How I Tweeted the TNG Sector Conference

By Mariya Strauss
ILCA Unit

Be not afraid, denizens of the printed word: When it comes to covering live events, Twitter is your friend.

When live, fast-moving gatherings like the June 18-20 TNG Sector Conference happen, Twitter gives those attending the event a way to keep non-attendees apprised of developments. To wit: I asked the CWA tech gurus if I should go ahead and use a catchphrase (a “hashtag”) to collect all the Twitter updates from the conference. My handle on Twitter is @unionmaidn and Twitter users would be able to search for the hashtag and find all the Tweets that included it. Here’s the response:

@CWAUnion: @unionmaidn Sure - a #TNG-CWA hashtag would be great!

The following tweet then appeared in the public timeline:

@CWAUnion: TNG-CWA Sector Conference starts today. Tweet or follow at #TNG-CWA.

And here are some of the Twitter highlights of the conference:

@unionmaidn: 'we are family' please stand if you have been laid off #TNG-CWA

@unionmaidn: Lunzer: No one has magic bullet to save media jobs. We will work with captains of industry where possible #TNG-CWA

@sonyajk: Dean Singleton's name has been invoked several times. His biz plan: cut to the bone, then cut a little deeper. #TNG-CWA

@unionmaidn: Wash post contract was unanimously approved- negot was done in 4 mos. Not a perfect contract but some seniority was kept #TNG-CWA

@unionmaidn: new media guy from Obama campaign talking about tools they used and why #TNG-CWA

@sonyajk: In the midst of hearing doom and gloom newspaper bankruptcy stories of wage cuts for employees and bonuses for execs. #TNG-CWA

@sonyajk: Guy from www.yourhometownpaper.org is talking about ESOP and worker-owner newspaper partnership. #TNG-CWA

@sonyajk: Big debate over changing The Newspaper Guild to The Media Guild. Alternative motion suggests The News Guild. 20 ppl want 2 comment #TNG-CWA

At least one TNG member benefited directly from our updates on Twitter:

@atlemar: Catching up on #TNG-CWA news via hashtag. Wish I had been there. Smart people working for good not evil. Thanks @sonyajk and @unionmaidn

Twitter is still new, and like all new technologies, it sometimes fails to deliver on its promise of a better life. It can be boring, and sorting through mountains of unverified information bits can give one a headache. It can also be buggy and slow. But as more and more people need to cut their travel costs for events and conferences, it gives them a way to follow what is happening elsewhere – potentially in real time. It’s quite easy to enable any cell phone to send your less-than-140-character micro-updates as text messages. If you have a “smart” phone and want to get fancy, you can use one of the bajillion Twitter applications for the Blackberry or iPhone.

But there’s no need for that. I used my battle-scarred, out-of-warranty, $20 non-smart flip phone to send the tweets that helped our out-of-town members stay updated on the sector conference. By the way, it’s perfectly acceptable on Twitter to follow someone for a limited time while they are updating on a particular event or topic. No need to commit yourself to learning more than you want to know about someone’s daily habits!

Feel free to Direct Message me – Twitterish for private e-mailing over Twitter’s wires – if you want more of the skinny on this remarkable, shifting, and relevant medium.