Author Archives: invasivehunter

Using Vine and Twitter at UT Austin during Explore UT

I didn’t think I’d get a chance to attend Explore UT this year, but I was able to visit UT Austin yesterday to listen to a few talks, enjoy a few exhibits, and be part of the event that they call the “biggest open house in Texas!”

I wanted to try out the new Vine iPhone app for creating short six-second videos for posting on my Twitter account, @InvasiveHunter.

Here’s how I used Vine to make short, looping videos with my tweets:

1. Opened the Vine app on my iPhone.
2. Aimed my iPhone camera at what I wanted to film.
3. Held my finger on the touchscreen to create the video.
4. When done, created a tweet with the video.
5. Uploaded the video to both Vine and Twitter. (There’s also an option to upload it to Facebook.)

Tips on using Vine

• Unless someone is filming talking about something, try to film different video segments on the same topic instead of just one continuous video. The different shots are more interesting and will keep people entertained.
• Make sure to remember to take your finger off your phone when you’re done shooting the video, both off the touchscreen and definitely off your camera lens. (Not that it happened to me. 🙂 )
• Remember that you can’t edit your video. Make sure that you get what you want when you film. If not, you can always start over.
• One downside is that if you get a really great shot and a not so good one, and you need to start over, you lose your entire video, but that’s a minor thing.

This app is definitely very easy to use. With all the complicated mobile apps these days, it’s wonderful to have something so simple to use with Twitter.

I liked adding video to my tweets. You can use videos to convey more information than just a tweet or picture. It’s fun to create videos and watch videos from others too!

Here are a few of my tweets and Vine videos from yesterday:

Using Vine and Twitter at the UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

Using Vine and Twitter at the UT Austin Texas Memorial Museum

Thanks @UTAustin for replying to one of my tweets during the Explore UT event:

UTAustin replies to InvasiveHunter Tweet during Explore UT

Videos from last year’s Explore UT event

Here are the blog posts and YouTube videos that I created from the 2012 Explore UT event:

• The Fascinating, Hidden World of Plants at Explore UT
  I didn’t see Dr. Jennifer Moon this year, but there were tons of kids at the Science Safari events in Welch Hall.
• Hands on: Sheep Heart and Lungs at Explore UT
  This exhibit was popular again this year with very long lines. They had to put up ropes because it got so wild! 🙂
• Commander Ben Eats a Live Mealworm at Explore UT
  I didn’t see any mealworms this year unless they were all eaten earlier in the day. (There were also lots of insects to eat at last year’s Insecta Fiesta at the UT Austin Brackenridge Field Lab.)

Special Edition: Hot Science – Cool Talk this week

Don’t miss another fun event at UT Austin on Wednesday, March 6, at the next Hot Science – Cool Talks with Astrophysicist Dr. Jason Kalirai: Telescopes as Time Machines: The Legacy of Hubble & the Future through the James Webb Space Telescope.

It’s a special edition of the fun and educational presentations from the UT Austin Environmental Science Institute. Hope to see you there!

Tweet me your Vine videos

I also hope you have fun using Vine on your iPhone or iPod touch. Tweet me with your Vine videos @InvasiveHunter!

Your friend,
Ben