The Twittering Tabroom

@DebateTab, @SpeechTab and @CongressTab

You may or may not have any interest in Twitter. However, Twitter can do one thing quite well: it can send important text messages to a large group, directly to people's cell phones. We will be using Twitter at this tournament for the following in Lincoln-Douglas, Congress and Individual Events:

  • Announcing posting of rounds/ballots
  • Announcing posting of interim results sheets
  • Seeking missing judges/teams
  • Announcing posting of breaks
  • Announcing posting of brackets
  • Schedule updates
  • Anything else worth sending to your cell phone

We promise to use the service sparingly. The goal is to inform you, not annoy you. Announcements may begin during the week prior to the tournament, if warranted. They will end when the announcement is made that full results have been posted, at which point the accounts will be dormant until the next relevant tournament. It is recommended that at the very least one designated person from each team connect to us, as a conduit to their teams, as well as all independent judges. It is best if all of your team is connected.

If you are already a Twitter user, simply follow @DebateTab, @congresstab and/or @SpeechTab, whichever makes sense. Remember to turn on mobile notifications ("Device Updates On"), to receive updates through your cell phone. (If you have a smartphone, things are easier still, but you know that already.)

If you are not a Twitter user, it is not hard to become one. Simply sign up at Twitter.com, making sure to enter your cell phone information. (We recommend testing it to make sure it's working; occasionally there is a bit of Twitter-to-cell starting friction). Then find http://twitter.com/debatetab, http://twitter.com/speechtab and/or http://twitter.com/congresstab. On those pages, you will find a way to follow these accounts. Make sure you set "Device Updates On" to send all messages to your cell phones.

IMPORTANT: IF YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE AT A TOURNAMENT, REMEMBER TO SET IT ON VIBRATE SO THAT IT DOESN'T RING DURING ROUNDS.

(A shadow service, Tab Room on Facebook, will echo @DebateTab on Twitter, but this will lag a little, so when everyone else runs out of the room and you're still waiting for Facebook to send you a message, it will be your own fault.)