#twutorial post: How to embed tweets and follow conversations

I have been intending to write #twutorial posts about how to use tweets in stories and about how to follow conversational threads on Twitter. I guess I was thinking of doing either or both about a news story. But Sunday I saw a fun tweet that will help me do both:

My friend found this list on an airplane. This is good stuff. twitter.com/KateRoseMe/sta…

— Kate Rose (@KateRoseMe) April 6, 2013

Note that the embedded tweet is interactive like a tweet. In addition to importing the photo (though you have the option to omit an image from the embed), I can click the date and go to the actual tweet. Or I can retweet, reply or otherwise interact with the tweet. These features, plus the fact that it looks like a tweet, are why you should consider embedding tweets, rather than just quoting them, in your stories and blog posts.

How did I embed that tweet above in this post? It’s simple:

1. Click “more,” (in the red oval below) and you will get an option to embed the tweet. You also can see the conversation (more on that shortly) by clicking the time-stamp (also in the red oval) to open the tweet as its own URL (and you can click “more” from the tweet in its own URL).
   

   The “more” option and the time stamp are at the right end of a tweet. The time stamp says “13h,” for 13 hours ago. But when I moused over, my browser showed the actual date and time. Click the time stamp to open the tweet by itself.

2. After you click “more,” select the “embed tweet” option.
   

   When you click “more” in a tweet, embedding the tweet is an option.

3. Copy the code in the window and paste it into the HTML of your story or post.

The embed code allows you to embed a tweet in a story as I did with this tweet earlier in this post.

OK, that’s simple. Now let’s follow the conversation thread. You can see the conversation below (and above) the tweet when you’re viewing it in its own URL. Or, if it doesn’t include a photo, you can click “view conversation” in the line below the tweet in your timeline. That option isn’t always available in your timeline, though; that space says “view photo” if you have a photo (as in the first example above). In mobile apps, you can generally see the conversation thread when you tap on the tweet.

One caveat: You may not be seeing the full conversation. If people don’t hit “reply” or RT and reply in a comment before the “RT,” their tweets probably won’t show.

Here are the first entries in the conversation that ensued from this tweet (would love it if Twitter’s embedding options included embedding a full conversation):Since that’s a screen shot, I’ll link to the definition of moondoggie here (I won’t pretend I didn’t need to look it up, and Sophie H made a good guess).

Of course, lots of the responding tweets analyze items on the list:

@kateroseme deleting Landan’s number was obviously a step too far

— Andrew Steele (@AndrewSteele) April 7, 2013

@andrewsteele or the first step completed.

— Kate Rose (@KateRoseMe) April 7, 2013

@kateroseme it’s a list that just keeps giving. No moondoggies for three *more* weeks… Wonder how long he/she has already held out.

— Andrew Steele (@AndrewSteele) April 7, 2013

@kateroseme I think “Narcos only @ work” might be the greatest todo-list entry I’ve ever seen.

— Nicolas Gallagher (@necolas) April 7, 2013

Note that a tweet that’s a reply includes the tweet it is replying to. So, if I weren’t using this for illustration purposes, I might not need all these tweets, since some of them are repeated. You might be able to curate a conversation more effectively using Storify or Spundge.

It’s a silly conversation that’s a lot of fun. But please, please, PLEASE tell me you wondered if that list wasn’t too good to be true. This guy did:

@kateroseme @yaykyle Your friend also found it in a purse — thesmokingjacket.com/entertainment/… — and a bar boingboing.net/2010/10/01/lis… — yes I’m that guy 😦

— Cabel Maxfield Sasser (@Cabel) April 7, 2013

@kateroseme @yaykyle I guess what I’m saying is YOUR FRIEND IS A LIAR DON’T TRUST THEM I’m totally butting in I’m very sorry

— Cabel Maxfield Sasser (@Cabel) April 7, 2013

I ❤ that guy! -> Google Image! RT @cabel: @kateroseme @yaykyle Your friend also found it in a purse — thesmokingjacket.com/entertainment/… ….

— Kate Rose (@KateRoseMe) April 7, 2013

And if you don’t know how to Google an image to see if it’s original: you can just click the camera icon in the Google Images search form and you can either upload an image or paste a URL

As you can see below, the search shows 40 results, with one of the top ones more than two years old. It was a fun conversation, but it was all about a bogus (or at least old) list.

A final note: I don’t actually follow any of these people. One of my tweeps retweeted the original tweet, though, and that’s part of the magic of Twitter: Your tweeps steer some fun content your way.

Update: @KateRoseMe provides some clarity on the Moondoggie question:

@stevebuttry pretty sure that’s a bar in San Diego. Not the organic peanut butter endeavor. !!

— Kate Rose (@KateRoseMe) April 8, 2013

What are some other topics I should address in future #twutorial posts? Here are earlier #twutorial posts:

Step one for using Twitter as a reporter: Master advanced search

Use lists, TweetDeck, HootSuite, saved searches, alerts to organize Twitter’s chaos

Denver Post staffers’ #theatershooting coverage demonstrates Twitter breaking news techniques

Hashtags help journalists find relevant tweets and reach more people

Advice and examples on how and what journalists should tweet

9 ways to find helpful people and organizations to follow on Twitter

To build Twitter followers: Join the conversation, tweet often, be yourself

10 ways Twitter is valuable for journalists

Updated Twitter time management tips

Don’t be selfish on Twitter; tweeting useful information is good business

What’s the best way to view Twitter’s users? 16 percent or 30 million

Twitter data shows journos’ ‘burstiness’ boosts followers

#Twutorial guest post from Alexis Grant: A simple Twitter strategy that will dramatically grow your network

#Twutorial guest post from Deanna Utroske: Tips for twinterviewing

#Twutorial guest post by Menachem Wecker: How to use Twitter to find the best sources

#Twutorial guest post by Jaclyn Schiff: How using Storify can help you find great sources

Getting started on Twitter: #twutorial advice for a friend

Should a journalist livetweet a funeral? If so, how?

Use Twitter for conversation about an event, not just promotion

How to verify information from tweets: check it out

In addition, these two posts that predate the #twutorial series really should be part of it:

Suggestions for livetweeting

Updated and expanded Twitter tips for journalists

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