¡°There are a lot of different ways to craft a bio in Twitter,¡± writes Inside Higher Ed blogger Eric Stoller () on the US website¡¯s .

¡°A lot of schools like to use something like ¡®the official Twitter account of ______ University¡¯ or ¡®Tweets from the University of ______¡¯,¡± he points out. ¡°This is a fairly standard practice.¡±

However, there are institutions that have allowed their social media managers to depart from the norm, the blog reveals, before naming some colleges that have ¡°crafted interesting Twitter bios that¡­instantly pique our curiosity¡±.

Among those featured is the University of West London (), which has a biography that states ¡°95% of our graduates find employment within 6 months¡±.

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¡°A bit of bragging is never a bad thing in the ultra-rich higher education environment that is London,¡± the blog says, praising the Twitter account for letting potential students know ¡°exactly what happens if you earn your degree at UWL¡±.

The University of Kent¡¯s account () is also highlighted because its biography points out that it is ¡°looked after by Allie 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri¡±. This ¡°gives you an immediate connection to the fact that there is someone who will be there, ready to answer, if you tweet at them,¡± Mr Stoller says.

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He is less kind about Queen Margaret University (), which (at the time of writing) has a biography that reads: ¡°This is the official Queen Margaret University Twitter page, maintained by the Marketing & Communications Office. All information posted will be genuine.¡±

¡°80% of this bio should probably be rewritten,¡± Mr Stoller writes, although he adds that this might be ¡°too harsh¡±. ¡°I had to add this account to my list because of the last sentence. Perhaps it¡¯s supposed to be serious or maybe it¡¯s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but ¡®All information posted will be genuine¡¯ immediately grabbed my attention and made me smile.¡±

Other universities making the list include the University of Melbourne (), which opens its biography with the phrase ¡°Tweet large¡± ¨C a call to action that the blog says ¡°requires more context¡±; Macquarie University (), which has a biography that states ¡°50 years, still different¡±; and Brock University (), which is, it says, ¡°for both sides of the brain¡±.

Inspired by the blog, we had a look at some of the other claims made by university Twitter profiles ¨C and we weren¡¯t disappointed.

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As ¡°one of the UK¡¯s leading research universities¡±, the University of Warwick () is ¡°not afraid to upset the apple cart¡±, according to its Twitter bio; Teesside University () is ¡°growing and inspiring others to do the same¡±; Stirling University () is apparently ¡°renowned for its beautiful, inspiring, safe and modern campus¡±; and Swansea University () wants to assure its followers that it is ¡°still ¡±.

¡°A bio on Twitter has so much potential to concisely share the spirit and zest of a place,¡± Mr Stoller concludes.

¡°Everyone gets the same 160 characters on Twitter to make their bio interesting to a potential follower. Thankfully, there are schools that have decided to forgo staid and/or bland bios.¡±

Send links to topical, insightful and quirky online comment by and about academics to chris.parr@tesglobal.com

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