Using Hootsuite University for Class

As part of our summer Social Media Measurement and Analytics course at Tarleton State, we experimented with Hootsuite University.  I resisted adding it to my social media courses because I feared students might see it as outsourcing teaching. Then I read an article in the Journal of Public Relations Education about how my peers were using it.

Kinsky, E. S., Freberg, K., Kim, C., Kushin, M., & Ward, W. (2016). Hootsuite University: Equipping Academics and Future PR Professionals for Social Media Success. Journal of Public Relations Education, 2(1), 1-18.

The article outlines perceptions about Hootsuite certification from students, professionals and professors. The responses were largely positive, so I gave it a chance. Hootsuite made it easy to sign up your class (thank you Kimberly Yu), and I was able to send my list of students and their emails (with their permission) within a few days of my course start date. The Hootsuite team sends an invitation email to students, and sends you a sample email in order to prep students. Hootsuite has reasonable expectations of how you might weave modules into class.

As part of my course, students were asked to complete 8 modules. Some of my students were familiar with Hootsuite, so I asked them to use the first modules as simply a refresher. After completing a few beginner level modules, students tackled: HOOT210: Advanced Listening, HOOT220: Advanced Engagement, and HOOT240: Advanced Analytics. Completing certification was not required, but some expressed interest in adding that credential to their resumes. After finishing the modules required for our class, they were well on their way toward certification.

I was pleased with the quality of the Hootsuite walkthroughs and videos. The videos are broken into short segments so busy types can watch a few here and there. Modules include a syllabus and learning objectives.

Using Hootsuite for final projects, a measurement report for a client, gave students a way to conduct social listening and some analytics. As I receive other student feedback, I'll add it to this post. And I'll be curious to see how many students pursue the certification option.

An extra bonus to this experiment—now I'm certified.

Archiving Tweets: Thank you, Martin Hawksey, for TAGS

When I was looking for a way to collect tweets, for free, I stumbled upon Martin Hawksey’s TAGS, or Twitter Archiving Google Sheet. Using his template for a Google Sheet in Google Drive, you can pull tweets from Twitter. Through some easy steps, you “program” the sheet to collect messages from Twitter by hashtags, handles (@) and AND/OR/” operators.

A few years ago, I started with Version 5.0, and it took me a few tries to get the set-up right. Two new versions are available, 6.0 and 6.1, and they were easy to implement. The steps for set-up are well described and you can find videos to help. A support forum is another resource if you run into hiccups on the set-up. You can create as many files as you want to capture tweets and authentication is now a one-time requirement.

Using TAGS, you are essentially archiving tweets to a Google spreadsheet. You can change the frequency on the data pull, so it will automatically update, or you can handle it manually with the Run Now! option. I typically opt for the automated pull. The first tab of the spreadsheet has the “read me” and instructions for how to conduct your pull. It’s easy to follow and has links to additional resources if you want extra help. The other tabs in the sheet include the list of tweets, a summary, and dashboard. The list of tweets, called archive, alone contains a lot of information: name of the person tweeting, if the tweet is in reply to someone else, links to profiles, and user language.

The summary lists the top tweeters, with stats on how many were retweets, unique tweets, and average and medians for tweets per person in the sample. The dashboard provides graphics for the top tweeters, a line graph showing the number of tweets over time, and Twitter activity for the collection.

The data collected are rawer than some other systems, but that’s what I like. The data are on a spreadsheet that can be loaded into statistical programs or other more powerful analytical tools. While it might be nice to learn an advanced coding language like Python to create your own capture, it’s not on my front burner. And copying and pasting out of Twitter is too manual. Other systems provide fancy graphics, but if you just need an archive or a spreadsheet, TAGS works. Also, the spreadsheet is a format that could be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The upsides include using a system you may already have credentials for, Google Drive. When working with colleagues, you can easily share the data, and they don’t have to create yet another account on a website or app. If your sheet has an error or reaches its limits, you’ll get reminders that it needs work.

The dataset limits were one of the downsides originally, but I was able to grab 17,000 tweets. Other negatives include the rigor of the pull. It won’t download every tweet. According to Hawskey’s blog, it’s a function of the Twitter Search API where relevance, not completeness, rules. You need a little forethought if you want to use this tool effectively. It will only pull historical tweets from the past seven days. If you wanted to watch a hashtag from an event, you’d need to set up the Google Sheet prior to the event. The dashboard only presents a few graphics, and they are basic. For a client or board presentation, you would want to jazz them up a bit. To run other kinds of analyses, like those measuring sentiment, location, network density and links, you would need to import the sheet into another program. This may be an extra unwanted step for some users.

Several audiences could benefit from the quick data pulled using TAGS. Marketers and public relations practitioners looking to archive messages about a particular campaign or event could set up a sheet prior to a launch. Organizers could capture and archive tweets during an annual conference. Academic researchers willing to accept the limitations of the tweets pulled could archive data for future investigations. Teachers could archive tweets from a classroom live-tweet to look for evidence of student learning. The free nature makes this appealing for nonprofit professionals.

As an example, I have 17,000 #StandWithWendy tweets from Wendy Davis’ 2013 filibuster saved for a research project. Originally, the sheet would take a long time to load. Now, it moves much faster. I want the ability to see my data and then clean it, based on my project. TAGS is one way for me to do so, and share with my research partners at the same time.

The newest versions, 6.0 and 6.1, offer a one-time set-up, a support community, and you can capture your favorited tweets, the last 3,000. If you have used the previous versions, go with 6.0, recommended by the TAGS team. It worked for me without any problems.

To learn more about or to get started with TAGS, go to https://tags.hawksey.info/

(This post is not a sponsored message. It originated as a sample for my students on reviewing a measurement tool for our course on social media analytics.)

Social Media Training in Student-run Comm Organizations

How are student-run communication organizations (like news organizations, radio/TV stations and PR firms) training college students to strategically use social media? Dr. Kay Colley (Texas Wesleyan) and I are conducting research on this topic, and if you are an adviser at a student-run operation at a U.S. college or university, we'd love to have your input. Our Institutional Review Board approval is on file and the intro screen will further explain the study. 

Survey link: https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=172572

We hope to share our findings this fall! Thanks for participating or sharing with those who serve in this capacity.

Welcome!

This blog explores topics related to the intersections of social media, teaching/learning, ethics, writing and communication programs. I will share classroom successes and the failed moments that must be reworked, as well as research updates.

When I defended my dissertation several years ago, a committee member remarked that he liked the idea of sending me back into a communication program with my doctoral degree in higher education. I like my intersection between the two overarching interests, and will share what I have learned, and am learning, along the way.

Research and teaching highlights from my CV are included on this blog, and I encourage you to send me a note at skmaben@gmail.com. For now, I want to give a few resources with acronyms, of course!

SWECJMC - http://swecjmc.wp.txstate.edu/ - Our annual Southwest Symposium will be Nov. 4-5, 2016, in West Memphis, Ark.

JSMS - The Journal of Social Media in Society is a open access peer-reviewed journal for all things social media and mobile tech.

TSMRI - The Texas Social Media Research Institute is a think tank for social media. It's also an experiential learning lab; student interns are conducting research, leading training sessions, and practicing social networking. Each November, the group hosts a Social Media Conference that draws academics and practitioners from all over the U.S.