Auto-Tweeting: Making Presentations Interactive Again - Part 2

How to AutoTweet with PowerPoint:

1. It seems obvious to say that the first step is creating a Twitter account, but years of experience have shown that sometimes the obvious must be stated. To be sure, you also need PowerPoint. Wink, wink.

2. Go to SuperTweet and sign in using your Twitter username and password. http://www.supertweet.net/

3. Download the respective tool you will need for your version of PowerPoint. Using these links will generate an automatic download:

If you have MS Office PowerPoint 2007: sapweb20.com/blog/ppttools/Autotweet.ppam

If you have MS Office PowerPoint 2003 or 2010: sapweb20.com/blog/ppttools/Autotweet.ppa

4. Open the downloaded executable file. It will appear as if nothing has happened except that PowerPoint opened, but you will notice that there will now be a menu item titled "AutoTweet" may(or may not yet) appear on your toolbar. If PowerPoint asks you to enable or disable macros, enable them.

5. In PowerPoint, click on the office button and select "PowerPoint Options" as shown below:

6. This will bring up the PowerPoint Options window. Click "Add-ins" in the left navigation bar to bring up the window below.

If AutoTweet shows up under "Active Application Add-ins," you are ready to go. Click OK and skip to step 8. If AutoTweet does not show up under "Active Application Add-ins," look at the bottom of this window, and under the "Manage" drop down list, select "PowerPoint Add-ins" and then click "Go."


7. If you have properly downloaded and installed the files mentioned in step 3, the AutoTweet add-in should appear in this list. If it does appear, check the box next to the add-in to load it into PowerPoint. If it does not appear in this list, you may click "Add New" and try to browse to where you downloaded the file, or just start back at step 3. If it now appears in your "Active Application Add-ins," click OK and continue to step 8.

8. Your PowerPoint Toolbar or 'Ribbon' should include a tab titled "Add-ins." (If not, you may need to download the Add-ins ribbon from the Microsoft Office website.) If the Add-ins ribbon is properly loaded, it should look like the image below clicking on the Add-ins tab. AutoTweet should appear as one of the options on the Ad-ins ribbon. Click on "AutoTweet" to make the final steps to connect PowerPoint with Twitter.



9. After clicking on "AutoTweet" on the "Add-ins" ribbon, the window shown below will appear. You will want to remember how to get to this window because this window allows you to turn AutoTweeting off and on by clicking a single button after it is set up. (You will want to turn AutoTweeting "off" while doing a test run so that all of your tweets aren't generated before you give your presentation!)

You will notice in the window above that you can add text or hashtags after each tweet. This will make it easier for those following a conference hashtag to locate your posts. You may include more than one hashtag. You may also opt to display the successful status of tweets. When you are starting out, this is helpful to know if your Internet connection has gone down and is therefore blocking your posts.

It also lets attendees know when something has been posted so that they can follow along. Once you have filled in this window, click OK, and you are ready to start tweeting! You will want to turn AutoTweets "on" at the top of this window so that you can test your setup and make sure everything is working prior to your presentation. Also, when you are ready to present, make sure you remember to turn AutoTweeting on to make sure your hard work isn't in vain.

10. AutoTweeting: With PowerPoint properly set up to AutoTweet, you are now ready to do a test run. Remember, when you are in editing mode, your tweets will not post even if AutoTweeting is turned on. It is only in Slideshow mode that they will post to Twitter. In the notes section below the first slide of your presentation (or any slide where you want the tweet to post), type:

[twitter] Testing AutoTweeting [/twitter]

Go to slideshow mode, and when you land on the slide where that code was included in the notes, a tweet will be generated! If the tweet isn't generated, go back through the last few steps to check your settings and password in SuperTweet.

For more ideas on how to use AutoTweeting, please read Part 1 of this article.

Curious minds want to know: How many times does the word "tweet" appear in this post?"