Archive for May 2009

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. May 17th: 50% off on Universal Boxing Manager

Mon. May 18th: 50% off on The Goalkeeper

Tue. May 19th: 50% off on TV Station Manager

Wed. May 20th: 50% off on President Forever 2008 + Primaries

Thu. May 21st: 50% off on Prime Minister Forever – Canada 2008

Fri. May 22nd: 50% off on ArkanDROID

Sat. May 23rd: 100% off on Adron

I have the fondest memories of field day in elementary school. All the classrooms would have their own shirts with their teacher’s name and a mascot. I’ve been a Haines Hound, Vickers Viking and Strickland Spartan. We competed against other homerooms in the same grade levels and won ribbons at the end of the day. I still have my good sportsmanship ribbon from first grade. Probably the only time I ever deserved it

Imagine my surprise when I went to field day at our main elementary school when my daughter was in first grade (she’s in ninth now). The whole school wears one t-shirt (there may be color variations) and there are no ribbons or anything. Just a fun day with lots of group activities ending with a teacher’s tug-of-war. I think it’s a wonderful way to emphasize good sportsmanship and having fun while exercising.

• Tips for Usability Professionals in a Down Economy (applies in an up one, too).
• Social PR Survey II: Continued disconnect between clients, agencies
• Ten Twitter Mythconceptions
• 31 Ways to Get Inspired
• Industry-specific Twitter Guides by Profession
• Styling your Lists: 20+ Brilliant How tos and Best Practices
• The Ultimate Collection of The Best Light Swirl Photoshop Brushes

• 11 Geeky Mouse Pads: I have the color code, but don’t use it as a mousepad (not enough traction).
• Invisible cat door
• *PEW PEW*, NOM NOM: An AT-AT Cake
• If Microsoft ruled the world

Photo credit Scouts Caslu

Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. MySpace. Social Median. FriendFeed. Friendster. Ryze. Blogs. It’s never-ending. Those of us who work to keep up with social media as a marketing and publicity tool feel like we’re drowning in a pool of “Be my friend,” “Join my group” and “Update me.”

It’s like tangled cables. You have all these resources that connect you to a network of many, but the tangles drive you crazy.

• Tell yourself that no one can keep up with it all. Well, maybe the one person who can make it a full-time job to do it without worrying about money.
• Create a profile at all the reputable sites. I said create a profile, not go there every day.
• Pick three to use on a regular basis. Generally, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
• Connect other sites with your Twitter and Facebook feeds. Many sites now let you update them through Twitter and Facebook. This way it looks like you’re active, which you are — just not at that specific site.

Fascinating Twitter conversations with just 140 characters and the addicting Facebook applications can engulf you. Here’s how I control my social networking cravings so they don’t get in the way of my work:

• Create a folder called “social media” or “social network” and filter everything from twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. etc. into that folder. Check it once or twice a day. This made the biggest difference.
• Avoid using applications like Tweetdeck. With Tweetdeck putting a lot of features in your control, it’s easy to get carried away. Twitter and Facebook almost never have slow times.
• Multitask. I try to participate in two twitter chats every week. On those days, I tend not to sign in twitter until those chats start and catch up then using tabs and multiple monitors.
• Stay off when you’re most effective. I do my best work in the morning. So no social networking in the morning. Instead, I write and write.
• Use monitoring tools. If you have to know when someone mentions your company, you or something else, let the monitors do the job for you. I know some don’t do a perfect job as I use several that haven’t been consistent in reporting. Read this great article at Web Worker Daily on mining twitter.

Don’t let social networking overwhelm you. You’re the boss of your time and very few can be all over the place on a regular basis. Instead, take a step back and prioritize. Having a profile is better than nothing. Besides, you can point to where people can find you.

How do you manage your social networking activities?

Samantha Swift fresh from her Roses of Athena Adventure readies herself for another that follows Midas’ golden touch. In Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch, a client hires Samantha to find Alexander the Great’s scroll, which lists all of the items that King Midas turned to gold. She can keep whatever else she finds on the quest, and of course, she puts everything in a museum to share with the world. Samantha naturally runs into trouble as someone wants to use Midas’ secret to turn everything to gold.

In this long lasting hidden object game, players have plenty to do to prevent boredom in searching the hand-drawn scenes for objects. Mini-games and puzzles are plentiful with no repetition. Many of the items that Samantha must find end up in her inventory for use later on. Instead of finding stop signs and other unrelated objects, Samantha picks up things that will go in the museum or further her quest.

The mini-games add a touch of the game’s theme and style. In its version of mah jongg, it has symbols that fell on top of each other. You match pairs that aren’t blocked and the symbols have a role after you solve the mini-game. A match three mini-game also appears, and again, it matches the story and current mystery. It’s rare for a player to enjoy all of the mini-games, but Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch does a beautiful job of fitting the games with the story without any repetition.

The puzzles have you interacting with objects from your inventory and the scene. While fun, these turn into a guessing game. Often, you can’t tell what you need to do in the scene. All you need to do is move your cursor around the scene until you see two blue gears turning. Once you do, you can figure out the rest. Sometimes it takes time to pinpoint where you need to go.

The visuals remain as sharp and charming with a nice complement from the audio. Story updates come in bite-sizes and short cutscenes to avoid overwhelming players with too much info. The story flows and intrigues from beginning to end.

The very young and those new to hidden object games delight in playing Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch. It provides endless amounts of hints and help. Every scene contains lightning bolts, which gives you hints anytime you need it. It takes little time to pile up on them.

Furthermore, a scanner shows you the outline of any object you need to find AND turn from white to orange to red to let you know how close you are to the item. Experienced players can challenge themselves not to use any hints or help. However, some items don’t look like what you expect. You could let the scanner show you what the item looks like and then click another item to turn off the scanner so you can find the item on your own. If you click too many times without hitting anything, the scanner punishes you by turning itself off for a few minutes.

Though hints are plentiful and guessing games needed, Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch is a game worth touching.

Download the game from Big Fish Games.

Adding “Tycoon” to the Dinertown Tycoon name is a smart move. This way people don’t confuse this game with Diner Dash even though Flo appears in it. Plus, many gamers know what it means to be a tycoon game. A tycoon game involves running a business, making decisions and running the day to see how your decisions make out.

I loved Fairy Godmother Tycoon (FGT). If you don’t like FGT or tycoon games, this isn’t for you. Dash fans will recognize many of the 25 customers from the various Diner Dash and Wedding Dash games. This one doesn’t quiet measure up to FGT, but provides enough entertainment for a rainy day afternoon, or in my case, fighting a cold.

In this one, Flo goes up against Grub Burger, which has a secret sauce containing the mysterious Ingredient X (I think it’s the same ingredient that makes a lot of us Sonic drink fans keep coming back. Except Sonic is a good company. Grub ain’t.). Flo manages the menu with 90 dishes available for the buying, stocks up ingredients, set prices and buy new signs to attract the public.

Flo manages various types of restaurants as she makes way through five neighborhoods in an effort to run Grub Burgers out of town. The game leaves room for mistakes as I am guilty of a few. For instance, I accidentally click to buy a new dish, when I meant to close the window. I wish Dinertown Tycoon had an undo feature.

Like most tycoon games, you need to strategize before starting a new day. Where do you spend the money? Ingredients? Advertising? Signs? You also get a newspaper so you can see what’s hot as you prepare for another day. The newspaper has one hot ingredient and a Daily Chef Challenge. Beating the challenge will help you drive down Grub Burger’s takeover. More on that in a moment.

Start the day and watch the people eat at the restaurants. Sometimes you’ll notice a bubble over their heads with their thoughts. They could be unhappy with the prices, a satisfied Grub customer, a happy Flo customer (hearts) or coming to your restaurant because of an ad. You’ll be able to identify what kind of ad influenced them to come so you can figure out if you put it in the best place or not.

Some customers come out of your restaurant with a coin over their heads. Click to receive the tip. It’s a clever idea to encourage interaction with the stimulation, which is usually hands-off. However, clicking the coin products a fountain of coins and blocks your view as others may have coins.

Customers also disappear behind some of the game’s features or the restaurant is near the edge, making it harder to see the customers. On top of it, you’re looking for Flo. If you find and click her, she’ll send people your way. It’s a frenzy trying to watch for coins and Flo especially if you own more than one restaurant.

At the end of the day, you’ll see the totals for each customer. The goal is to sell 50 or 100 dishes (depends on the neighborhood) to each customer to complete the neighborhood and push out Grub Burgers. If Grub sells too much Ingredient X (there’s a test tube with green goo to measure its progress), you’re out of business. If you meet the Daily Chef Challenge, you’ll lower the Ingredient X meter.

You can also conduct market research to get to know a customers’ likes. These consist of three ingredients. When you offer a dish with at least one of those, you’ll improve your chances of meeting your 50 to 100 customer goal for that customer type. Oh, and it costs money to do the research. So Dinertown Tycoon is a balancing act of buying the right amount of ingredients, new menu items, ads and all that.

One thing I don’t realize for more than half the game is the Daily Chef Challenge telling me to sell 12 sale dishes or 12 premium dishes. Whenever I fiddle with the price, nothing happens until one time I decide to go way low and discover the price name changes from “regular” to “sale.” Go high enough and it turns into “premium.”

Also, I wish the game would let me know how close I come to meeting the Daily Chef Challenge. I sold at least 12 premium-priced dishes, but I didn’t win it. Why? It needs to clarify these things.

It only takes an afternoon to get through all five neighborhoods even with my losing one neighborhood. The ending also disappoints. At least, the game lets you replay the neighborhood in hopes of making every dish to earn the associated trophy. Considering there are many routes you can take in your decision-making, it’s a challenge to play the game twice, thrice or many times as you try different approaches.

Although not tops, Dinertown Tycoon is a fine tycoon game.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. May 10th: 50% off on Fishdom

Mon. May 11th: 50% off on New Star Soccer 4

Tue. May 12th: 50% off on New Star GP

Wed. May 13th: 60% off on Bloom

Thu. May 14th: 50% off on The Book of Wanderer – The Story of Dragons

Fri. May 15th: 50% off on Heileen

Sat. May 16th: 50% off on Supernova 2

I’m very lucky to have a fabulous mom. Thanks, Mom.

• The Peacock Guide to Landing Pages: Amy mentions the Twitter bio. My advice is to add keywords important to you and your business plus a couple of fun facts about yourself.
• The Myth of the Sales Page: Right on, Sean! I’m not going to buy something after clicking a link that takes me to the landing page. This is exactly why businesses need to use different social networking tools.
• Effective Networking for Book Publishing: No longer can authors depend on publishers to do the promotion — unless your name is John Grisham or some other hot shot.
• An Open Letter to “New” Writers

• Free Music Archive: Yes, free and legal.
• Paintalicious – Thomas Allen’s Book Art Photography: “Blogzine of exciting contemporary art, showcasing an eclectic mix of underground artists, pop surrealists, emerging and rediscovered counter cultures.”
• My First Dictionary: Dick and Jane style wholesome pictures meet cruel world. For word lovers.
• &, the carrying case; &, the book and &, the tee: Who doesn’t love that gorgeous symbol? [Links: Havi]
• What NOT to get for the baby or toddler

Image credit Vincent Abry

Update: Updated list of twitter chats here.

Twitter chats are growing faster than one person can keep up with them as there are hundreds today. That’s incredible.

This editable Google spreadsheet of chats came to be as a result of this list so people can enter and delete their own chats. That should be your go to resource for chats. Thanks for all your support.

ShortURL to this post: http://bit.ly/twitterchats

Twitter group chats offer a clever and effective way to meet people with like interests and to share insights into the topic of discussion. Chatters track their conversations using hashtags (#) followed by the name of the chat, i.e. #journchat.

While we can search for these groups by their names as in “journchat” and “editorchat,” the reason we had the # in front is to separate them from those just mentioning those words in conversation. It’s not as if we’re going to mention “journchat” in our conversation without a reference to the chat, but there are other names like “Star Wars” that can mean the difference between # and no #.

Here’s a list of Twitter chats in alphabetical order. A detailed list appears after the list sorted by the day of the week. Please add chats, more information and corrections in the comments and I’ll update the list. To join a chat, check the post on how to join Twitter chats.

Note: these are organized chats with a set time, not just conversations that happen anytime someone uses the hashtag. While this list would love to include them, it’d turn it into a lengthy one. Here’s a great example of such a chat (even I use it):

#amwritiing: A slow chat where you’re not expected to stay tuned-in constantly. The chat happens in the background of your writing day. It is a virtual watercooler for writers, a place you can hang out and talk to other writers about your current writing projects (and theirs) and then you get back to work. The energy of writers who post here is amazing. Chat details. #amwriting is not a one-person endeavor. A lot of amazing people have jumped in and made the hashtag their own.

Note: All times listed in Central Time with a couple of noted exceptions. Find out what time the chat occurs in your area with the time zone converter.

Alphabet List of Chats

#4sqchat: Mondays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#agchat: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#agencychat: Fridays, 1:00pm – 2:00pm CT.

#AgeOp: Thursdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#amwriting: Slow chat that runs in background.

#ARChat: Tuesdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#assnchat: Tuesdays, 1:00pm-2:00pm CT.

#b2bchat: Thursdays, 7:00pm-8:00pm CT.

#bizforum: Wednesdays, 7:00pm-8:00pm CT.

#blogchat: Sundays, 8:00pm to 10:00pm CT.

#bookmarket: Thursdays, 3:00pm to 4:00pm CT.

#brandchat: Wednesdays, 10:00am to 11:00am CT.

#carchat: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#careerchat: Tuesdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CST.

#collegechat: First and third Tuesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#commschat: Mondays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm UK.

#custserv: Tuesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#digicar: Fridays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#dogtalk: Mondays, 8:15pm to 9:15pm CT.

#educhat: No set schedule.

#eeochat: Wednesdays, 6:00pm to 7:00pm CT.

#eventprofs: Tuesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT and Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#ffparty: Fridays.

#followreader: Fridays, 3:00pm to 4:00pm CT. (Thursdays in the summer.)

#foodchat: Third Tuesday of the month, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#HBRchat: Thursdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#hcsm: Sundays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#hcmktg: Fridays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#herchat. Ever other Wednesday, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#imcchat: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#innochat: Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#internchat: Every other Tuesday, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#IRChat: Thursdays, 10:00am to 11:00am CT.

#jobchat: Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00pm CT.

#journ2journ: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:30pm CT.

#journchat: Mondays, 7:00pm to 10:00pm CT.

#kaizenblog: Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#kidlitchat: Tuesdays, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm CT.

#latism: Thursdays, 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm CT.

#lbschat: Thursdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#leadershipchat: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#litchat: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm CT.

#lrnchat: Thursdays, 7:30pm to 9:00pm CT.

#MBizChat: Mondays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#MedDevice: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#nacersano: No set dates. Always midweek at 2:00 pm CT.

#poetry: Thursdays, 8:00pm to 9:00 pm CT.

#pr20chat: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#pregnancychat: No set dates. Always midweek at 2:00 pm CT.

#prstudchat: Monthly.

#prwebchat: Every other Thursday, 1:00pm to 1:30pm CT.

#queryday: No set schedule.

#runchat: Thursdays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm CT.

#sbbuzz: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#sbt10: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#scifichat: Fridays, 1:00pm to 3:00pm CT.

#scribechat: Thursdays, 8:00pm to 9:15pm CT.

#scriptchat: Sundays, 8:00 GMT for Euro and 7:00pm CT for U.S.

#smallbizchat: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#smbiz: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#smchat: Wednesdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#spjchat: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#socpharm: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#solorpr: Wednesdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#somechat: Mondays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#spbkchat: Thursdays, 5:00am to 7:00am CT.

#talentnet: last Wednesday of the month, 8:00pm to 10:00pm CT.

#tbc: generally second Monday of the month, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm CT.

#tchat: Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00pm CT.

#techchat: Tuesdays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm CT.

#tni: Thursdays, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm CT.

#travelchat: Mondays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#u30pro: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 10:00pm CT.

#UFchat: Saturdays, 6:00pm to 7:00pm CT.

#vikingschat: During Minneosta Viking games.

#wclw: Last Wednesday of the month, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#writechat: Sundays, 2:00pm to 5:00pm CT.

#writersmovement: Saturdays, 5:00pm to 6:00pm CT.

#yalitchat: Wednesdays, 8:00pm CT.

Sunday

#writechat: Moderated by @WritingSpirit. When: Sundays, 2:00pm to 5:00pm CT.

#blogchat: Bettering your blog. Moderated by . Blogchat recaps. Moderated by @MackCollier. When: Sundays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#hcsm: “The Healthcare Communication & Social Media community hosts a weekly Twitter conversation about communication and marketing practices by healthcare organizations, including use of social media.” Moderated by @HealthSocMed and #danamlewis. Chat web site. When: Sundays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#scriptchat: Connects aspiring and seasoned screenwriters to learn and grow. Moderated by @jeannevb (US) and @DreamsGrafter (EURO). Screenchat web site. Also follow @scriptchat. When: Sundays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT (US) and 8:00 GMT (EURO).

Monday

#travelchat: Discuss travel including location, transportation, inexpensive travel, sightseeing and more. Moderated by @newyorkhotel. (Moderators will rotate, but @newyorkhotel can provide details.) Details on New Yorker Facebook page.When: Mondays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#commschat: “Based out of the UK that looks at all aspects relating to communications, including PR, traditional and social media, journalism, blogging, marketing and more. Part of the rationale behind the launch of the Twitter chat is to compliment the chats based out of the USA but staged at a more European-friendly time.” Visit #commchat blog for information and transcripts. Moderated by @AdamVincenzini and @EmilyCagle. When: Mondays, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm UK.

#litchat: “Mission is to connect readers with books and authors.” Transcripts available on blog. Moderated by @litchat. When: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm CT.

#journchat: “Conversation between journalists, bloggers and public relations folks. Moderated by @PRsarahevans.” When: 7:00pm to 10pm CT.

#dogtalk: A weekly discussion on dogs. Moderators: @fangshuicanines and @turtlelady81. When: Mondays, 8:15pm to 9:15pm CT.

#tbc: The Book Club discusses a specific book and drink wine. We have our priorities straight! Moderated by @thebookmaven. When: Generally second Monday of the month, 8:00 pm-9:00 pm CT.

#MBizChat: It’s a music business chat with special attention paid to marketing, public relations, distribution, and developments in the digital landscape. Moderated by @SincerelyJane and #mbizchat. Chat page. When: Mondays, 8:00 pm-9:00 pm CT.

#4sqchat: Discusses Foursquare. Moderated by #4SqINDY. Chat page. When: Mondays, 8:00 pm-9:00 pm CT.

#somechat: Talking social media. SoMeChat page. Moderated by @SoMeChat. When: Mondays, 8:00 pm-9:00 pm CT.

Tuesday

#ARChat: “Weekly themed conversation for business professionals that deal with industry analysts (IA) and influencers. This includes analyst relations (AR), public relations (PR), investor relations (IR) and marketing professionals and IAs themselves. Focus is both best practices and pressing issues or trends. Moderator @MyPath_MP and @ARChat. When: Tuesdays, 11:00am-12:00pm CT.

#careerchat: “Weekly discussion for professionals looking for career advice. Discuss how to move your career forward, improve your skills, or just find out if you should friend your boss on Facebook.” Post all career questions and watch for upcoming topics by following moderators @MyPath_MP and @bizMebizgal. When: Tuesdays, 12:00pm-1:00pm CT.

#assnchat: “Open to any all members of the association community, including staff, consultants, volunteer leaders and members. Explore the present and future of associations. Bring your issues and questions!” Moderated by @kikilitalien with assistance from others. When: Tuesdays, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm CT.

#sbbuzz: “A weekly chat about small businesses for small business owners, techies, social media mavens and folks who love ‘em.” More focused on tech in small business. Moderated by @sbbuzz, @pmohara and @mriggen. Chat web site. When: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#smbiz: “Open chat session where small businesses of every kind can meet, network and ask all kinds of questions in any of the aforementioned areas.” Moderated by @smbiz, @sternalpr, @sternalmrktg. Details about #smbiz. When: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#pr20chat: Discussion of where PR is heading. Web site. Moderated by @jgoldsborough and @prtini.” When: 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#jobchat: Serving job seekers looking for advice on finding a job and making social media part of their job search. #jobchat details. Moderated by @BeTheButterfly and @nealschaffer. When: Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00pm CT.

#internchat: Discusses internships and advice. I Am Intern has more info. Moderated by @internqueen and @heatherhuhman. Submit questions ahead of time through Twitter or formspring. When: Every other Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00pm CT.

#techchat: Chat with experts about social media for high-tech and B2B marketing. See What the Hash page for transcripts and info. Moderated by @marketingprofs. When: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#sbt10: Start Blogging Today covers blogging for business. Moderated by @GrantGriffiths. Details and transcript for #sbt10. When: Tuesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CST.

#agchat: “The mission of #agchat is to keep an ongoing, open dialogue amongst the various players in the agriculture, farming and ranching worlds. For people in agriculture, including those in the business of producing food, feed, fuel and fiber.” Moderated by @mpaynknoper. When: Tuesdays, 7:00 to 9:00 pm CT.

#leadershipchat: Discusses most current leadership challenges of the day. Leadership Chat information. Moderators @LisaPetrilli and @swoodruff. When: Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00 pm CT.

#tchat: World of Work. Diverse community blogging recruiting + careers/workplace + leadership + innovation + 3.0. More info on #tchat. Moderated by @talentculture / @MeghanMBiro. When: Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00 pm CT.

#foodchat: “Monthly conversation Designed to bring consumers together with agriculture on the third Tuesday of each month to bridge the farm gate to the consumer plate.” Moderated by #foodchat and #mpaynknoper. When: Third Tuesday of the month, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#kidlitchat: Discussion on writing books for children and young adults. Moderated by @BonnieAdamson and @gregpincus. When: Tuesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#custserv: Discussion on customer service. Chat archives. Moderated by @MarshaCollier and @JeffreyJKingman. When: Tuesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#eventprofs: Gathering of event professionals. Wiki of chat topics and archives of past chats, schedule and moderators. Chat details. Moderated by @ready2spark and @eventprofs. When: Tuesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CST and Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#collegechat: Bi-monthly discussion for teens, college students, parents and high education experts. Chats cover the college admissions process, college life, interrnships, course work, majors, grad school and careers after graduation. Moderated by @collegechat. More info on #collegechat. When: First and third Tuesdays of the month, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

Wednesday

#brandchat: A discussion between experts, strategists, and those interested in learning more about personal branding and managing brands. Brandchat site and Twitter ID. Moderated by #mariaduron and #davidsandusky. When: Wednesdays, 10:00am to 11:00am CST.

#smchat: A discussion on the power of social media among active practitioners and strategists. Anyone interested in driving value from online interaction and collaboration is welcome. Be ready for a discussion that’s sometimes technical but always lively. We explore dynamics of social & professional interaction, twitter, online communities, and the evolution of knowledge networks. Moderated by @sourcepov. See #smchat page on What the Hashtag? for more details. Members should watch #socialmedia #collaboration and #km for insight. When: Wednesdays, 12:00pm – 1:00pm CST.

#solopr: “Open discussions that serve as a companion to the SoloPRpro.com blog, designed for independent PR and MarCom pros – and those who’d like to be.” See #SoloPR whashtag page. Moderated by @kellyeCrane. When: Wednesdays, 12:00pm – 1:00pm CST.

#litchat: “Mission is to connect readers with books and authors.” Transcripts available on blog. Moderated by @litchat. When: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, 3:00 pm-4:00 pm CST.

#eeochat: EEOChat is the only chat focusing exclusively on EEO compliance and employment litigation risk management. Brought to you by the folks at The Proactive Employer. #EEOChat provides practical tips and easy-to-implement suggestions to help you get – and stay – EEO compliant and manage your risk of employment litigation. Moderated by Stephanie R. Thomas (@ProactiveStats). When: Wednesdays, 6:00pm to 7:00pm CST.

#carchat: Discussion about cars and the automotive industry. Facebook group. Moderated by @michaelbanovsky. When: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CST.

#imcchat: “For marketers who want to discuss or debate integrated marketing communications.” Moderated by @bethharte and @abarcelos. Follow IMCchat and see Facebook Page. When: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CST.

#smallbizchat: “Helpful tips and advice geared toward small business startups and those that have been in business for less than five years.” Follow @smallbizchat for weekly details. Moderated by @smallbizlady and cohost @CathyWebSavvyPR. When: Wednesdays, 7:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#socpharm: Talks pharma marketing and social media. Moderated by @eileenobrien. When: Wednesdays, 7:00 to 8:00pm CT.

#bizforum: Weekly debate developed to provide a forum where people with varying points of view on trending business-related topics can present those views and debate the pros and cons with other business leaders. There are no right or wrong answers, only points of view backed up by the experiences of various business professionals. More info. Moderated by @samfiorella.

#herchat: Women’s health. Moderated by @empowher. When: Every other Wednesday, 7:00 to 8:00pm CT.

#yalitchat: Talking young adult literature. Moderated by @georgia_mcbride. YAlitchat page. When: Wednesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#talentnet: “Chat is for an audience of recruiters, sourcers, researchers and other HR professionals interested in social media for recruiting and branding.” More details on chat and Facebook page. Moderated by @fishdogs and @pinkolivefamily. When: last Wednesday of the month, 8:00pm to 10:00pm CT.

#yalitchat: Talking young adult literature. Moderated by @georgia_mcbride. YAlitchat page. When: Wednesdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#wclw: Chats for writers and bloggers. Chat info and scripts. Moderated by @MichelleRafter. When: Last Wednesday of the month, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

Thursday

#IRChat: Chat for investor relations professionals to discuss best practices, current hot topics, regulatory issues, implementation of social media for investor relations, etc. Participants are global. Moderated by @MeetTheStreet and @Q4WebSystems. When: Thursdays, 10:00am to 11:00pm CT.

#kaizenblog: How to practice Kaizen based on Kaizen and Blogging. Moderated by @ConversationAge. When: Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#eventprofs: Gathering of event professionals. Wiki of chat topics and archives of past chats, schedule and moderators. Moderated by @ready2spark and @eventprofs. When: Mondays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CST and Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CST.

#innochat: Discusses the “what” of innovation. Innochat website. Moderated by @renne_hopkins and @gwen_ishmael. When: Thursdays, 11:00am to 12:00pm CT.

#HBRchat: Chat run by Harvard Business Review magazine, HBR.org. Chat updates available on HBR Facebook page and What the Hashtag page. Moderated by @hbrexchange. When: Thursdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CT.

#prwebchat: Chat with influencers and learn about their PR techniques, online marketing strategies, social media strategies and similar topics. Topics include PR, SEO, social media and the like for individuals, agencies and small businesses. Moderated by @prweb. #prweb What the Hashtag page. When: Every other Thursday, 1:00pm to 1:30pm CT.

#tni: Travelers’ Night In, a weekly travel chat. Chat with travel experts and addicts alike and learn about the latest ideas in the travel world. Chat info. Moderated by @GoApril @ZipSetAndrea @GoSaraBeth @ZipSetRachel @ZipSetGo. When: Thursdays, 2:30pm to 3:30pm CT.

#bookmarket: Book marketing. Moderated by @ClaudiaC/ / @BookMarketChat. Book market chat website. When: Thursdays, 3:00pm to 4:00pm CT.

#b2bchat: “The objective is to bring the B2B marketing community together every week covering a full range of topics from demand generation to print to direct mail to social media. Participate and share your thoughts, questions, opinions and best practices that will help you do your job better, while connecting you with the business to business marketers on Twitter.” Moderated by @KseniaCoffman, @AndrewSpoeth, @KentHuffman and @JeremyVictor. When: Thursdays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm CT.

#runchat: A chat for runners of all levels and distances. Moderated by @iRunnerBlog and @RunningBecause. See Runchat web page. When: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#spjchat: Society of Professional Journalists chat. Moderated by @spjchat. When: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#MedDevice: Covers topics affecting medical device industry participants including healthcare reform, reimbursement and insurance, selling through medical distribution or directly to physicians, commercialization and FDA, electronic medical records and connectivity, marketing and sales, and more. Join the LinkedIn group for transcripts and a chance to feature your business in the discussion. Moderated by @medicalmarcom.

#journ2journ: Reporters help other reporters in some manner and discuss journalism challenges. Moderated by @journ2journ. Chat recaps on Poynter. When: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:30pm CT.

#tweetin: Moderated by @LinkedInExpert. See Linked in to Business. When: Thursdays (not weekly, check site), 7:00pm to 8:30pm CT.

#u30pro: Discusses how to bridge the generational gap, demolish stereotypes and break down differences in the professional workplace. Open to all ages. Moderated by @u30pro, @davidspinks and @CubanaLAF. When: Thursdays, 7:00pm to 8:00pm CT.

#lrnchat for people interested in the topic of learning who use the social messaging service Twitter to learn from one another and discuss how to help other people learn. Moderated by @marciamarcia. When: Thursdays, 7:30pm – 9:00pm CT.

#AgeOp: “For those interested in getting more out of life, marketing to the 50+ demographic, interested in the politics of aging, the tragedy of ageism, the explosion of masters athletics, the value of experience, the key to health and vitality, how the 50+ market uses the internet, and on and on.” Moderated by @kwidrick and @ageopportunity. When: Thursdays, 8:00pm – 9:00pm CT.

#poetry: “We talk poetry. Readers, writers, and all others encouraged to join.” Moderated by @gregpincus. When: Thursdays, 8:00pm – 9:00pm CT.

#scribechat: General chat across all genres about writing craft and publishing industry. Published guest hosts, agents, editors, etc. all join in the fun. Transcripts and chat info. Moderated by @liakeyes. When: Thursdays, 8:00pm – 9:15pm CT.

#latism: Largest non-profit organization of Latinos involved in social media chats all things that matter to Latinos. #latinsm What the Hashtag?! chat info page and transcripts. Moderated by @ergeekgoddess. When: Thursdays, 8:00pm – 10:00pm CT.

#lbschat: Explores location-based social media and technology. Moderated by @LBSchat. Chat page. When: Thursdays, 8:00pm to 9:00pm CT.

#spbkchat: #spbkchat is a weekly Twitter chat aimed at providing people within the South Pacific and surrounding Asian countries a time zone friendly bookish conversation. Moderated by @justaddbooks. Chat page and times. When: Thursdays, 5:00am to 7:00am CST.

Friday

#ffparty: “A virtual nightclub on Twitter where the creative class gathers from all over the world for a Friday Art Party. Artists of all types share creative expression. Guests at #ffparty drape themselves in beautiful clothes, listen to cool music, mingle with contemporaries, and bring their work, or share other’s work, displaying their creative and original flair.” Moderated by @blogbrevity. #ffparty explained. When: Fridays.

#hcmktg: Chat related to healthcare marketing. Moderated by @hcmktg, @IntervalChris, @TalstoneDJ and @reedsmith. Chat web site. When: Fridays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CST.

#digicar: Chat on connected vehicles, telematics, and digital car trends, policies and more. Moderated by @connectedcar. When: Fridays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm CST.

#agencychat: Chat for those working or interested in ad agencies. Moderated by @craigritchie. Facebook page. When: Fridays, 1:00pm to 2:00pm CST.

#scifichat: A weekly chat about science fiction and fantasy, coering books, TV, film and games. Moderated by @DavidRozansky / @scifichat. When: Fridays, 1:00pm to 3:00pm CST.

#litchat: “Mission is to connect readers with books and authors.” Transcripts available on blog. Moderated by @litchat. When: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, 3:00 pm-4:00 pm CST.

#followreader: Digital publishing. Chat info on Follow the Reader blog. Moderated by @charabbott/. When: Fridays, 3:00pm to 4:00pm CST. (Thursdays in the summer.)

Saturday

#writersmovement: “An online community where writers and aspiring authors meet for chat, exchange of knowledge and ideas, and promotion.” More info on #writersmovement website. Moderated by Tiffanie Minnis (@authortiffanie) and Benjamin Jones (@maddwriter). When: Saturdays, 5:00pm to 6:00pm CST

#ufchat: Discussion for urban fantasy writers and readers. More info on #UFChat blog. Moderated by @inkgypsy and @snowppl. When: Saturdays, 6:00pm to 7:00pm CST

No Set Schedule

#educhat: “While we could discuss many topics in a given evening, it is currently thought that each week would see discussions focused on a single broad topic” surrounding education. #educhat web site and information. Moderated by @educhat. When: No set schedule.

#nacersano: Spanish version of #pregnancychat. Check @marchofdimes for details and dates. No set schedule, but it’s once a month and midweek at 2:00 pm CST.

#pregnancychat: Chat on pregnancy-related topics. Check @marchofdimes for details and dates. No set schedule, but it’s once a month and midweek at 2:00 pm CST.

#prstudchat: “Monthly Twitter chat designed to bring together PR students, professionals,and educators for a dynamic conversation about the Public Relations Industry and to provide opportunities for learning, networking and mentoring relationships.” #PRStudChat LinkedIn page lists info for upcoming chats. Moderated by @dbreakenridge and @valeriesimon. When: Monthly.

#queryday: Discusses how to query well. Held every other month and moderated by Colleen Lindsay. When: No set schedule.

#vikingschat: Discusses Minnesota Vikings football team during every Vikings game. Typically on Sundays at 12pm CST or 3pm CST. Moderated by #mnvikingschat. Visit Minnesota Vikings Chat for more info. When: During Minnesota Vikings games.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

A tweet chat happens in the middle of all the twitter frenzy. These organized group conversations discuss a specific topic and note the chat is part of that topic with a hashtag (#). People sharing an interest in a topic create these chats to discuss the various aspects of the topic. Some pose questions to the group and others build a dialogue around the topic.

So far, I’ve seen three types of twitter chats:

• Pose questions for group to answer.
• Bring in a guest speaker to lead conversation.
• Open dialogue.

Some groups, especially the large ones like #journchat, have rules to help the chat move along smoothly. Smaller groups don’t struggle as much with tweets flying like crazy. Usually the groups have a moderator — generally the person who started the group. Some bring in guest moderators to step in for the moderator.

You can weed out the rest of twitterverse to view just the conversation on the selected topic using a Twitter chat tool. You can also enter the hashtag group (i.e. #journchat, #editorchat, #b2bmktgchat) into Twitter search to find all the tweets on the topic and reply to those.

Tools to Track Chats

TweetChat: Web based app where you enter chat room name, click User Control to enter names of users to feature (their tweets show up bolder) and users to block. Enter your comments into the box without adding the hashtag. TweetChat does this automatically. You can participate in more than one chat by opening another tab for another chat. My favorite.

TweetGrid: Web-based app that can monitor more than one hashtag or chat. Enter the name or hashtag into the search box, sign in so you can tweet. You’ll have to enter the hashtag name so it will go to the right group. My fallback.

TweetDeck: Desktop software that lets you create a new column that filters the hashtag or chat name.

Moniterr: Web-based app that lets you monitor three hashtags or keywords. But you can’t tweet from within the app unless you Reply.

TweeTree: Web-based app that monitors hashtags and keywords. No replies, but includes ellipses (…) for seeing the original tweet or viewing the link to post within TweetTwee. Also allows you to share conversation with others by sending the unique URL, i.e. http://tweetree.com/search?q=%23editorchat

Roomatic: Web-based app that monitors hashtags and keywords. No replies. Clunky, but lets you share the conversation with others by sending the unique URL, i.e. http://www.roomatic.com/%23editorchat (%23 is the code for #).

Twemes: Follows tweets with hashtags. This service provides an easy to remember URL to chats, such as http://twemes.com/editorchat. Twemes has a right column that highlights hot topics, links and photos for the hashtag group.

RSS Feed: If you like reading feeds, you can grab a feed for your hashtag group in Twitter search. Enter the hashtag and then copy the link in “Feed for this query” into your feed reader.

Now that you know how to follow along with twitter chats, join a chat.

How do you track twitter conversations?

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