OKWU Tweets to Connect
by Hannah Hopkins
OKWUeagle Staff Writer
@jakeredmond Sad day. I finally wore a hole the bottom of my chucks.
@BrianJohn10 Introducing dad to a little Jay-Z on the way to our last Thanksgiving meal.
@KyleKempf so if Chick-Fil-A invented the chicken sandwich…, who invented the turkey sandwich? Answer me that!
@darredondo21 Phone left in car. I got it out had 19 messages. The joy of Christmas came over me to see who wanted to talk to me… then it was all Twitter.
Twitter has invaded Oklahoma Wesleyan University campus. With Twitter contests and Tweetups, OKWU is encouraging faculty and students to become Twitter-friendly and communicate.
With a short, free 140 character message, students, faculty and staff members at OKWU are now sharing announcements, information and life experiences with one another.
For past two years, OKWU administrators have been searching for ways to help the university integrate social networking with education so faculty and students stay up to date with technology trends. The search led to Twitter, the fastest growing social media tool with over 50 million users, and it is now changing the way the school communicates with its students.
Though some thought Twitter was going to be another technology “fad” when it debuted, OKWU administrators chose Twitter carefully because they saw that it had staying power and would actually be useful in getting university news to students quickly.
According to Director of Special Projects Marci Piper, who joined Twitter in October 2007, the use of Twitter at OKWU has been implemented for safety, communication, education, and reaching out to a larger community so people can learn about OKWU and its ministry.
“We are always looking for ways to ensure the safety of our students. Recognizing that students’ most used form of communication is texting on their mobile phones, we realized we could take advantage of this for the students’ benefit,” Piper said.
@OKWUalert Traditional classes are cancelled for Oct 19th. City is shutting off water. Students, staff, and faculty due back for classes on the 20th.
Piper likes that Twitter allows easy communication to a large group of people through a single text message. Using Twitter helps administrators quickly notify students of school closings, tornado warnings, and other campus safety situations.
For sophomore Kelsey Oyler, who joined Twitter in February of 2009, using Twitter is convenient, smart and fun.
“OKWU has an emergency alert account which I follow, so when school was canceled the Monday after fall break I knew before all of my friends because of Twitter,” Oyler said.
@OKWUniv Have U seen the article in Tulsa World about the OKWU Men’s Basketball team?
Twitter is more than just another way to update a status. It is now a vital part of business, information and education. Tweeters can post links to news articles that they want to pass along to the other tweeters who follow them.
“I read a recent Tweet that said that ‘Twitter is my newspaper for the 21st century.’ This explains exactly how I use Twitter as a research tool,” Piper said. “It can help you filter through all the vast amounts of information on the Internet.”
Many of OKWU’s communication majors are Twitter users. Junior Brian John joined Twitter in January 2009. “I got a Twitter account because my adviser, Dr. Cochran, told me it would allow me to follow other people who were making advances in the field.”
@KDub1 I told Spencer a joke tonight and he rolled his eyes and said, “is it a form of abuse to tell your children jokes from 1980?” He’s so cute.
While Twitter has lots of educational and informational benefits, it also has one very important aspect that draws in users: It’s fun! A good tweet can brighten a day and cause someone to actually laugh out loud.
“I adore Twitter! Its fun and easy to use, there have been a lot of days where I’m having a bad day and I will get someone tweet and it will make me laugh and turn my day around,” Oyler said.
Junior Devon Arredondo started tweeting during the Fall 2009 semester and joined so he could stay in contact with friends. He has a preference of subject matter when it comes to tweets.
“I am definitely all about the clever tweets. Tweets like ‘I am reading before chapel’ are lame. Whereas tweets like ‘I think I’m coming down with something… or I’m just lazy’ are funny and they are the reason I enjoy Twitter.”
@KDub1 I’m having a Twitter contest…if you are interested in participating…send me an email for instructions. Great prizes.
In November, Kyle White, Vice President for Student Development, created a competition to encourage students to use Twitter. The goal for participants was to tweet something good enough to be re-tweeted by the official @OKWUniv Twitter account. The winner would win a dinner.
When the competition ended on December 4th, the race was close between Arredondo and junior Kyle Kempf.
“I was tied in the lead of the competition until the last day, when Devon Arredondo pulled two ahead, and I gave up,” Kempf said.
Kemp became a Twitter member in the summer of 2008 for OKWU ministry teams and speaks highly of Twitter.
“It’s a great way for businesses, churches, and bands to spread a message to a ton of people at one time.”
@OKWUniv Have you put the first @OWKUniv Tweetup/Christmas Party on your calendar yet? Wed Dec 9 9 pm in Doc Lacy’s. food and door prizes.
The newest benefit to being a Twitter user is being able to attend Tweetups. OKWU will hold several Tweetups on campus during the spring semester to encourage students to get connected to Twitter.
According to Piper, Tweetups are a networking tool that will connect OKWU followers in the community with students to provide great networking connections.
The first OKWU Tweetup was December 9th at 9:00 in Doc Lacy’s and included food and doorprizes. Only students and faculty with Twitter accounts were able to attend. More Tweetups will be announced this semester.
Twitter is a free service available to everyone. Accounts can be created at www.twitter.com
