Tweetup at the MLA

Inside Higher Education ran a story today about academics using Twitter at the 2009 MLA (Modern Language Association) Convention. I was one of those academics, and was interviewed for the story. I have some reservations about the way the story was framed, as you can see in my comment below the article on IHE. Overall, though, I’m glad to see the Twitter/Digital Humanities crowds (not exactly continguous groups, but groups with significant overlap) garner the attention they have this year.

For those of you who check this blog but don’t follow me on twitter, a few items worth your consideration are Brian Croxall’s paper on the real human costs of a sagging job market—delivered in-absentia, because Prof. Croxall couldn’t afford to attend the conference without a job interview—and a followup by Jennifer Howard published by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Though he wasn’t at the convention, Prof. Croxall’s paper was likely the most talked-about paper presented this year, due in large to the twitterers and bloggers who shared and promoted it.

Also worth a look is “Make 10 Louder: the Amplification of Scholarly Communication,” in which Amanda French parses the use of twitter at MLA.

Finally a lighter must-read: Mark Sample collected the many fake “MLA tips” that circulated among the twitter crowd in the weeks leading up to the conference. For job seekers like myself, these provided a welcome distraction from interview preparation, and and important reminder not to take myself too seriously.

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