The recent addition of a new Twitter account for the Galaxy Training Network makes this a good time to talk about Galaxy's presence on Twitter. Why might this matter? Let's start with two quotes that nicely sum up the usefulness of Twitter in bioinformatics:

and

Twitter is a great way to keep current with what's happening in the Galaxy community (as well as in science in general). Twitter is instantaneous, and it is often the first place where news and information is posted. It is also voluminous and this can also make it overwhelming. So, to help you get the most out of Twitter, here is a quick guide to Galaxy on Twitter.

^* This could have been you! Please let us know if it was.

What do you want to see?

I want it all! The #UseGalaxy hashtag

Hashtags (they start with a #) can be used by anyone and indicate that a tweet is relevant to a particular topic. The #UseGalaxy hashtag is used on any tweet that is related to Galaxy in any way. And it is. #usegalaxy shows up in over 100 posts per week. If you want the full story, then search for #usegalaxy.

I want to be in the know: The @galaxyproject account

The @galaxyproject account is the project's "official" Twitter channel. We (Dave C, Martin C, Mo H, Nicola S, and Hans-Rudolf H) use this channel to announce events, news, publications, and resources that we think will be of interest to the Galaxy community. This account sends between 25 and 50 tweets and retweets per month (except during GCC, when that number goes way up).

I'm Interested In Particular Communities

Several communities within Galaxy have their own presence on Twitter. These are used for particular geographies, resources, or topic interests:

@GalaxyAustralia

Interested in Galaxy down under? The @GalaxyAustralia account covers news of interest Galaxy community in Australia (and Oceania in general).

@GalaxyUKFriends

Using or running Galaxy in the United Kingdom? The @GalaxyUKFriends account is your source of news for UK Galaxy related news.

@Galaxy_Arabic

Want to know about Galaxy in the Arabic-speaking world? Follow the @Galaxy_Arabic account to keep in the know.

#UseGalaxyJP

Galaxy has a strong community in Japan. To keep up with it, follow the #UseGalaxyJP hashtag.

@gxytraining

The Galaxy Training Network is a large, community-based project to create, maintain, support and present Galaxy training and training materials. Follow the @gxytraining account for training focused news.

Galaxy Platform Accounts

Several Galaxy Platforms have Twitter accounts for news about those platforms. If you use a particular platform then follow it's Twitter account.

Here's a sample:

	Twitter	Platform
	@GalaxyAustralia	UseGalaxy.org.au
	@usegalaxyp	Galaxy for Proteomics project
	@ImmPortDB	ImmPort
	@artbio_ibps	Mississippi
	@PhnmlH2020	PhenoMeNal
	@green_bioinfo	South Green
	@workflow4metabo	Workflow4Metabolomics

Got something to say?

Twitter is not a passive platform (you may have heard that already :-). If you have news that's relevant to the Galaxy community then please include the #UseGalaxy hashtag, or one of the other accounts or hashtags if those are more relevant.

Keeping up without drowning: TweetDeck

We recommend TweetDeck for using Twitter. TweetDeck lets you track multiple accounts and hashtags simultaneously, each in its own column.

See you on Twitter,

Dave Clements, Martin Cech, Mo Heydarian, Hans-Rudolf Hotz and Nicola Soranzo