10 Things to Twitter About While in College

Facebook may still the favorite social media choice among college students, but a survey released December 9, 2010 reports that 18% of college students that go online use Twitter. Percentage-wise, that's more than mom and dad--only 8% of Americans adults use Twitter.

There are many, many things a college student could Twitter about, from social life to academic-related issues. This list will focus on campus life.

1. Write for the school paper? Use bit.ly, the URL shortner, to share your most recent story. Use a compelling headline to entice people to click. In fact, you can use this tactic for any college media outlet--television shows, radio, blogs, journals, etc. Better yet, get your entire campus news organization to adopt Twitter.

2. Contemplating grad school? Tweet your ideas and questions about grad school to get feedback from pros in the field. Better yet, see if the schools you are interested in applying to are on Twitter. Its admissions or alumni office (and its current students) can be a great help in answering important questions that could influence your decision.

3. Use Twitter to recruit club members --especially at the beginning of the semester. Use Twitter to promote your next meeting. To jazz it up, use TwitPic to share pictures from past events. Show people what they are missing!

5. Use Twitter to promote a campus art event. If you are involved in music, theater or dance, utilize Twitter to get the word out to your followers and use appropriate hashtags to attract community members too. Better yet, if share a link to videos of rehearsal or previous performances.

6. Use Twitter to sell your used books! Think of Twitter as a micro Craig's List or eBay by telling people what books you have up for sale. Be sure to make the arrangements over Direct Message (DM) if they involve an address or phone number. Don't limit this idea to textbooks either: sell old furniture or other apartment decor if you are graduating or moving.

7. Use Twitter to promote your sporting event . Something is always in season! Tweet about your upcoming game or, if you are a spectator, tweet live from the game. For fun, do some friendly trash-talking to get some conversation going, too.

8. Use Twitter to network. Follow companies at which you'd be interested in interning or working. Many companies and recruiters post job opps on Twitter. Keep your eyes and ears peeled. Never be afraid to ask a question. Use a DM if you don't want to publicly ask your question.

9. Use Twitter to find help or find study buddies . Tweeting while studying? Tweet about something you are unsure of and maybe get an answer from someone in your class, or someone who took a similar class. It can be an impromptu peer tutoring session.

10. Use Twitter to find research ideas or to promote a poll for a research class - lots of college students do surveys as a research method for senior projects. Survey Monkey is a great free tool to create polls and surveys. Promote your survey link on Twitter to reach more people than you could with traditional methods.

What other ideas do you have? Comment below.