How to Participate in a Twitter Party (Plus Using the Top 4 Twitter Aggregators)

 

Before I continue, here’s some of the Twitter lingo (for those of you unfamiliar with them) that I use in this post:

 

 

A Twitter party is a live-stream, semi-conversational event that lasts around an hour. It takes place with Twitter as the platform, has one or more hosts, and typically boasts one or more sponsors. Tweeps participate in the party by following the hosts and sponsors and by tweeting on topic. The party will have a hashtag property so the conversation is easily kept up with.

 

During the party, the hosts and/or the sponsors will throw out one or more topics for the partying tweeps to discuss. They may also post trivial questions for the tweeps to answer. The tweeps who answer correctly are often tossed into a random drawing and a winner is selected for a prize.

 

Honestly, it’s kind of difficult to explain completely. I recommend you find one and jump in. For my first party, I made sure to let everyone know it was my first so that if I made any idiotic mistakes, they’d forgive me. 🙂Find a Party

 

The first step to participating in a Twitter party (besides opening a Twitter account) is finding one. There is a plethora of Twitter parties to partake in. You can find parties promoting everything from toothbrushes or jelly beans to cars or cruises.

 

Most Twitter parties ask you to RSVP. Usually, the only point for RSVPing is to win a special prize just for RSVPing. However, the majority of Twitter parties DO NOT require you to RSVP in order to participate (it’s just a bonus).

 

 

Before the Twitter party happens, try to follow each of the hosts and the sponsors so you can keep up with them during the party. Although it’s fun to read what other tweeps are saying, the hosts and the sponsors are the important ones (they’re the ones with the topics, the trivia, and the prizes)!

 

 

If you have access to a program on your computer or online that alerts you with reminders of things, definitely mark the Twitter party you want to attend on that calendar so you don’t forget. Typically, Twitter parties occur on a certain date at a specific time (often in the evening) and last for a distinct period (usually one or two hours). Knowing when to hop on board is very helpful! Sometimes the host will email you a reminder. I LOVE it when they send you a reminder (in case you can’t tell by my love for reminders, I’m a forgetful person!).

 

Oh, and remember time zones! If a party is being held at 7 PM EST and you live in MST, then for you the party starts at 5 PM.

 

Join the party by saying hello! Be sure to use the hashtag and topic with EVERY tweet you post for the party–including when answering questions or participating in discussions. This helps the hosts keep track of all the participating tweets.

 

To keep up with everything and everyone, you could just open up a bunch of tabs with Twitter–one tab per each of the hosts’ and sponsors’ profiles, one with your @ Mentions displayed (in case someone’s talking directly to you), and one viewing all of the party’s hashtag topic. Or you can use an aggregator to view everything on one screen so you don’t have to click back and forth among tabs.

 

 

The four major Twitter aggregators used for Twitter parties are Twubs (perfect for the beginner), TweetChat (also great for  the beginner), TweetGrid (awesome for the intermediate and the advanced), and TweetDeck (perfect for the advanced and the OCD).Twubs

To use Twubs, I suggest logging in using your Twitter account (make sure you’re logged in to your Twitter account too). This eliminates remembering one more username and password. Plus, you need to connect to it anyway.

Once you are logged in, enter the hashtag topic in the provided field and click “Go.” You will view a stream of everyone’s tweets utilizing the hashtag. Remember to keep an eye on the hosts and sponsors!

One plus about Twubs is that you only need to enter the hashtag topic once. Whenever you tweet within the aggregator, it will automatically include the hashtag. Another Twubs plus (er, it’s a plus to me anyway) is that it shows your tweet in the stream. This way, if you mistyped something or sent it to the wrong tweep, you can correct it promptly. If you need to quickly delete that tweet, you can click “View Tweet” then delete it.

Here’s an image from when I used Twubs for a MomSelect-hosted, Ragu-sponsored Twitter Party. Click image to view larger.

A negative about Twubs is that you must open a separate tab if you’d like to view all of your @ Mentions (with or without the hashtag), plus it can sometimes be difficult to keep up with the conversation if it especially fast-paced (there is a pause option, though, so you can stop it for a short time to catch up on reading). Overall, Twubs is great if this is your first party. It’s easy to use and very attractive to look at.

 

 

To use TweetChat, you give it permission to connect with your Twitter account (make sure you’re logged in first). Then you enter the party’s hashtag. It will show a stream of everyone (including hosts, sponsors, and any other tweeps) tweeting about the party using the hashtag. Then, when you would like to participate, you enter your tweet in the tweet field at the top and enter update. One great thing is that you do NOT have to enter the hashtag topic each time you tweet; TweetChat automatically does it for you.

 

The only negatives I have about TweetChat is that you will need to open Twitter in a separate tab/window to view all of your @ Mentions and, if it’s a more populous party, you sometimes have to be a speed reader (the tweets appear quickly) which means you have to keep a sharp eye out for the hosts’ and sponsors’ tweets. It does have a pause button to temporarily stop the stream. I do like how TweetChat matches my profile’s design.

 

 

TweetGrid is a slightly more advanced tweeting aggregator. To use it, you select how many boxes you would like items displayed. Items include the hashtag topic, the hosts, the sponsors, and your @ Mentions–up to 6 things can be displayed all at once. To enter the hashtag topic, you place the hashtag (#) and the topic (no spaces). To enter a host, type it like this: “Host:????” purposely omitting the @ symbol and intentionally running it all together (no spaces). If you’d like to enter more than one host in a panel, type: “Host:???? OR Host:????” (omit @’s and all spaces except those on either side of the “OR”). To view your @ Mentions, type your Twitter handle (@???????) minus any spaces.

 

To use TweetGrid, you must allow it to access your Twitter account for a live stream of tweets, then you enter the hashtag and all the items you’d like in the boxes. To tweet, just type it in the provided tweet field at the top and click the “Tweet” button. Just as with Twubs and TweetChat, if you entered the hashtag in its field, you don’t have to type it when you tweet; it enters it for you.

 

The negatives about TweetGrid is that it is a rather archaic-looking, unattractive design and it can be a little tricky to use at first.

 

 

TweetDeck is my favorite of the aggregators. It is probably the most advanced, most complicated, and most attractive aggregator to use. To get started, you need to download and install it either into your Google Chrome browser or onto your desktop. To open it on Chrome, start a new tab and there should be a TweetDeck icon to click on. From the desktop, just click on the icon and it’ll open up. Connect it with your Twitter account (be logged in first) and you’re good to go.

 

TweetDeck is also available for your iPhone, Android, and various other browsers (may be in beta). However, the two I have used and know are the one for Chrome and for the desktop (I especially enjoy the desktop one). So I’ll proceed to explain the Chrome and desktop versions (they’re similar, yet different; and I’m certain the downloads for the other browsers are similar if not the same).

 

 

These three columns are default: Home (displays all the tweets from all those you follow), Me (displays all your @ Mentions; you can also add a column entitled “Mentions,” but to clarify, the “Me” and “Mentions” columns are the exact same thing), and Inbox (displays all your DMs).

 

When I use TweetDeck in Chrome, I delete the Home and Inbox columns (click on the wrench icon on the column you want to remove, then press the “Remove Column” button at the bottom). Then I add a column for each host, sponsor, and for the hashtag. To add a host or sponsor, click on the “TweetDeck” button in the upper left corner. In the “Search” field type “From:” then type the host or sponsor’s twitter name (minus the @ and omitting all spaces). To add more than one host/tweep in a column, type “From:???? OR From:????” (omit all @’s and spaces except those on either side of the “OR”) When the host’s profile pops up, click “Add Column.” To add the hashtag, do the same thing only enter the hashtag and topic (“#????”) in the “Search” field.

 

Once everything’s added, you may need to scroll the page from left to right to view it all.

 

With TweetDeck in Chrome, you will have to type the party’s hashtag each time. The easier way to do this is to type it, select it, then copy it to your clipboard. Each time you want to tweet, paste it in the compose field with your tweet.

 

And if the notifications that pop up drive you insane (they do me), disable them. Choose which columns you’d like to disable notifications for then click on the wrench icon. Uncheck “Popup” and “Sound,” press the “Done” button and you’re good to go.

 

 

These five columns are default: All Friends (displays all the tweets posted by those you follow),  Mentions (displays all your @ Mentions), Direct Messages (displays all your DMs), Trending: Worldwide (displays all the world’s top topics), and TweetDeck Recommends (displays all the tweeps it thinks you’ll like).

 

When I use the desktop TweetDeck for a Twitter party, I remove all the default columns except the Mentions one (hover over the Twitter T icon on each column and an X to remove it will appear). Then, I open up new columns containing the party’s hashtag topic, the hosts, and the sponsors. To open a new column, click on the plus (+) symbol in a circle at the top.  To add the hashtag, simply type in the hashtag and the topic (#????) and press “Search.” A new column with the hashtag will appear. To open a new column with a host or sponsor, click the plus button again then type “From:????” in the search (replacing the ???? with the host’s or sponsor’s Twitter name, minus the @ symbol and purposely omitting any spaces). To view more than one host/tweep in a colum, type “From:???? OR From:????” (omit all @’s and spaces except those on either side of the “OR”). Press “Search” and the new column should appear.

 

Once everything’s added, you may need to scroll the page from left to right to view it all.

 

With TweetDeck on the desktop, you don’t need to type the party’s hashtag every time; type it the first time then it “saves” it in a drop-down menu under the “What’s happening?” field. Select it each time before you tweet and you’re set.

 

Oh, and if the notifications that pop up drive you NUTS like they do me, you can disable them. Click on the wrench icon in the upper right corner. Click on “Notifications.” Then click “Detail On” so it reads “Detail Off” then click “Summary On” so it reads “Summary Off.” Save settings and you’re good to go.

 

TweetDeck for either Chrome or the desktop is probably the most convenient and most attractive of the four aggregators to use. However, it is more complicated to learn how to use.Conclusion

And that brings us to the end of this long, rather detailed post! I hope it helps you out. I tried to explain everything clearly and concisely because, when I began, this is the type of detailed post I searched for, but could not find!

If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll do my best to help you out. Or, if you know of another aggregator, do share!