So last night, I logged on to Twitter to return some @ mentions, DM’s and generally see what was going on and apparently, an impromptu #sachat had been going on.  I read a few of the tweets and could tell that there had been some spirited debate centered around the #sachat hashtag and how folks had been using it.  This was very intriguing, so I asked some questions about when folks thought the conversation had started, and all roads lead to this tweet from Eric Stoller on Friday night:

All the subsequent tweets debated the pros and cons of using #sachat for just professional development content only.  Others raised the point that part of that professional development was found in the personal side of the tweets. It even raised questions from some of the newer #sachat folks.  Julie Kirchmeier‘s tweet was great in further developing the question:

I support Eric’s thought process in the context of the bigger picture of #sachat.  When you think about how groups build community, they first try to find common ground.  While we all started with Professional Development topics, it has certainly evolved to include all our personal interests and passions.  These conversations have contributed to building our online relationships and added fun to our online conversations.  But, has it helped build our overall #sachat brand of “professional development for Student Affairs professionals”?  If new Twitter users, especially Senior Student Affairs Officers, joined the #sachat conversation and do a search on Twitter for #sachat, what would they see right now?  On Thursday’s, it would be rich with professional conversation around a Student Affairs topic.  Other days, it may include many of the things that we personally talk about.

So, #sachat folks, what are your thoughts on all this?  Is it time to have a hashtag revolution and reframe the way we use #sachat?  Are we simply evolving #sachat’s scope to include it all in the conversation?  Maybe we are simply going through the “Storming” phase of Tuckman’s Group Development Model. 🙂 How do you define proper hashtag etiquette in Twitter?

Please read the #SAchat Transcript (taken from Friday Night through Saturday Night) to get more insights to the online conversation.  I realize that I wasn’t involved in the entire conversation, so I hope this captured what everyone talked about, and if I missed anything, please comment on it below!

The great thing about all of this is that it can be whatever we want it to be.  I’m curious to hear your thoughts!