FINAL PROJECT

Twitters's Home Page
Photo By: Emily Calhoun



Junior Katie Sasser checks her phone for Twitter updates.
Photo By: Emily Calhoun


A close up view of Twitter on an Iphone.
Photo By: Emily Calhoun

Heather Spencer and Katie Sasser Discuss their favorite Twitter "Tweets"

Twitter's use within Gaylord College and OU's Career Services

OU's use of Twitter
Story By: Emily Cahoun

Twitter, a once foreign word for internet users is "fluttering" its way into the every day lives of OU students and faculty members.

"I log on twitter about 4 times a day, Junior Katie Sasser said. "Either just to see what is happening on the news or it's always fun to see what the Jonas Brothers are doing on any random day."
This type of dedication to a social networking device, other than Facebook, is what's luring OU colleges and services to it's login page.

"I think it is important for us to understand what the students are plugged into," Director of OU Career Services Bette Scott said. "We felt like the students were plugged into twitter."

With its 140 word maximum within each "tweet", OU departments can inform students of upcoming job fairs, last minute application deadlines and internship opportunities.

"We primarily use it to give students up-to-date information on what we're seeing happening in the job market," Scott said. "And tips, workshops, fairs, and services we provide."

Jack Dorsey, creator of Twitter, originally started this rapidly growing website in order to keep tabs on what his friends and family were doing. From 2006 to late 2007, the company grew. As the site gained popularity, Twitter Inc. was founded.

Mimicking his original idea, Twitter has taken on many forms. Whether its checking news headlines, keeping up with your favorite celebrity or finding new jobs prospects, Twitter provides it all.

Gaylord College's Career and Internship Coordinator Heather Spencer saw Twitter's growing potential when she first joined more than 9 months ago.

"I try to build relationships on twitter," Spencer said. "If that means I share a little piece of myself with my followers and then I get a piece of them back."

Throughout the past months, Spencer has watched twitter grow instantaneously. She now has over 900 people following her every "tweet"

"Its a growing phenomenon among our students," Spencer said. "What I do with the students is say, hey there's an internship available or here is some great information you might need to know that concerns your major."

Although Spencer uses twitter for both personal and professional reasons, she credits it to helping enhance student's future opportunities.

"You need to know people on a one-to-one basis," Spencer said. "You need to know them electronically. You need to know them professionally. That way those networking connections can help to you to maybe one day have a new client or use them for a job prospect."

Although Twitter does have a strict amount of characters one can write, Spencer says this is actually a boost for communication skills.

"You learn how to be very succinct in what you have to say and how you get that information across," Spencer said. "You only have so many letters and spaces you have to use, 140. If you can get your point across in that short amount of space, without using shortcuts, then you pretty much have it made, because you can communicate well."

Spencer admits Twitter may not be for everyone ,but it's a site that one needs to be familiar as it continues to gain popularity among the workplace.

"There are people who don't want to share that much about their lives," Spencer said. "But they need to understand it. They need to know how it works, how to pitch it to their clients, or how it would relate to their clients."

Although it is clear that not all OU students have dipped their feet in the Twitter realm, Spencer suggests that other OU colleges should consider it as an option for communication with their students.

"It's something that each individual college needs to sit down with all their leadership and say is this something that's good for us?" Spencer said. "And if were not going to use it to the best of it's abilities, then well look else where. That's really what it's about."

With multiple OU colleges and services including OU Athletics, Prospective Students, CAC, and College of Architecture all jumping into the trend, Only time will tell if this growing site will continue to intertwine itself onto the OU campus. But, for now, it has made itself known.

"I think it's great that OU has attempted to get connected with student's in this new way," Junior Dan McCarthy said. "It just proves that OU is a college that strives to stay up-to-date with it's students.