Why I’m so excited about twittering at #vitae09

02 September 2009

By Tristram Hooley

I’m really excited about the use of twitter and other Web 2.0 technologies at the Vitae conference. However, those who know me will probably say, ‘well he would say that wouldn’t he, he’s a twitteraholic’. Of course they are right, I declare myself here and now, ‘my name is Tristram and I’m a twitteraholic’, but I’d like to briefly explain why I’m so enthusiastic about this odd little bit of technology and then give you a few suggestions about how to get going if you want to join me.

Firstly I’d like to try and rescue Twitter from being pigeonholed as a tech-geek thing. Twitter is about the simplest bit of technology you will ever have to use. Vitae provides lots of links to how and why to use Twitter from the conference online discussions page. But, if you can type into a box and read from a screen, you can use Twitter.

Why I love Twitter is basically the same reason that I first fell in love with Vitae (or UK GRAD as we used to call it) back in the days before I used to work for the organisation. Both offer me a group of people to talk to, to learn from and to shout about the things that I've done to. When I went to my first UK GRAD conference I realised that I was in a room with hundreds of people who all cared about the same things as me, who were all trying similar things to me (so I could steal ideas off of them) and who could give me useful feedback on the things that I was doing. It was great, but conferences ended and I went back to my HEI and tried to maintain my enthusiasm. I was sustained by Hub steering group meetings and good practice events, but day to day I was on my own.

However, with Twitter you can tap into the network of like minds whenever you want. You can share ideas, swap tips, moan, debate and gossip for a little bit every day – it is like a conference that never ends. But, thankfully it is also like a conference that you can turn off or ignore when you are too busy. This is why I’ve tuned into Twitter and why it has been invaluable for my work since I found it. 

However Twitter only works if you’ve got someone to talk to. So I thought I’d point out some of the researcher development movers and shakers to follow. If you want to get started on Twitter follow these people and you should get a steady stream of useful information. If you want more have a look at who these people are following and then follow them.

1. Vitae_news: Usually this is the Vitae newsbot, picking up things from our website and posting them on Twitter. However, during conference it will acquire a personality and be posting news and announcements.
2. vitaenwhub: Emma, Hub manager of the Vitae NW Hub will also be at the conference and will hopefully be twittering from time to time.
3. Timeshighered: A lively Twitter stream from the Vitae conference's media partner the Times Higher.
4. AminderKNijjar: Careers blogger and twitterer Aminder will be attending the Vitae conference.
5. victoriawilby: Vicky is the Vitae web manager and will be keeping an eye on all things amplified during the conference.
6. research_inform: Sarah from the Research Information Network will also be twittering from the Vitae conference.
7. duncanmann: Senior manager at Vitae and leading on this conference Duncan will be twittering when he gets the chance.
8.  Vitae_SE_Hub: Vitae South East Hub manager Ross is a regular twitter and will be attending the conference.
9. ManPGCareers: This is the twitter feed associated with the  Manchester PG Careers Blog. Well worth following.
10. SalfordPGRs: A very useful feed of all things PGR training related from Salford.
11. research_uk:  The official twitterfeed from RCUK.

Oh, and of course, you can always follow me, did I mention I'm a twitteraholic?

This list isn't meant to be definitive, it is just a start. If you are also planning to twitter at the conference let everyone know by using the comments on this article - or even better, write a blog post explaining why you are planning to tweet at #vitae09.