Twitter Bootcamp for Human Rights

MIGS DIGITAL MASS ATROCITY PREVENTION LAB

31 JANUARY 2014

Why people Tweet

Twitter acts like a pulse of the planet
Share thoughts, information and get heard Get and spread the news in real time

Network: connect with people, businesses and

organizations Access experts and get answers Connect with governments, hold them into account #eDiplomacy

What is a Tweet?
Twitter answers the question: What is -

happening? Short update, question, news, comment, or link in 140 characters or fewer Tweets are posted to your account and sent to your followers You can interract with tweets in several ways Read them Post them yourself Follow Direct message (DM private message) Retweet (RT)

Setting up an account
Click Sign Up Now

Pick a Username and fill out basic info.

Create your account

How to Tweet
Simply write a message and tweet! Most Twitter users incorporate links into their Tweets: web pages, blog entries etc Copy + paste - Twitter automatically shortens the Tweet.

Tweeting to a person: @replies

An @replies is a public Tweet sent from one user to

another @ symbol is placed directly in front of a username. Then type your tweet @replies can also help you find new people to add to your network Clicking the arrow under a Tweet lets you reply to that person When someone addresses you, theyll use @ + your username. This called Mention

#Hashtags
Way to collect series of tweets about the same

topic under a consistent heading Allows you to follow discussions and topics that interest you Formed by adding the # sign about something #CARcrisis #GivingTuesday #R2P #genprev #tech4peace http://www.hashtags.org/

Retweets
See a Tweet worth sharing and spreading? Use Retweet (RT)! There are two versions of RTs - Twitter Retweet button - Manual: RT in front of the Tweet MT (modified Tweet) if you modify the message

Who and how to follow?

Define your interests and goals ex Human Rights

Follow those that will inspire you: public figures,

policymakers, activists, organizations, brands, associates etc. Hashtags Trending topics Twitter recommendations Searching for Tweeters and stories: Twitter search Twitter lists and Twitter Directories

Twitter for Human Rights

CHANGING THE WORLD ONE TWEET AT A TIME?

 Platform for immediate news delivery and instant -

communication. Real-time system for sensing and signalling event Effective catalyst for social change on local and global level. Outreach - Share/get news Raise awareness or funds - Publicize events Mobilize grassroots efforts - Citizen journalism Mobilize political will

Twitter during crises: Report, Locate, Communicate, Facilitate

Data-gathering: Tracking service and crisis

reporting Data-sharing for professional across borders: linking local and global in real time Mapping a crisis: geolocation and geotagging Tweets Ushahidi, CrisisMapper etc Disaster response/coordination: who is doing what where? Tools: hashtags, Twitter alerts etc

Tweeting Genocide What if Rwanda had had Twitter?

Now, in a matter of seconds, a person halfway across the globe can upload a picture documenting a mass atrocity crime and send it like a missile through cyberspace via Twitter directly to the White House, the Prime Ministers Office or to CNN or the BBC. Kyle Matthews in Rapid Response

#iranelections - 2009 Elections

Hashtag used by Iranian citizens to keep the lines of

communication open while officials tried to silence protests Tweeting addresses of proxy servers, locations of captive citizens, areas of unrest and violence Keeping people safe and shine light on repretion.
What about the Arab Spring? What role did social media such as Twitter play?

Syria Tracker
First civil war on social media

Crisis mapping system - form live map of Syrian crisis

and human rights violations Eyewitness reports: official news, social media and blogs Women Under Siege

#CARcrisis
Documenting atrocities and displacements Pictures, real-time reporting Follow: @bouckap @jgmariner @Drovera @marcusbleasdale #Bangui #CARcrisis

Twitterati: The Tweet Elite

Foreign Policy Magazine produces an annual list of the 100

people you should be following to make sense of global events. The DMAPLab: Global Humanitarian and Human Rights Twitterati list First list of highly influential and significant tweeters/advocates for mass atrocity prevention worldwide. Politicians - Opinion shapers Diplomats - Journalists Organizations - Academics &civil society leaders #Hashtags

Crisis situation simulation exercices

Craft a communications and outreach strategy

Examples: - What kind of team do you need? - Whom do you get the information from locally ? - Who do you Tweet? Who is your focal point? - What do you Tweet? What do you need? - Choose a Hashtag

Thank You!
Follow us on Twitter

@MIGSInstitute @DMAP_Lab @kylecmatthews @MarieLamensch84