How do I join the #LCSM tweetchat?

On Twitter, the hashtag #LCSM stands for Lung Cancer Social Media. People use that hashtag in tweets every day to flag tweets that talk about lung cancer treatment, research, funding, or patient issues. You will need a Twitter account to view or participate in the tweetchat.

You can follow #LCSM Chat on Twitter by filtering the Twitter feed so that it displays only tweets containing “#LCSM.” However, you may find it easier to keep up if you use a tweetchat tool. Both methods are described below.

When does the #LCSM tweetchat take place?

#LCSM tweetchats occur on the first Thursday of the month at 8 PM Eastern Time (5 PM Pacific). You can find the date of the next chat here.

What is an #LCSM tweetchat?

An #LCSM tweetchat is a scheduled one-hour event when people interested in lung cancer join Twitter to chat about lung cancer topics. Participants have included researchers, clinicians,  healthcare providers, advocates, people living with lung cancer and their family members, and anyone else who is working or coping with lung cancer.

What happens in the tweetchat?

During the first 10 minutes or so, everyone introduces themselves. Those who are just watching might post a tweet that says only “#LCSM” to announce their presence. People often greet each other, and might share updates on their lives if they wish.

The chat then focuses on topic questions posed by the moderator (labeled T1, T2, T3, etc). After the moderator tweets a topic, people respond to it with comments and questions. You can read the questions and background about the topic 3-5 days before each chat on the #LCSM Chat blog.

All tweets that include the #LCSM hashtag during the specified hour will be included in the tweetchat transcript. You can find information about past chats and future topics on the page titled “Schedules and Transcripts.” Hundreds of #LCSM tweets will happen during the chat, so please try to include the appropriate topic number (T1, T2, T3, etc) in your tweets to make it easier to follow the conversation and read the transcript afterwards.  Occasionally someone will pop in and ask whatever question is on their mind, but due to the rapid pace of the chat, questions unrelated to the topics might not get answered.

#LCSM chats are for sharing information within the lung cancer community. We hope to serve as a neutral voice. In order to maintain a neutral voice, we strive to keep #LCSM chats free of endorsements and advertisements.  We understand organizations and individuals may have products or services they consider relevant to a chat topic. However, we ask that tweeters please refrain from promoting products, services or organizations on #LCSM.

What does a tweetchat look like?

You can see transcripts of previous #LCSM tweetchats on the page titled “Schedules and Transcripts.”

To participate in a tweetchat using Twitter:

1. Sign in to your Twitter account.

2.  To see ONLY the tweets in the tweetchat (which makes following the conversation much easier), filter your Twitter feed to show only tweets containing the hashtag “#LCSM”.  To filter your Twitter feed, enter “#LCSM” in the search box containing the magnifying glass at the top of your Twitter feed–the box is outlined in red for emphasis in the example below.  Be sure to click on “Live” below the large “#LCSM” title — if you don’t click on Live, your feed will only show you some (not all) of the tweets containing #LCSM.

3.  To add your tweets to the chat, include the designated hashtag (in this case “#LCSM”) in every tweet you want to be seen in the chat.

To participate in the chat using a tweetchat tool:

Tweetchats that include many participants can move VERY fast.  Some find it easier to follow and participate in the chat by using a tweetchat tool. Before you use a tweetchat tool, be sure to sign in to Twitter and check that your Twitter privacy settings allow anyone to see your tweets.

The advantages of using these tools are:

• They are FREE!
• They filters Twitter using the hashtag you enter (#LCSM) to show only tweets containing that hashtag.
• They automatically add “#LCSM” to your tweet before posting it–especially useful during a busy chat (it’s easy to forget to add the hashtag).
• They allow you to hide retweets if you wish (so you can find new tweets more easily).

Some tools have other special features.  However, only Tweetdeck will display and send tweets that contain more than 140 characters (the other tools were created when Twitter posts were limited to 140 characters, and haven’t been upgraded).

We think the simplest, most useful tweetchat tools are:

• Tweetdeck (displays and send up to 280 character per tweets)
• Tweetchat (displays and send up to 140 characters per tweets)
• tchat.io (displays and send up to 140 characters per tweets)
• Twubs (displays and send up to 140 characters per tweets)