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Getting started and getting active on Twitter.
This is NYSUT's Twitter news feed.
Following NYSUT on Twitter (official handle @NYSUT) connects you instantly to the latest news, resources and conversations on the issues we care most about.
An easy way to "follow" NYSUT's updates on Twitter would be to just bookmark www.twitter.com/nysut and periodically check for updates.
But Twitter is most powerful when you're an active participant in the public conversation, sharing your own thoughts, photos, links - really any creative idea you can think of and cram into 140 typed characters.
And being an active user starts with creating an account.
Here are some links to more info to help get you started, plus examples of how Twitter users are becoming Twitter activists in recent campaigns.
Signup for Twitter. It only takes a few minutes.
You will need to provide your email, your real name, address and birthdate.
You will also need to create a username. Try to keep it short but recognizable. No spaces!
2. Who do I follow?
Here are a few to get you started.
Official NYSUT Accounts
NYSUT Officers on Twitter
NYSUT Suggested Follows
3. So now I have an account. What do I do with it?
Twitter Activism
How are our members and allies using Twitter for activism?
1. Use a hashtag!
The power of a hashtag keyword is that when a user clicks it, Twitter searches for everyone that's also including the hashtag in their tweets, instantly connecting you with the larger conversation with members and allies - even those you may not be actively following.
If you're participating in an event, check with organizers to see if there's an agreed-upon hashtag.
If you're doing the organizing, create your own! Try to come up with something short but unique. For instance, something as general as #DayOfAction is probably being used by other activists for potentially very different causes; the Hypothetical Teachers Association could use #HTAdayofaction or #HTAaction instead. Search the hashtag on Twitter BEFORE you add it to your tweets to make sure it's safe!
2. Amplify voices at public events.
Check out the tweets we've curated from recent statewide and local events.
Members and allies have been very effective at using Twitter to amplify the energy and sense of community at rallies and public events by posting reports, photos and videos in real time.
And by using common hashtags, even activists not physically present at the events can get in on the action.
Power users may want to create a Storify account to create and curate their own Twitter stories told through many, many voices.