More than 5,000 people outside and inside the University are now keeping in touch with Sussex on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Sussex uses its main Twitter account (@SussexUni), first set up in February 2009, to provide quick and frequent 140-character updates on life and news at the University.

On 28 October it passed the 5,000 mark for 'followers', i.e. Twitter users who have chosen to receive updates from Sussex.

There are also now dedicated Twitter accounts for staff (@SussexUniStaff) and students (@SusxUniStudents) at the University, which have close to 1,000 'followers' between them.

Other parts of the University using Twitter include the Library (1,400 followers), Careers and Employability (700) and alumni (more than 500) teams, all of whom update their feeds for their own followers.

The Director of Communications, Rob Read, says: "Twitter is just one of the ways in which the University uses social media to engage with people off and on campus. 

"Many teams have found it a useful way of sharing information and getting quick and effective feedback from across the campus community and with the wider world."

A portal page has been created to provide access to the range of Sussex social media aimed at external audiences, including Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Within SPLASH, current staff and students can keep up with the latest social media updates, including tweets, blog posts and news articles mentioning the University.