#HR_Tech on Twitter Is a Great Knowledge Resource
August 28th, 2009 by Lois Melbourne
Once a month on Twitter, anyone can very easily participate in coordinated chats to learn from each other and share their opinions and experiences. One such chat will occur September 2nd at 12:00 Noon Central Time. This chat will be about elements of technology used to support and improve human resources.
How does it work? Anyone with a Twitter account may participate by reading the live chat and chiming in (tweeting) to the discussion. Tweets are text messages limited to 140 characters at a time. Using a code called a hashtag, you can track a conversation between anyone on Twitter around the world. The hashtag, #hr_tech, follows each message to be included in the real time chat.
So, a question may be asked, What is the worst part of making a software purchase? #hr_tech.
Answers may be posted by several people, for example, The fight between HR and IT is the worst part #hr_tech, or The creation of RFPs is the worst part #hr_tech.
The #HR_tech discussion occurs once a month, usually in the evening. But the coordinators decided to have one in September during office hours to see how that impacts the number of participants and the discussions. Bryon Abramowitz @bryonabramowitz, from Knowledge Infusion, and Steve Boese @SteveBoese, an instructor of HR in Rochester New York and a blogger, are the coordinators of all the #HR_Tech sessions in which I have participated. They do a wonderful job of keeping the conversations on topic, as well as letting them flow.
I hope you join us for this discussion. I always learn something and often find new friends to connect with on Twitter.
Cheers,
Lois
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Lois – Thanks for the excellent write up on the HR_Tech chat. One thing I would add is the use of some third-party tools to more easily follow the chat, especially if you are new to the Twitter world and may not be previously following all of the folks that are participating. One, is TweetDeck, which is an Adobe Air application that can be downloaded for free from tweetdeck.com. Once you install TweetDeck, set up a new ‘search’ column for the tag ‘#HR_Tech’ and you will see all of the tweets containing that tag, whether you follow the person or not. Another option that does not require a download is Tweetchat.com. Once you go to Tweetchat.com and provide your Twitter name and password, you can ‘enter’ the #HR_Tech chat room. This presents a nice overlay on your Twitter page showing only the tweets with the #HR_Tech tag. It also automatically appends the tag to any updates you enter via the Tweetchat room.
We are always looking for more participation in these chats, especially from non-tech HR professionals, and I really appreciate you participating and helping spread the word.