Twitter #chat is Hot New Trend

Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend

Twitter chat tree graphicTwitter #chats are one of the hottest trends on the social web and a great way to learn about a variety of topics.  A Twitter #chat is a series of tweets, all focused around a specific topic that is held at a specific time, that anyone with an interest or opinion is encouraged to join in. You “listen” and contribute by searching for the chat name preceded by the hashtag symbol. As an example, #blogchat (started by @MackCollier) is one of the most successful topic chats  in terms of participant count with a recent #blogchat enjoying over 5,600 tweets and over 700 participants during the one hour session.  What are all those tweets about?  Blogging of course.

If you would like to learn more from and about @MackCollier, the creator of #blogchat, here is an interview with Mack conducted by Mark Schaefer on his BusinessGrow blog or follow him on Twitter.
You are in for a challenge the first few times you try to join in.  The action is fast and furious with the tweets flying by.  Without the use of one of several different web tool options, your eyes will go cross-eyed and you will become overwhelmed.

Here are a few web tools and resources for you to get the most out of Twitter #chats:

  • Tweetchat is a web tool that I recommend if you want to get the most out of a #chat session and looking for something that is free. Mack Collier said about TweetChat, ” One neat feature of Tweetchat is that you can “feature’ tweets from a user, which means Tweetchat will add a colored band around their tweets which makes it very easy to see them as the flood of tweets passes by.
  • TweetReports is my personal favorite at this point, featuring three pricing plans from $9 for an individual account to $299 for an Enterprise account, and a free 14 day trial. I will be writing a full review of TweetReports here on Fill the Funnel in November.
  • Here is a video that demonstrates a few of the capabilities of TweetReports and also the speed and pace of one of these #chat sessions.
  • What the Hashtag?! – provides a convenient way to track over 20,000 hashtags currently.  I have found that many of the newest #chat groups are not yet listed here, but it is worth a bookmark to be able to track down what some of those hashtags that you see on Twitter are for.
  • TweetGrid – creates a Twitter search dashboard that updates in real time.

At the very least I recommend using one of the popular Twitter client applications like TweetDeck, Hootsuite or several others.  Mack Collier (#blogchat founder) provides another helpful suggestion for those that want to host or co-host their own #chat session:

“Another good idea, especially if the chat has a co-host, is to follow in Tweetdeck, and create one columns for all #Blogchat tweets, then another for the co-hosts’ tweets, and probably another for the host’s tweets.”

If you just cannot keep up with the flow, or you miss a scheduled chat that you really wanted to learn about, most #chat hosts will provide a written transcript of the recent chat shortly after the chat session ends.  Here are examples of transcripts and analytics available from TweetReports from recent #blogchat sessions.  Scroll down to examples just below the video.

A well-done four part blog series about Twitter Chats is written by Maria Colacurcio over on Small Business Trends that helped me out when I was getting started with Chats.  If you still don’t have enough, Greg Taylor wrote an excellent piece titled “6 Reasons Why We Love Blogchat“.

The two #chat sessions that I have gotten the most out of so far are:

  1. #b2Bchat 8:00 pm Eastern every Thursday
  2. #blogchat 8:00 pm Eastern every Sunday

After you get a few of these under your belt, select a web tool that works best for you, and get it on your calendar you will actually come to enjoy the activity.

Many of the larger Chats are now starting their own LinkedIn Groups like #blogchat, allowing the conversations, relationships and business connections to continue after the chat.

Do you have a favorite Twitter #chat that you would like to share with us?  Have you created your own #Chat?  Leave us the information in Comments so our readers can learn and grow.

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Michael Hartzell - 12 years ago

Thank you for the synopsis.
From what you describe, it has a few of the benefits of a forum but at 70 mph.

    Miles Austin - 12 years ago

    Michael, it might feel like 70 mph but without the seatbelt and helmet! It is a bit like a forum or even comments on a blog like you have done, but people seem to be more willing to jump into the flow and add their thoughts during a chat. Why do you think that is?

Michelle Mangen - 12 years ago

Tweetgrid Party Style is my favorite for Twitter chats. There are some really awesome chats out there. Actually there is a Google doc floating around on the web with a pretty intensive list of various ones and the related topics. Since I am always hesitant to put links into comments — you can email me if you want the URL to the Google document.

    Miles Austin - 12 years ago

    Michelle, I will email you for the list of chats you have. Curious why you are hesitant to put a link in your comments? Please share your thoughts.

      Michelle Mangen - 12 years ago

      Miles:

      Here is the link so that others can benefit from it as well. I am putting it here as a bit.ly link since it has a very long URL coming from Google documents. http://bit.ly/9wuOLg

      That link is open to anyone who wants to contribute to the ever-growing list of Twitter chats.

      To answer your question on why I didn’t leave the link in my original comment.

      1. It was the first time I had been to your site so you didn’t know me
      2. I did not take the time to see if you have a comment policy (and I should have)
      3. Often blog owners tend to be persnickety about links being left in comments and chose to either edit, trash or mark the comment as spam.

      The sum of those three items made me choose to not leave the link on my first visit here lest you decide to mark my comment as spam.

      That being said — I’m happy that you emailed me to further this conversation and invite me back to include the link so others can benefit from it.

Tweets that mention Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend -- Topsy.com - 12 years ago

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Miles Austin, Michelle Thompson. Michelle Thompson said: RT @milesaustin: Twitter Chat-what is it and Web Tools to participate-http://ftf.sh/9ykc […]

Tweets that mention Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend -- Topsy.com - 12 years ago

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by sophia acosta, Geeks-Ecuador. Geeks-Ecuador said: Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend http://bit.ly/aimQCh […]

Greg Taylor - 12 years ago

I find blog chat to be a great example of how Twitter can truly be transformed into a collaborative community. Professionals from all over the world (US, Canada, Australia & Great Britain are represented almost every week) get together and discuss their best practice tips with other professional and novice bloggers alike. Mack has done a great job to curate a great community.

    Miles Austin - 12 years ago

    I like your thinking Greg. With creative use, Twitter does not have to be the “what are you doing” blabber that it started out to be. Thanks for dropping by.

Tweets that mention Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend -- Topsy.com - 12 years ago

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Patti Palmer, Adam and Emily. Adam and Emily said: Twitter #Chat is hot new trend http://bit.ly/9VtId0 #commschat […]

Doogie - 12 years ago

As the social media community manager for my work, one of the most useful chats in which I’ve participated in is #cmgrchat.

I work for a moving company, so I also participate in #movechat.

The thing I enjoy most about these is that it’s a great way to meet new people who share an interest.

    Miles Austin - 12 years ago

    Thanks Doogie. #cmgrchat and #movechat are added to the list I am building. I spent some time this weekend with someone working at a moving company and passed along your recomendation for #movechat to him.

Maria Colacurcio - 12 years ago

Thanks for the link to the Small Business Trends post. I think you give several great examples in this roundup.

Best,
Maria

    Miles Austin - 12 years ago

    Thanks Maria, you have great content and recommend my readers with an interest in Small Business to subscribe to your blog posts. Hope to have you drop again in the near future.

Tweets that mention Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend -- Topsy.com - 12 years ago

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kristof, TweetReports. TweetReports said: Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend http://bit.ly/aTkQIZ […]

Tweets that mention Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend -- Topsy.com - 12 years ago

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by William Toll, Miles Austin. Miles Austin said: Twitter #Chat is Hot New Trend http://goo.gl/fb/gA37F […]

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