Twitter

Twitter is a communications tool that allows you to update the world on what you are doing in 140 characters are less. People are using Twitter to share links, promote blog posts, ask questions, give answers, to connect online and offline with other users interested in similar topics, etc. Twitter is different than Facebook in that it is a lot more simple, and anything you say is public (unless you protect all of your updates). Anyone searching for information can find you, follow you and see what you are saying.

Twitter only works when people talk, so let's get you started.

How to get started:

1. Go visit the Twitter site and create an account. It's free.

2. Remember to upload a picture. It doesn't have to be you, but it helps.

3. After you have created your account, logon and find us at twitter.com/noiseconference. Right underneath our thumbnail profile picture you will see a button that says 'follow'. After clicking on that, you'll receive any updates from us on Twitter in your news stream.

Finding people to connect with:

1. Pick a topic you would like to talk more with people about.

2. Go to search.twitter.com (or use the search box right on your Twitter homepage) and type in a keyword.

3. The search will return the most recent results of people with updates mentioning your keyword.

4. To follow content from these users, click on their username to be taken to their profile page and click the 'follow' button.

Managing updates:

You can use the main Twitter page to update your status and view your news stream. There are also a number of free desktop applications out there that don't require you to visit the website. For desktop and laptop computers, two common applications are Tweetdeck and Twhirl. To use Twitter from your smartphone, visit the applications store. Twitterberry for the Blackberry is quite popular, and Twitterfon for the iPhone is also a popular application.

Using Twitter at the conference:

Many people use Twitter to share information or interesting points at conferences for other people inside and outside the room. If you have a smartphone (like a Blackberry, iPhone, etc.) or a laptop with you and access to wi-fi, sending updates is easy. For any tweets pertaining to the conference please use the label (called a hashtag) #snc09 by typing it in at the end of your update. Also, if you are looking for other people in Calgary who will be at the conference, you can also use the hashtag #yyc. It's the airport code for Calgary and is commonly used for to mark events that are in the vicinity.

Remember, any updates you have are open for everyone to see, so use care and courtesy when talking to or about people.

Examples of conference updates:

• an interesting point someone made about one of the topics
• a question you have relating to the topic
• answering a question someone else has posted
• arrange to meetup with other conference attendees by meeting in the lobby for a beverage after the conference

If you need any help with using Twitter at the conference or elsewhere, simply type @noiseconference in your update. That will label your update as being intended specifically for our account. Check your @username tab on your main page to see any updates intended for you. Using @username is how you can reply to somebody's tweet or they reply to you.

The @noiseconference Twitter account is managed by @wendy. Feel free to touch base on either account. Any conference updates will only be made via the noiseconference account.