This guide was adapted from a blog post by Stephanie Kingsley Brooks on AHA Today: "Tweeting at AHA18? Here Are Some Helpful Guidelines."

Historians from around the world gather each year at the AHA annual meeting to share research, trade teaching techniques, and discuss wide-ranging developments in the discipline. @AHAhistorians is very active on Twitter throughout the meeting, sharing sessions of interest and announcements about events, as well as notices about exciting conversations that are happening. Meanwhile, attendees use Twitter to discuss the meeting, tweet photos of the meeting city, and live-tweet sessions. Twitter connections can lead to in-person meetups at the meeting, and live tweeting can offer those unable to attend the meeting in person a chance to follow along and join conversations. If you’re going to be tweeting at the annual meeting or following along, here are some things to keep in mind:

For Live-Tweeters

• Each year we use the hashtag #AHA24 (or #AHA25, #AHA26, etc., depending on the year) for all things meeting-related. For the purposes of this guide, this hashtag will be represented as #ahaXX.
• Use session hashtags for live-tweeting from specific sessions. These should be listed as #S1, #S2, #S214, and so on. The numbers can be found in the session descriptions in the program and the meeting app. Please take the time to look these up. If you aren’t using the session hashtag, your tweets may not be seen by other session attendees or those following the session.
• Use topical hashtags where applicable. If you aren’t sure what hashtag is being used, do a little research in advance. (A good place to start is this Perspectives Daily post about preferred history hashtags among Twitterstorians.) Topical hashtags are one of the best ways to connect with historians with shared interests at the annual meeting. They also enable cross-session discussions to take place.
• Include the Twitter handles of speakers and poster presenters when tweeting about their work or presentations. This is courteous, a useful form of citation, and a great way to make new Twitter acquaintances. It can take a little time to find these, but the time spent doing some Twitter searches is worth it if you end up making a new connection. (For more insights on making connections via Twitter at the annual meeting, check out "Meeting Tweeting: Insights on Making Connections from #AHA16.")
• Respect the wishes of presenters who do not want their presentations tweeted.

For Presenters and Chairs

• If you are giving a presentation, share it on Twitter with both #AHA24 and the session tag, and consider including our custom participant Twitter graphic.
• If you have a Twitter handle you wish others to use, share it at the beginning of your presentation. Including your handle on the first slide of your PowerPoint presentation or at the bottom of every slide can be very helpful to those tweeting and increases your chances of getting mentioned in those tweets.
• If you are giving a poster presentation, include your handle on your poster.
• If anyone presenting at a session does not wish for their remarks to be tweeted, the panel chair should make it clear in opening remarks that the session should not be tweeted.

For Those Following from Afar

• Follow #AHA24 (#AHA25, #AHA26, etc.) for main meeting conversations.
• To follow specific sessions, search the session hashtags. This will be "#S" plus the number specified in the program. For example, #S12, #S324, and so on.
• Follow @AHAhistorians! We’ll let you know when major events or sessions are coming up. We will also be sharing exciting conversations, photos, and blog posts as they become available.

Related Meeting Hashtags

• Use #AHA24 and #CareerFair to tweet about the Career Fair
• Use #AHA24 and #AHAPosters to tweet about poster presentations
• Include #AHA24 and #ExhibitHall in tweets about the Exhibit Hall

Contacting AHA Staff at the Meeting

Because the #AHA24 stream and @AHAhistorians Twitter account will be so busy, we cannot guarantee a timely reply for attendees trying to get in touch that way. If you wish to contact AHA staff with a specific concern during the meeting, we recommend emailing the appropriate staff member, or finding a staff member in an annual meeting t-shirt (they will be present in all hotels). This will ensure that we will address your concern as quickly as possible.