Herbert Lowe | Telling Stories One Tale At A Time
  • SHORT STORIES
  • MY STORY
  • CURRICULUM VITAE
  • #LOWECLASS
  • RESOURCES

Live Tweeting Without a Smartphone

7/30/2012

16 Comments

 
Picture
No smartphone? Click the image to read how "dumbphone" users can tweet by texting her update to the Twitter short code.
The response to my Poynter.org article, "How Journalism Educators Can Teach Students to Live Tweet Campus Events," has exceeded my expectations. It's been widely shared via Twitter from the Poynter site – indeed getting more than triple the amount of tweets for my previous three articles published there. I'm thrilled that journalism educators from across the country have embraced the idea of students learning to use Twitter as journalists.

"I'm planning my J classes for this fall at Winona State University in Winona, Minn.," Tom Grier wrote to me in an email he sent after coming across the article via an education association's tweet. "The Poynter article was quick, to the point and contained helpful links. I plan to use this in my fall classes ... with credit to you, of course."

Lindsey Wotanis of Marywood University in Pennsylvania also wants her journalism students to live tweet this fall. She asked a great question in her email: "How, if you found it necessary, did you deal with students who did not have access to either a smartphone or laptop when tweeting a live event? We are a small, liberal arts campus, and so it's very possible that some of my students may not have access. I don't want to abandon this idea, but am concerned about how best to handle a situation like that. Thanks for sharing your idea with the world!"

Certainly, this situation does arise when the assignment is introduced, as a few students will hold up what they like to call a "dumbphone." However, it has never kept anyone from adapting to the assignment and I had five classes do it last year. First, tell the class that smartphones are only so as long as the person using it is smart. Also, point out that only 12 to 16 tweets are required per assignment to emphasize that it's about quality, not not quantify.

What happens next is that a student without a smartphone or likely is likely already used to tweeting. He or she will readily show the others how to do it, and it's always a good thing – bonding! – when a students teaches another. This article, "No Smartphone for Irene? You Can Still Use Twitter, Facebook," is a good start for those with dumbphones.

I prefer students learn to tweet with a phone so they know what to do if dispatched to cover breaking news outside. On the other hand, I like to use Evernote on my laptop whenever live tweeting. The awesome note-taking application makes it easy to take down information, and is wonderfully integrated with Twitter so tweeting is quite simple. That said, while we wish more speakers and organizers would appreciate live tweeting at conferences, it might be best if a a large group of students with laptops sits to the side or in the back of the room.

Once again, thanks everyone for the positive feedback on my article and my students' success with live tweeting. I look forward to hearing how Tom's and Lindsey's students fare with the assignments this fall. Keep the questions coming – and remember to visit http://www.herblowe.com/live-tweeting.html for updates about the process.
16 Comments
Michael LoCicero
8/29/2012 01:33:43 pm

I think live-tweeting an event will become more mainstream in the next few years, if it hasn't already. I know for basketball games, we are almost always live-tweeting but that atmosphere is obviously more informal than a speaker. Good post though, with interesting links. I forget that not everyone has a smartphone nowadays.

Reply
Kaitlyn Farmer
8/29/2012 01:57:36 pm

I found this article very useful in my life now because I have recently dropped my IPhone in a toilet and now it has gone to IPhone heaven. I do not like bringing my laptop to events because people attending the event do not understand live tweeting unless an announcement is made.

Reply
Patrick Leary
8/29/2012 02:35:15 pm

I'm a devoted "dumbphone" tweeter, so this article was music to my ears. I send about 60% of my tweets from my phone, and it's a great way to make my phone feel less dumb.

Reply
Christopher Chavez
8/29/2012 03:22:48 pm

I feel really comfortable live tweeting from my Blackberry. Now i just have to make the move from the Blackberry to the iPhone in the coming months. Not sure quite yet how the touch screen is going to treat me, but it could be just as odd as moving from a dumb to smart phone.

Reply
Ben Greene
8/30/2012 12:22:17 am

I am a Twitter rookie to say the very least, but when I did finally get one, I was glad that I had a smartphone. Sure, people can still Live Tweet without one, but having a smartphone has made it a lot easier for me.

Reply
Ryan Ellerbusch
8/30/2012 02:58:53 am

I actually live tweeted Pilarz Inauguration from a non-smartphone and found it dueable. But having a smartphone would've made it a lot easier to view tweets during the ceremony, retweet others and interact with the Marquette community reading what they are saying about the event. Some people like me are obsessed with tweeting on a daily basis so I'm glad that I now have a smartphone so I can live-tweet more class events going forth.

Reply
Courtney Johnson
8/30/2012 07:20:19 am

I find this article informational, because I have a restriction of data usage on my phone. This will come in handy.

Reply
Stephanie Graham
9/2/2012 05:28:22 am

Live tweeting is certainly possible without a smartphone, and it's good to see some commenters remarking that they don't mind it. Unfortunately, "dumbphones" can't fully harness some Twitter app capabilities like the one-tap ease of retweeting, replying, or remembering hashtags and handles. I've had my iPhone for less than a year and it's made my life as a student journalist much less stressful and more organized.

Reply
Courtney Perry
9/3/2012 06:22:39 am

I've never tweeted from anything other than a smartphone, so I don't know the difficulities of tweeting from a phone that isn't a smartphone. But, I agree that it is a smart thing to put emphasis on the importance of tweeting from a phone in general. You can send out updates much more quickly.

Reply
Matt Barbato
9/3/2012 12:14:01 pm

I either tweet on my Iphone or sometimes my laptop. I think live tweeting is a great way to keep people immediately informed on an event but I think it is sometimes disrespectful. I went to several events where we had to live tweet speeches or presentations and sometimes I just felt awkward whipping out my phone in the middle of someone's speech. I think it can be seen as distracting and disrespectful to some people. Live tweeting is very useful for sporting events. You can provide play summaries and analysis quickly and easily.

Reply
Ethan Niquet
9/4/2012 12:47:32 am

Matt, I would agree that I also feel self- conscious while tweeting from live events. However, I think our generation is moving in a direction where more and more people are tweeting live, so we should not feel awkward anymore when everyone around us is doing it! Plus it is just more convenient to be able to tweet from an iPhone instead of have to lug around a laptop; which i find far more distracting.

Reply
Caitlin Miller
9/4/2012 05:01:53 am

I’ve always relied on my smartphone and Twitter app when live tweeting an event. Knowing that there are other ways to do so is great information in case I ever without my trusty smartphone.

Reply
Eva Sotomayor
9/4/2012 07:34:55 am

Where was this blog post when I needed it? Last semester I live-tweeted from "dumb phone" via text message or with my laptop. It was often hard to tweet, because it was hard to keep track of how many characters I was using and it was hard to correct gramatical errors. Also, I often tweeted the same things as other people because I did not have my feed infront of me. I was a late-adapter to smartphones because I felt it would be too big of a distraction and I didn't want to be too connected, but I made the switch to iPhone this summer and I don't think I'm ever going back.

Reply
David Tukesbrey
9/4/2012 11:42:33 am

I don't have a smartphone, but I will say that I can still use Twitter well. Albeit more difficult than having an iPhone, it's not impossible. The iPhone makes Tweeting a lot easier, but it can still be done without it. For somebody who may struggle with spelling, not having the "auto-correct" function may go against them in the long run.

Reply
Jacob Born
9/4/2012 03:04:34 pm

I only got a smartphone in June, but I was updating Facebook and Twitter from my phone long before then. I found the five digit numbers that was associated with Facebook and Twitter, and signed up through text messages. It was definitely the better alternative when I had a "dumbphone."

Reply
Casby Bias
9/4/2012 11:26:54 pm

Well. I had no idea that there was a thing as Evernote. This would’ve helped when I still had a phone that was super slow and wouldn’t even let me view the content of email messages. I'll see if I can try out Evernote the next time I'm live-tweeting something.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Welcome

    My journalism DNA remains strong as I learn and teach new ways to tell and present stories, especially via digital and social media. This blog is where I share what happens in my classroom and my life and, from time to time, offer my views on current events. I appreciate your feedback – either as comments herein or in an email to herbert.lowe [at] marquette [dot] edu.

    Tweets by @herbertlowe

    Archives

    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010

    Categories

    All
    Branding
    Digital Divide
    Digital Storytelling
    Emerging Media
    Graduate School
    Journalism
    Journalism Education
    Journalism Education
    Live Tweeting
    Marquette
    NABJ
    NewsU
    NNS
    Poynter
    Sports
    Storify

    RSS Feed

© Copyright 2017 Aim High Media | All Rights Reserved | Site Design by Aim High Media