Friday Five: Twitter Chats for Beginners

November 12, 2010

Edelman Digital, Chicago

Follow on Twitter @NewNukem

Have you ever seen #Cmgrchat or #journchat in your Twitter stream, but you weren’t sure what they meant? These are Twitter chats, or conversations that happen within the social media community at designated times each week or month. These chats are typically focused on specific topics and will often feature a moderator who sets an agenda. You can use the website What the hashtag? to discover the meaning behind any hashtag and find new Twitter chats. Beyond focusing on your personal interests, some Twitter chats can be sponsored by a relevant or related company, brand or product.

Public Relations Professionals

To discover Twitter chats relevant to the public relations industry, take a look at Top 10 Twitter Chats for PR & Social Media Professionals according to Row Feeder. I recommend following along with some of these conversations and familiarizing yourself with the flow. While fast-paced, Twitter chats offer a quick update into industry conversations, enabling you to grow your knowledge base while joining active professionals in the social media space. This list includes #journchat aimed at journalists, bloggers and public relations professionals; #pr20chat is a conversation about the evolving public relations world; and #imcchat which is geared towards integrated marketing communications professionals.

Industry Specific

Marketing professionals in the digital space are always seeking information and enjoy sharing things relevant to their markets. For example, #hcsm is aimed at the health care marketing communication industry and begins each Sunday night at 9 p.m. EST. The chat is moderated on Sunday night by @danamlewis, but the hashtag is used throughout the week as means of tracking conversations and questions about healthcare marketing. Even if you are not in the healthcare marketing industry, the conversation will expand your knowledge of a market that is rapidly expanding.

Young Professionals

Edelman Digital team member and PRSSA President, Nick Lucido, recommended Twitter chats for the budding PR professionals that are interested in networking and learning about the industry. The #PRSSA Twitter chats happens once per month at 9 p.m. EST. The PRSSA Blog features a list of upcoming topics and the dates, as well as instructions on how to use TweetChat, an application which allows you to easily track a chat’s hashtag and participate in the conversation. A chat geared toward topics relevant to professionals under the age of 30 is #u30pro, but the content creation is not limited to any specific age group. Whether you are a seasoned manager or just starting in the business, #u30pro offers sound advice for engaging with professionals in this age group. This chat is a moderated conversation that takes place on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST.

Parenting Chats

#DadsTalking is a Twitter chat aimed at, you guessed it, dads! Caleb Gardner, Edelman Digital Chicago’s resident dad blogger, suggests this chat for the often forgotten, always insightful dad conversation. Caleb wrote a post, Five Resources for Dads Online, to highlight the space in August and he continues to enlighten non-dads about effective communications with mom’s other half. Mom it Forward’s #GNO (Girls’ Night Out) is a Twitter party for women, where they can chat about things relevant to their lives. These chats can be sponsored by brands, are hosted by Jyl Johnson Pattee, and offer a unique digital gathering space for hundreds of moms on Tuesday nights from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST.

Other Twitter Chats

Beyond those mentioned above, there are chats on numerous other topics including food, sports, fashion and events. There are tools available to assist your search for relevant conversations or chats on Twitter. Twibes allows you to search for Twitter Tribes and discover groups that frequently converse about specific topics. Twibes are very similar to Twitter Lists which have been the traditional way to discover groupings of users based on a subject. Another great resource for tracking down Twitter lists for your interests is Listorious which allows you to search through both influencers and Twitter lists. For a comprehensive list of Twitter chats, Robert Swanwick created a publically available and editable Twitter Chat Schedule which is updated frequently.

Feel free to leave a comment about your favorite Twitter chat below! How did you find your favorite chat?

Image credit: sah-rah.com

Andy Checo

Great article Eliza! I will add that for those interested in Hispanic PR, there is #hprchat, the first ongoing Twitter chat dedicated to US Hispanic Public Relations. It takes place on the first Wednesday of every month and starts at 8:00 pm EST. Next chat is on 12/1 and will have special guests from ImpreMedia.
Eliza Newcomb

Thank you, Andy! I will be sure to tune in to the chat. Looks like a really interesting one that is very valuable to our industry.
http://twitter.com/laurenkgray Lauren Gray

#PRstudchat, #u30pro, #LBSchat, #blogchat and #genYchat are a few of my favorite chats!
Andy Checo

Great article Eliza! I will add that for those interested in Hispanic PR, there is #hprchat, the first ongoing Twitter chat dedicated to US Hispanic Public Relations. It takes place on the first Wednesday of every month and starts at 8:00 pm EST. Next chat is on 12/1 and will have special guests from ImpreMedia.
Eliza Newcomb

Thank you, Andy! I will be sure to tune in to the chat. Looks like a really interesting one that is very valuable to our industry.
http://twitter.com/laurenkgray Lauren Gray

#PRstudchat, #u30pro, #LBSchat, #blogchat and #genYchat are a few of my favorite chats!
http://twitter.com/cortland Cortland Coleman

#EnergyChat – Every other Tuesday, 2pm EST (new chat). We started it!
http://twitter.com/cortland Cortland Coleman

#EnergyChat – Every other Tuesday, 2pm EST (new chat). We started it!
http://twitter.com/TweeParties TweeParties, Inc.

Just tweeted your article! I organize Twitter parties, but get lots of questions about Twitter chats too! So many out there. Thanks for listing such good resources!
http://twitter.com/TweeParties TweeParties, Inc.

Just tweeted your article! I organize Twitter parties, but get lots of questions about Twitter chats too! So many out there. Thanks for listing such good resources!
http://www.workforcewindsoressex.com/parents_youth/wfwe-denny-timm-twitter/ WFWE Bloggin’ It: My New Fascination with Twitter by Denny Timm | Workforce Windsor Essex

[...] Join a relevant hashtag chat and participate (for example, #u30pro is a community and twitter chat that focuses on [...]
Momitforward

Thanks for the shout out, Edelman! Twitter parties have been such an awesome to connect as well as get information. The #gno Twitter parties have been a great way for women and moms to engage in a real-time sharing and learning environment. It’s fun having brands jump in, become part of the community, and have them provide credible, awesome tips and advice on relevant topics.

What’s also awesome is to watch offline communities sprouting up to take the online to offline. Our #gnos for a cause events have become a popular monthly meet up where women in social media, along with their IRL friends, can get together for a girls’ night out, connect and have fun, all while making a difference in their community in some way.

Love seeing all the other parties referred to in this post and in the comments. Can’t wait to check out the other events.
http://twitter.com/NewNukem Eliza

Hi Jyl – we’re happy you enjoyed the post. We love that Twitter chats expand to the offline world as well. We’ve also enjoyed working with your team on #gno Twitter parties, and so have our clients!
Thanks,
Eliza
Momitforward

Thanks for the shout out, Edelman! Twitter parties have been such an awesome to connect as well as get information. The #gno Twitter parties have been a great way for women and moms to engage in a real-time sharing and learning environment. It's fun having brands jump in, become part of the community, and have them provide credible, awesome tips and advice on relevant topics.

What's also awesome is to watch offline communities sprouting up to take the online to offline. Our #gnos for a cause events have become a popular monthly meet up where women in social media, along with their IRL friends, can get together for a girls' night out, connect and have fun, all while making a difference in their community in some way.

Love seeing all the other parties referred to in this post and in the comments. Can't wait to check out the other events.
http://twitter.com/NewNukem Eliza

Hi Jyl – we’re happy you enjoyed the post. We love that Twitter chats expand to the offline world as well. We’ve also enjoyed working with your team on #gno Twitter parties, and so have our clients!
Thanks,
Eliza

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