The home page of IIM Calcutta’s Twitter account

The bitter-tweet experiences of some celebrities may have triggered Twitter trauma among those in the public eye but students are tweeting smartly at both work and play.

IIM Calcutta has taken the lead by turning its Twitter account into more than a mere social networking device. From breaking news and blog links to CAT and campus-placement updates, the tweets on “IIMC” reflect a broader use of Twitter than most celebrity users seem able to comprehend.

“We started a Twitter account on December 17, 2008 as an informal channel of information on what is happening on the campus. It’s now a window to IIM Calcutta for past, present and future students,” said Paul Savio, the secretary of the external relations cell of IIM Calcutta.

Even official releases are now posted as tweets. A pact with the University of Melbourne was recently announced through Twitter.

As on Sunday, IIMC had 742 “followers”, or Twitterers who track it. The list includes current students, alumni, journalists and youngsters who wish to be part of the Joka campus someday.

According to Savio, the best part of Twitter is that “you don’t bombard people with unnecessary information”.

Short and tweet is apparently how management students like their networking to be given the time they have to devote to studies and projects. “You tweet and post a link. Those who are interested can click on the link and read the relevant information,” explained Savio.

So there are links to blogs of alumni with invitations like “Link to Deepa Krishnan’s blog… Deepa’s an IIMC alum who conducts walking tours around Mumbai, apart from her day job”.

Tweets also reflect the mood on campus. A day before the Puja holidays, one member wrote: “Students begin moving out of campus as IIMC breaks for Durga Puja, the only vacation on its calendar. Best wishes of the season to all! 6:17PM Sept 24th.”

Students of IIM Calcutta even cheer their teams participating in various competitions — and provide live updates — through Twitter.

The institute recently announced its annual B-plan competition “i2I” through a tweet.

The Twitter account is maintained by the student community’s external relations cell. The present secretaries, Savio and Rohan Mahajan, will hand over charge next year.

“We intend maintaining Twitter as one of the channels of communication at IIM Calcutta, and hopefully our juniors will keep the show going,” said Savio.