Pleased to Tweet You

Abstract

“Pleased to Tweet You†is an interactive, personal narrative of Cate’s experiences using Twitter at academic conferences, loosely following the narrative structure of a traditional five act play. The article describes and reenacts the ways in which live-tweeting creates a “participatory theatre†for conference-goers, and Cate argues for an ethics of participation around how Twitter is used in these situations. Although the article focuses on academic conferences, the issues addressed—participation, attention, and performativity—apply equally to any live-tweeting experience, be it political protests, presidential debates, or the Oscars.

Incorporating both real and fabricated tweets related to the ethics of live-tweeting alongside Paul Woodruff and Jacques Rancière’s work on theatre and spectatorship, this webtext not only examines the complexities of audience behavior at conferences and what tweeting does and means, it recreates a live conference and invites readers to themselves tweet—to participate in the conversation.

Navigating the Webtext
The interface resembles a Twitter landing page, with a live feed in the middle and a video of Cate’s talk in the upper right corner. Readers navigate the article by moving through the links at the top of the page (“Prologue,†“Exposition,†etc.)—each links to a separate section with its own video and matching live feed. For the full experience, press play on each video as you arrive on the landing page, as this will sync the tweets with the video. For a less disconcerting experience, a transcript for each section is available below the video. Credits, citations, and works cited are accessible from the “Epilogue†page.