Short Abstract:

An interactive workshop to familiarise anthropologists with the myriad uses of Twitter. We will look at how the platform can be used for networking, research, and public communication. Suitable for beginners or those familiar with Twitter to grow networks of anthropologists and publicise their work

Long Abstract:

How can anthropologists harness the use of social media? How can we grow an international community of anthropologists? How can we create spaces to discuss our work while far-flung? How can we use Twitter to make our work accessible and public? How can scholars engage with each other without costly and environmentally expensive flights to conferences and workshops? This lab will answer these questions and more, and invites participants to think about how can we use Twitter as a learning tool, a research method, a forum, and a fieldsite?

The lab will provide an introduction to how to use Twitter, guiding its participants through setting up accounts, writing bios, who to follow, and how to engage, as well as how to tweet, thread, and retweet to your benefit. We will then look at how anthropologists can harness social media as a fieldsite, learning about their field as they engage with people in it. Finally, we will look at how anthropologists use Twitter in different ways, including as a fieldnotes tool and to promote their work. This lab will also take place online using the hashtag #TNELive, inviting participants unable to attend the conference to take part. By the end of lab participants will have built a small Twitter presence and developed a following as well as a timeline relevant to their work, as well as published a small thread explaining their work. Ultimately we hope to demonstrate and inspire anthropologists how to use social media in research, networking, and public communication.