The @IndigenousX account
is a guest account which has one different Aboriginal and/or Torres
Strait Islander person tweeting from the account each week.
It is a space for proud and active Indigenous people from different areas and different walks of life to tell their own stories in their own words. To share with and learn from the 8,000+ people who follow the account.
I hope it provides strength and encouragement to those who tweet from the account, and an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of Indigenous people for those who follow.
I also hope it contributes to building a stronger sense of community within Twitter for all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mob who follow it as well.
This is a page for people to share their views on why they follow, why others should follow, and even for a few of the guest hosts to share what they got out of their week.
Thanks for following and supporting @IndigenousX
We've also been mentioned online a few times so far, which is pretty deadly too :)
Via the Indigenous Literacy Foundation: IndigenousX twitter campaign raises over $10,000
Via The Wire: IndigenousX challenging mainstream stereotypes (Radio Interview)
Via BlackBiz Bi-Monthly: Deadly Tweet (Article)
Via Croakey: Profiling online opportunities for Indigenous health discussions, the @IndigenousX Twitter account and more…
Via ABC Radio: #IndigenousXto10K
Via National Indigenous Radio Service: Social Media Literacy Funding Campaign Takes Off
Via Leesa Watego: This week I'm IndigenousX
Via @SivParker: @IndigenousX 2-9 May
It is a space for proud and active Indigenous people from different areas and different walks of life to tell their own stories in their own words. To share with and learn from the 8,000+ people who follow the account.
I hope it provides strength and encouragement to those who tweet from the account, and an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of Indigenous people for those who follow.
I also hope it contributes to building a stronger sense of community within Twitter for all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mob who follow it as well.
This is a page for people to share their views on why they follow, why others should follow, and even for a few of the guest hosts to share what they got out of their week.
Thanks for following and supporting @IndigenousX
We've also been mentioned online a few times so far, which is pretty deadly too :)
Via the Indigenous Literacy Foundation: IndigenousX twitter campaign raises over $10,000
Via The Wire: IndigenousX challenging mainstream stereotypes (Radio Interview)
Via BlackBiz Bi-Monthly: Deadly Tweet (Article)
Via Croakey: Profiling online opportunities for Indigenous health discussions, the @IndigenousX Twitter account and more…
Via ABC Radio: #IndigenousXto10K
Via National Indigenous Radio Service: Social Media Literacy Funding Campaign Takes Off
Via Leesa Watego: This week I'm IndigenousX
Via @SivParker: @IndigenousX 2-9 May
Interacting with so many different, kind, and high calibre Indigenous people makes me more confident and comfortable dealing with the Indigenous people I encounter in public. It also gives me a lot of positive examples to mention and new friends to make.
ReplyDeletelove love love it :)
I live on the other side of the World, in Ireland, and my whole knowlege of your country has never had an indigenous source before.
ReplyDeletehttp://indigenoushousing.org
DeleteThis is also a good source of information
I was a guest Tweeter on IndigenousX from May 31 to June 7 and thouroughly enjoyed the experience. This particular week was quite signifcant because it was just after Sorry Day (May 27) but was during Reconciliation Week and took in the 20th Anniversary of Mabo and the Annual Native Title Conference in Townsville, so there was a lot happening. What I gained from the experience was an insight and appreciation of just how active and involved Indigenous Australia is in the daily community and political life of our Nation. The reach of IndigenousX was also a motivator as it has over 5,000 followers so to be able to connect with people and organisations nationally and internationally was very uplifting. I think I gained a few followers personally as well. I had around 270 followers on my own account when I started and since then I have gone past 400 followers which is great. In my week on IndigenousX the following went from 5016 to over 5100 so I felt that I had made a good contribution to IndigenousX. Learning to be pithy and interesting in tweeting the 140 characters that you get to play with was also a benefit from my IndigenousX experience & making good use of the ReTweet to also help generate interest.
ReplyDeleteI would highly recommend it to anyone. It was an honour to be asked by Luke to participate and it was all done electronically. I haven't had a telephone conversation with him as yet, but I am sure we will meet properly at some time in the future. IndigenousX is a great initiative and Luke should be congratulated for helping to get the voice of Indigenous Australia out there, not just the higher profile few, but all of us. The young voices are particularly important and really inspiring to see their hopes for the future on display.
Looking forward to tweeting more about my work with the Healing Foundation and some of the really great healing stories going on around our country in the next few weeks.
All the best
@RichJWeston
I love the IndigenousX account, I love the diversity of the people on it, I get to hear and read so many opinions. Very deadly in my opinion.
ReplyDelete@dharawal
When I was a schoolteacher teaching in a remote community school I realised - with some help from some very good educators both within and outside the system, trained and untrained.
ReplyDeleteI realised that there are enough people in the world looking at Indigenous kids and expecting them to fail. There are enough people in the world who think that they are helping out Indigenous children by lowering their standards of what they will accept because they don't want the kids to feel bad - maybe? I really don't know why they do that.
Not good enough! We have to expect the very best from the children. The best that they can be! And we have to show them that even though we have good days and bad days - we pick ourselves up and we do our best. We aim to make the right choices. And we do that day after day.
And we have got to have time for the children.
I follow the IndigenousX - it is a bit of a culture shock for me, to be honest. I'm still coming to terms with twitter. There is a whole world out there I did not know existed. Reading @RichJWeston's comment above reinforces to me how important this site is.
You are doing a good thing. It is important.
Michael
@IndigenousX represents a range of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander interests and issues.
ReplyDeleteIt is not just Indigenous health related, or Indigenous rights related, or Indigenous arts or music related.
There are plenty of bloggers and Tweeps who have a single agenda or focus, but IndigenousX manages to amalgamate them all. It champions and advocates on behalf of a range of issues, encourages stimulating discussion, and creates a feeling of community.
IndigenousX provides support for new movements, challenges assumptions and is inspiring to Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people, and those who work in Indigenous fields.
As someone who is working on a behavioural change health campaign for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (nosmokes.com.au), connecting with the IndigenousX network has been vital, and valuable.
Keep up the good work of bringing us quality tweeters - no one has let me down since I started following.
ReplyDeleteFor me @IndigenousX changes the conversation. We have become so accustom to discussion of Indigenous life and issues being constantly negative that for the wider community it has often become a truth, at least in their eyes, and it perpetuates a myth of hopelessness. Not only does IndigenousX deliver a positive message it is done by some of the best & brightest in the land communicating to a community of engaged Australian's eager to learn more.
ReplyDeleteMy experience both learning from and contributing to IndigenousX has been unlike any other I have found online. In my week guesting on the account I did not receive one negative or racist response. Sure some questions contained a little ignorance that may offend, but the intention was good, folks wanted to learn and listen. For me personally that is all I have ever wished for, a chance to share stories, to break down barriers and to show the excellence that we know exists.
IndigenousX is not just a twitter account to me, it is a campfire were as a broader community we meet and each week the stick is passed to a new speaker. It is personal, it is true and it connects.
And when the negative must be discussed, it is done not to demean or to score political points but as attempts to highlight injustices and to right the wrongs. Reconciliation is not a day or an event, but a conversation and a movement. IndigenousX is one of its most powerful voices.
Martin
I agree with all the comments so far. In short, IndigenousX is changing the conversation about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
ReplyDeleteIt gives the broader Australian community an opportunity to see how diverse we are as people and the confidence to ask questions that they may not feel confident in asking in real life.
Through IndigenousX I have had the opportunity to not necessarily meet new tweeters (cos I tend to already follow those who have been up) but have had the chance to be proud of the way that they have used the account to educate about themselves and their cultures.
I found my experience on IndigenousX to be a great one. It challenged me to think of what information or knowledge I wanted to impart to the 5,000+ followers rather than my usual "brain dump" that I do on my regular account.
A big thanks to Luke and everyone who has contributed to IndigenousX so far. I can't wait to see how it will evolve and grow in time.
Ebs Wears Pink
I have been following @IndigenousX account for only a little while now and have enjoyed the stories from the different Hosts every week.
ReplyDeleteI've been an IndigenousX tweep and had the pleasure of meeting many new tweeps throughout my week. In my day job I'm an educator and find the IndigenousX account a wonderful way for our mob to share, educate, laugh and express our feelings in a most respectful and purposeful way. We get to reach 5000+ people from extremely diverse communities around the world. I see the IndigenousX account as a vital tool in allowing the world to see/share our beautiful, diverse and rich culture in a way very few platforms allow us. The account is a credit to the many and varied Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tweeps who have participated in it.
ReplyDeleteLiz
I love @IndigenousX on Twitter and on Facebook. As so many have said above IndigenousX, like the people and families of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia, is not one person but many people.
ReplyDeleteThe account is such a simple idea, yet it reflects a diversity of opinion, ideas, priorities and voices, in a way that is authentic and meaningful. IndigenousX is unscripted, and on some days completely uncensored *wink*.
Of course, to be part of IndigenousX (whether you're a creator or in the audience), there is an assumption that one has a minimal degree of functional literacy and a degree of access to technology (hardware & connection). Despite those factors however, IndigenousX has to be one of the most democratic opportunities to publish and have one's ideas heard.
I wholeheartedly support IndigenousX and recommend it to everyone.
Thanks Luke, for the opportunity to have been a small part of this story.