I love Twitter. I think it is the most amazing phenomenon of our generation. It crosses states and oceans and boundaries in ways that phones, letters, and instant messaging cannot do. It is a real time discussion between thousands of people and it connects us to each other through endless networks. I think a lot of people take Twitter for granted, and therefore don’t understand or realize that there really is such a thing as Twitter Etiquette. While I’m not a Social Network guru (though I have been called it before), I do use Twitter (and Facebook) a lot to talk with clients about design and web work and share articles and thoughts related to my work.

We also use it to a HUGE extent for helping animals. I Love Rescue Animals was originally started on Facebook, but it really became what is now due largely to Twitter and our many followers (recently we hit 1700!) – we wouldn’t have gotten so big without you. Because we have been using it to such a great extent, I have realized that there is a pretty big difference between my followers on my design/web account and those that follow @RescueAnimals. One – my web-related followers seem to have a deeper understanding of what Twitter was made for and know what social networking can do, and two – they also tend to better understand what is now called “Twitter Etiquette.”

Twitter Etiquette

One of the greatest things about Twitter is that it works in Real Time. Real Time is exactly what it sounds – everything that happens on twitter is up to the second. It’s like a search engine that is constantly updated. This means that someone can “tweet” something urgent and in the span of however many minutes, that “tweet” can be found by tons of people and they can @reply that person and try to help. It’s downright amazing if you think about it, and it is this function that makes Twitter such an incredible and important tool to those working and helping animals.

So how does a rescue worker utilize Twitter? Twitter is all about communication. We can @reply each other, but we can also “Retweet” those tweets we find interesting, urgent, or helpful.

Retweeting with Urgency

Retweeting is the most valuable part of Twitter to a rescuer. With the click of a button, a tweet from someone else can be posted to your account with a RT @Name: in front of it so people know who the source is, and who to contact if they want more information. Likewise, because one Twitter post is only 140 characters total, if a Retweet needs to be changed or modified to fit, the Retweeter will often times place the source’s name at the end of a tweet (with a via @Name). Some rescuers will also do this because they feel that the Urgent message should be the first thing seen, not the name.

Unfortunately, there are some rescuers on Twitter who see Retweeting as a way of copying or stealing, and if their name is not the first thing they see, they consider the Retweeter a thief. And in some even worse occurrences, their paranoia leads them to making their Twitter account protected. In many cases outside the group of Animal Advocate Twitterers, this isn’t that big of a deal. One person’s protected twitters usually means it’s all personal and therefore not as important to the outside world. I’m not saying it isn’t important AT ALL, but for Animal Advocate Twitterers, a protected account can mean life or death to an animal. Personally, I think a protected account for an Animal Advocate is slightly pointless if the urgent tweets don’t get out into the open. If you know of a Rescue Animal Twitterer with protected accounts, let them know why it would be better to have an open account. It’s worth it to the animals.

Twitter has become a huge part of saving the lives of stray animals housed in high-kill shelters. With Twitter, our network has found a way to get in touch with transporters, coordinators, and rescues fast – it’s an easy to use tool that allows us to reach out and touch the larger public with stories about animal advocacy, rescue stories, and the happy endings that can happen by adopting a homeless dog or cat.

You can find ILRA on Twitter @RescueAnimals and @LastChancePets. Are you on Twitter? Add us, let us know what you can do to help, and let’s spread the word together. We can do it!