A lot of editors spend a lot of time on Twitter. One of the many ways they interact with each other is through tweet chats—structured group discussions scheduled for a specific day and time and using a specific hashtag so people participating can see what the others are saying. Maybe you’re one of those editors, or maybe you’re just thinking about getting into Twitter for the first time.
Below, you’ll find a little information about three of the most popular editor-related chats on Twitter and how you can participate in them. All three have different special guests and/or topics each time they meet, so you can watch for ones that fit your interests and specialties.
For anyone brand-new to tweet chats, Social Media Today has a little more information on participating in one for the first time. And if participating in real time isn’t for you? Both ACES and the EFA collect and organize the tweets for each chat on Wakelet, where you can read through the discussion after the fact at your own pace (find the links below).
A few tips for joining in:
- Don’t feel pressured to participate—there’s nothing wrong with following a chat without tweeting yourself, or only tweeting a couple of times during the discussion.
- If you do contribute, be sure to include the chat hashtag in your own tweets so the other participants can see what you post.
- If the chat labels its questions with Q1, Q2, etc., be sure to use a corresponding A1, A2, etc. at the beginning of your responses to those questions. This helps other participants follow the conversation.
- Use Pascal case or “camel case” in your hashtags (for example, #AmEditing rather than #amediting) so that screen readers can parse them correctly. This makes your tweets more accessible for blind and low-vision users.
- Consider using TweetDeck to more easily keep up with the chat in real time. You can always view the tweets in Twitter’s regular interface by searching for the relevant hashtag and choosing Latest, but you may have to manually refresh; in TweetDeck, you can see new tweets as they’re posted.
#ACESchat
First and third Wednesdays of the month
4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. CT
#ACESchat is the twice-monthly chat of ACES: The Society for Editing (@ACESEditors), but you don’t need to be an ACES member to participate. The organization describes #ACESchat as a chance to “chat about editing, exchange tips, and share a little editorial fellowship.” Learn about upcoming chats and find tips for participating on the ACES website.
Read through past #ACESchat discussions on Wakelet.
#EFAchat
One Friday a month
3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT
The Editorial Freelancers Association (@EFAFreelancers) also has its own Twitter chat, #EFAchat, and like #ACESchat it’s open for anyone to participate in. The date changes from month to month, but it’s always on a Friday (to coincide with #FreelanceFriday). Learn more about this chat on the EFA website and find out when the next one is happening by following @EFAFreelancers.
Read through past #EFAchat discussions on Wakelet.
#FreelanceChat
Every Thursday
12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT
Writer and PR consultant Michelle Garrett (@PRisUS) hosts the weekly #FreelanceChat. It’s not specific to editors but is specific to freelancers, and a variety of special guests have participated. Follow @PRisUS or the hashtag to keep tabs on who the next guest will be.
Besides scheduled chats, there are opportunities to engage with editing, writing, and freelance communities on Twitter anytime through other regularly used hashtags. Here are a few you might check out:
- #AmEditing and #AmWriting (used by editors and writers tweeting about their current work)
- #AtHomeEditors (a hashtag that proofreader Heather Saunders started in 2020 for posting about virtual editor-related events)
- #FreelanceFriday (a day dedicated to tweeting about anything to do with freelancing)
- #StetWalk (a hashtag that encourages you to take a break, move your body for a few minutes, and tweet about it—learn more from Grammar Girl)
- #WritingCommunity (a general hashtag for writers to interact with each other)
Follow the Professional Editors Network on Twitter: @MplsPEN
