From time to time, I am asked, “How do I join your chat on Twitter?” Since we were off last week, I thought this would be a good time to explain the chat process.
Each Friday at 7E/6C/5M/4P, people get together on Twitter to chat about all things related to the gifted community using the hashtag #gtchat. To join the conversation, you need to have a Twitter account and it cannot be designated as ‘private’. If you feel the need to protect your tweets (only followers can see what you tweet), consider opening a second account under a pseudonym just to chat.
You can participate in a chat directly on Twitter by searching the hashtag #gtchat and then choosing the ‘Live’ tab on the search results page. You may want to Save your search to use for future reference. (Hint: Follow #gtchat’s official Twitter account @gtchatmod to see tweets concerning chat times and topics.) It is important to know that you must remember to add the hashtag #gtchat to each of your tweets so that they will be visible to the rest of the people at the chat. As the chat progresses, you will have to Refresh your screen to see available new tweets.
An alternate way to join our chat is to use a 3rd party app such as Tweetchat or Twubs. These apps add the hashtag to your tweets automatically and also only display the tweets using the hashtag during the chat. Most participants, including the moderator, use Tweetchat. To use this app, sign into your Twitter account; open a second tab in your browser and go to Tweetchat.com; enter the hashtag ‘#gtchat’ on the opening screen; utilize the ‘Authorize App’ function; you will be redirected to the #gtchat tweet stream. Once there, you can tweet, retweet, reply and favorite tweets just like on Twitter. (Hint: If you are familiar with apps such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, you may use either of these as well.)
It’s as simple as that! So, what have you been waiting for? Join us on Fridays for #gtchat on Twitter. National and International chat times are listed below. It you miss a chat, you can always access the transcript at Storify and I post a short summary with links from the chat here at this blog every week. Take a look around the blog to see what you have been missing! For more general information about chatting on Twitter, check out the links below. (Thanks to Jerry Blumengarten @cybraryman1 for the links. Jerry also was instrumental in helping #gtchat get started!)
Prior to our last chat, we welcomed a new sponsor for #gtchat, GiftedandTalented.com. You can read more about this new partnership at the TAGT website here.
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented and sponsored by GiftedandTalented.com is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Fridays at 7E/6C/5M/4P in the U.S., Midnight in the UK and Saturdays 11 AM NZST/9 AM AEST to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Storify. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news & information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our new Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Links:
How to Take Part in or Moderate a Chat on Twitter from Cybraryman
Twitter from Cybraryman
Twitter for Beginners from Cybraryman
A Quick Start Guide to Participating in a Twitter Chat
How Do You Participate in t Twitter Chat?
Twitter Chats: How to Survive and Thrive in a Twitter Chat … Hockey Style Eh?
Global #gtchat 
Thanks, Lisa. This is very helpful. I’ve wanted to join but haven’t tried to figure it out. Unfortunately, I’m usually seeing counseling clients on Friday afternoons. But if I ever have a free Friday, I’ll try it out. I always appreciate the summaries you provide afterwards, though.