If you have a hard time deciding on your next travel destination, there is no shortage of information online. But figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. A source of inspiration you may not be familiar with is a Twitter chat. Not sure what that is or how to participate? Here’s my how-to guide using one of my favourite Twitter chats as an example – The #CultureTrav chat.
How to Use Twitter Chats for Travel Inspiration
What is a Twitter Chat?
A Twitter chat is a conversation that happens in real time via Twitter. One or more hosts guides and moderates the topic of discussion and everyone participating uses a common hashtag making it possible to track what everyone is saying. Usually, Twitter chats are open to anyone who wants to join in. There is a slew of Twitter chats specific to travel that happen on a regular basis, some are weekly, others are once a month.
About the #CultureTrav Twitter Chat
The #CultureTrav Chat takes place at 2:30 p.m. ET Thursdays. It’s hosted by Nicolette Orlemans in New York City, Jessica Lipowski in Amsterdam, and Clare Hancock in Los Angeles.
Nicolette started the chat to connect with others over discussions of cultural immersion in travel. She explains, “While we often visit the same destinations as travellers, what we experience can vary greatly, and I think that’s the beauty of travel! I also enjoy hearing about how travellers dissect cultural similarities and what they think binds us all across the world, and how they celebrate and respect cultural differences.”
According to Nicolette, the chat sees an average of 60-70 participants each week from around the globe. All kinds of travellers join in from total nomads, solo and business travellers, backpackers, and family travellers.
One of the most gratifying aspects of the chat for Nicolette is that as the result of the wonderful conversations that happen, many participants have met each other when travelling in each other’s countries. The hosts have organized small #CultureTrav meetups on occasion as well. I LOVE that.
Why I’m a fan of the #CultureTrav Twitter Chat
- It’s well organized (not every chat is). Nicolette, Jessica, and Clare post the topic and questions that will be covered in the chat well in advance on their websites. This makes it easy to prepare in advance.
- It’s a tight half hour in length. This is enough time to interact and cover the topic, but not so long as to completely interrupt your day. Some are an hour.
- Everyone is so friendly! The hosts (as well as semi-regular guest co-hosts) always make a point of welcoming individuals, and I have found others on the chat willing to answer questions and interact. I always come away with 3-4 new Twitter followers each time.
- To me, travel is all about culture, so the topics for the chat almost always intrigue me. Topic themes have included festivals, customs, challenges, transportation, and diversity. The stories and photos other participants post have given me countless ideas for where to travel and what to do there.
- If you can’t make the chat, you can still catch up and participate by joining the Culture with Travel Facebook group.
How to find a Travel Twitter Chat
There is no definitive database of all of the travel Twitter chats out there, but if you search “Travel Twitter Chat” in Google, you will get many results. The website Travoscape is likely the easiest source as it lists several travel chats sorted by day of the week.
A couple of other Twitter chats Nicolette endorses are #TRLT (The Road Less Travelled) and #JAchat.
How to Use Twitter Chats – My Step-By-Step Guide
When I first started participating in Twitter chats, I found it slightly overwhelming. I was trying to keep track of the topic questions, monitor everyone’s responses, respond to notifications from people responding to my posts, and locate photos I wanted to attach to specific tweets. I felt as though I was always one or two questions behind everyone else. With many a chat under my belt now, I have a system that works for me.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Enjoying this post? Why not subscribe to TagAlongTravel? Twice a month, you’ll receive an email with links to recent posts.
____________________________________________________________________________________
It’s All About Windows Management
Twitter chats are much easier to navigate if you have more than one monitor. I use a laptop and a connected monitor, which gives me a lot of real estate to manage multiple windows. If you are working with one screen, you can simulate a two-monitor environment by using the app Cinch. Alternatively, you can open several tabs to keep multiple Twitter windows open.
The Questions
Read them in advance if you have the time and have the photos you want to share ready to go before hand. I usually keep the questions in a separate window and minimize them to retrieve if I need them.
The Hashtag
Open a browser window and search Twitter for the chat hashtag (in this case #CultureTrav). This is the tag you will use on each post you contribute to the chat. By keeping this window open, you can monitor what everyone is saying and when you go to write your post the hashtag will automatically appear, so you don’t have to write it each time. Note you can monitor the #CultureTrav posts either by “top posts” or “latest posts” – I usually monitor the latter.
Notifications
I open a separate window for my Twitter notifications page so that I can monitor when others in the chat comment or retweet my posts or when they respond to my comments on their posts.
Posting
When responding to the questions, you can either quote-retweet one of the hosts when they post a new question, or you can start a fresh post to respond. Remember to use the hashtag and indicate the question you are answering. If it is “Q1” (Question 1), your response should begin with “A1” (Answer 1).
Remember to make it a real conversation and reply to posts from others.
Some people warn their Twitter followers in advance of a chat that they will be tweeting at high volume for the next half hour or hour. I don’t bother. They’ll figure it out.
The Recap
It is difficult to keep up with every participant’s posts during the actual chat. Fortunately, the hosts often post a recap of the conversation at the end so you can see the whole chat as it unfolded.
So, that’s how to use Twitter chats. Yay or nay – would you use a chat for inspiration or to share your travel with others? If you’re already a fan, what do you like about them?
If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe to Tag Along Travel? Twice a month, you’ll receive an email with links to recent posts.
PIN IT
[…] the Wynwood Arts District was not even on my radar. But someone mentioned it in a #CultureTrav Twitter chat about street art and the tweeter’s photos of the place looked incredible. Steve and I decided to […]
This is a great guide for Twitter chats. I’ve participated in a few twitter chats, but not a lot on a regular basis. My first experiences were much like yours. I’m now also using different windows and two screens to make it easier. It’s nice when you can get the questions ahead of time if you want to participate. I too think the 1/2 time slot is easier to manage than 1 hour.
#CultureTrav is a great travel Twitter chat. Nice summary of how to participate.
Thanks, Charles!
Thank you so much for publishing this, Deborah! Your guide is great, and we are honored to be included. Thank you very much for joining #CultureTrav. We appreciate all your support and love hearing your stories. You inspire us. Thank you for putting together this handy guide.
I also published a similar article (https://jessicalipowski.com/what-are-twitter-chats-and-how-do-they-work/) and will link to your article, too, within my site.
Thanks, Jessica! I love participating in #CultureTrav and hope our posts get even more people involved.