively.
If you’re thinking about tweeting live, follow @NBC29Huguely for a great example.