Citing and referencing: Social media

This guide is no longer being maintained as the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook has been replaced by the 8th edition. Only use the 7th edition under direction of your lecturer or tutor. Please click here to go to the MLA 8th library guide.

E-mail

Include: Author of the message, followed by the quotation marks State to whom the message was sent Date the message was sent Medium of publication

 

Tolstoy, Natashsa. "The body of the Ballet." Message to Rudy Mostovska. 20 Nov. 2012. Email.

In text citation

A recent email suggests Mostovska should consider revising the role of the soloist (Tolstoy).
or
Natasha Tolstoy suggested the role of the soloist should be reviewed.

A Listserv, Discussion group or Blog Posting

Include: Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available) "Posting title". Name of Site. Version number (if available) Name of institution/organisation affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher) Medium of publication Date of access

 

Harvey, Nicola. "The making of 'Live: an intimate video study of the art of performing'." ABC Arts. Australian Broadcasting Commission, 9 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

In text citation

Unedited footage permitted insightful viewing into the making of "Live: an intimate video study of the art of performing" (Harvey).
or
Nicola Harvey appreciated the opportunity for "insightful viewing" in the making of "Live: an intimate video study of the art of performing".

Twitter or Facebook

Cite web postings as you would a standard web entry. The date and time of a message on Twitter reflect the reader’s time zone. Readers in different time zones see different times and, possibly, dates on the same tweet.  Thus, the date and time displayed on Twitter are only approximate guides to the timing of a tweet. However, they allow a researcher to precisely compare the timing of tweets as long as the tweets are all read in a single time zone. http://tweet2cite.com/ is an automatic citation generator for Twitter created by Ben Hedlund. (Citation appear in both APA and MLA style) Include: User's name (Last Name, First Name) followed by his/her Twitter user name in parentheses (brackets). Include a full stop outside the parentheses The tweet should appear in its entirety in quotations, full stop after the tweet within the quotations Include the date and time of posting, using the reader's time zone Separate the date and time with a comma and finish with a full stop Include the word "Tweet" afterwards and end with a full stop

 

Athar, Sohaib (ReallyVirtual). “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).” 1 May 2011, 3:58 p.m. Tweet.

In text citation

Sohaib Athar noted that the presence of a helicopter at that hour was “a rare event.”
or
The presence of a helicopter at that hour was “a rare event” (Athar).

YouTube or Podcast

Include: Editor, author, or compiler name (if available) "Posting Title." Name of Site. Version number Name of institution/organization affiliated with he site (sponsor or publisher) Date of resource creation (if available) Web. Date of access

 

MLA does not specifically state how to cite a YouTube video, based on other media formats the following format is the most acceptable for YouTube videos

Tomlinson, Kerry. "The GeekSquad Got Caught Scamming." Online video clip. YouTube, YouTube, 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2012

In text citation

Kerry Tomlinson discovered when attempting to get a computer repaired "not all technicans were honest".
or
It was soon discovered "not all technicans were honest" (Tomlinson)

 

acknowledgement to:(Purdue OWL - (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/)