How to use hashtags and chat on twitter

Here are the steps to participate in twitter dialog using hashtags. A hash-tag is a special word associated with a topic. For example, we use the #ISEdChat hashtag to enable an Independent School Educators (ISEd) chat every Thursday night at 9pm Eastern Time.

1) If you have not yet signed up for a twitter account, you need to do so.

2) Determine the hashtag you want to use. Anyone can make up any hashtag, but by using popular hashtags you increase the amount of dialog. 

3) Use a twitter site or program to monitor your chosen topics. By monitoring hashtags you can focus in on tweets that are important to you. This reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of twitter and makes it feel less like drinking from a fire hose. We like TweetChat and TweetGrid for web-based access or TweetDeck if you want to install a program with more options.

4) Participate in the dialog by posting tweets which include the hashtag #ISEdChat.