Richmond joins micro-blogging Web site Twitter

The University of Richmond has joined the networking Web site Twitter in an effort to diversify communication methods for the university.

Twitter is a micro-blogging Web site where users can post messages up to 140 characters in length, called "tweets." Twitter accounts gather "followers" that receive updates as they are posted onto the page. The site is used by businesses and organizations, including some of the presidential candidates.

The Richmond account was set up as a joint effort between administrators in the School of Arts and Sciences and Web Services, said Holly Rodriguez, a media and public relations officer at the university.

"The account is an experiment at this stage," Rodriguez said. It will be another opportunity to get information about the university out in addition to press releases and internal publications already used, she said.

Many of the university's followers on the site are not students. Most students asked about the Web site said they had not heard of it and did not know what it was used for.

Twitter's demographic is not college-aged people, Rodriguez said. Media organizations are beginning to use the service, as are other universities and groups with interests in higher education, she said. Many adults already use Twitter, so the account may help reach alumni and the press.

Groups from marketing communications, the School of Arts and Sciences and Web Services helped create the account, said Rachel Beanland, director of communications for the School of Arts and Sciences. She and Matthew Levy, the assessment and technology coordinator for the School of Arts and Sciences, were part of the group, she said.

"We do not want to simply regurgitate press releases but share information and create a personal experience," Beanland said.

The Internet is changing into a more personalized format, Beanland said, with fewer static pages displaying information with no user interaction. The Internet is being used in new ways every day, she said, including the donation of Facebook statuses on Nov. 4.

"As the University of Richmond moves forward, and I can best speak about the School of Arts and Sciences," she said, "we're looking at ways to take the Web and make it much more interactive for students, alumni, staff and other interested people. Twitter is one solution."

Eric Palmer, the director of Web Services, set up the account for the university. He uses Twitter himself to pose questions, usually regarding technology, which followers answer, he said.

The Web site is an effective mode of communication, he said. When an intruder entered the library in May, Palmer stayed in a locked room and was able to communicate with other rooms via Twitter. He said that he was confident that if he needed help he could get some because of the Twitter posts.

The account is an experiment in alternative ways to communicate, Palmer said. There are a number of schools that already use Twitter, he said.

At this point, there is no real feedback on the success of the project, Beanland said.

"We don't really know if it will be useful in the long term," Palmer said.

In addition to the Richmond account, there is an experimental Boatwright Memorial Library account, set up by Andrew Morton, the emerging Web technology librarian. Both Beanland and Palmer mentioned the groups.richmond.edu sites as another way of improving interactive communication on campus.

Contact staff writer Kaileigh Connolly at kaileigh.connolly@richmond.edu