What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free microblog that allows users to publish messages of 140 characters or fewer. Twitter is a great way to establish followers (ie, readers) and draw their attention to your blog, web site and event page. The basic premise is to share things that are interesting to you and to see highlights about things that are meaningful to you.
Example: You may not have time to read the entire newspaper each day, but you may have time to follow a particular newspaper on Twitter and see their tweets about 5 hot articles. You can choose to follow those links or not depending on whether the content looks interesting to you.
Twitter Lingo
Words often used about Twitter:
- Tweet: a post or message
- Tweep(s): person on Twitter
- Hashtag or Hatchtag: the # symbol, which is used for tracking/search purposes
- @NAME: indicates a particular tweep (can be used for specific replies/messages or in RT)
- RT: retweet, tweeting a message that has been tweeted before
- Follower: someone who has access to your posts
- Following: someone whose posts you have access to
- DM: direct message (ie, private message; see below)
Followers and Following
The best way to establish followers is to follow someone. Some people will choose to automatically follow you. Many groups will list their Twitter addresses on their web pages. You can use google or Twitter search to determine if someone you want to follow (eg, _AACC) is on Twitter. The more people you follow, the more interesting it will be for you.
Keeping Your Messages to 140 Characters
One of the easiest ways to keep your tweets short is to use a free link shrinker. Here are a few examples:
These sites shorten your links and help you keep to 140 characters or fewer. Remember that if you are retweeting a message, RT@username is going to add to the message. Using the #topic tracking function will also count as a part of your 140 characters.
Twitter Basics: How to Sign Up for Twitter
Decide if you want to use your account personally or professionally. Go to Twitter.com and click on the "Get Started—Join!" button in the middle of the page.
Enter your basic information (username, full name, password, email address) and decide if you want your account to be public or private. If it is public, anyone can follow you. If it is private then you receive a notification when someone wants to follow you and you get to decide if you want him/her to have access to your tweets. You can choose to have Twitter search your email address book for people who already have Twitter accounts.
In the upper left corner is a dropdown message called "Settings." This is where you can change the information above as time goes on (eg, username, bio, privacy). You can choose a design, upload a picture, enter and edit a bio. Under "Devices" you can enter your cell phone number to be able to send messages from your phone. Once this is set up, you’ll just send a regular text message to 40404.
Two Facets to Your Page
There are two components to your page: the public part and the admin part. Your admin page will show your tweets and those of anyone you are following. Your public page only shows your tweets. People will not spend much time on your public page since your admin page will display your tweets. Your public page is what people will use to determine if they want to follow you. To see your private page, click on your photo. To see your admin page, click on home. People who are following you cannot see your admin page.
Searching
The best way to find other people or people writing about a specific topic (eg, AACC) is to check their web site to see if they are on Twitter or to look for them using Twitter search.
You can also use Google. By searching these keywords, you can find science writers (or other professionals you wish to follow) on Twitter. There are lots of lists of the best tweeps to follow circulating. Find the list that meets your needs.
If you want people to be able to find you and your tweets on a certain topic, include # and the topic name at the end of the message (eg, Headed to the NACB board meeting #AACC).
Etiquette
The purpose of Twitter is to produce a statement of value. This means you’re not looking to disparage someone or make an especially general statement (eg, Cool!). Profanity is a personal choice, but if you use it, remember that your tweets are tied to your name and reputation. If you send out a tweet that was originally composed by someone else, preface that statement with RT (which means re-tweet) and the name of the person who originally sent it out. This is just common courtesy and RTs are very popular and encouraged.
Tweeting
Don’t feel a lot of pressure about your tweets. The best way to get started is just to jump right in. Find a tweet you especially enjoyed and retweet it. Find an article you enjoyed and share the link. Use action words and be as descriptive as possible about the link you’re sharing or the item you’re mentioning. Look at examples of tweets from people you’re following to get ideas. Followers want context. Don’t make them guess what you’re tweeting about.
Sending Information to a Specific Someone
There are two ways you can send someone a message. You can send them a direct message through your Twitter inbox, which is private (ie, other people will not see this message). You can also start your tweet with @name of person who message is for, which is public. The @name is the context. It tells other followers that you’re talking or replying to a specific person. People can choose to block or not see messages that are direct replies to others (ie, as a filter device so they don't have to see as many tweets).
Twitter Applications
There are lots of Twitter applications that make using Twitter easier:
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Twitter Toolbox: Made up of open source, free software designed to work with Twitter.
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Hoot Suite: Allows you to set up your tweets in advance.
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Tweet Deck: Helps you track tweets and replies, and in general, keeps things organized for you.
You can use google to locate these and other Twitter applications.
Twitterberry
Want to use Twitter from your Blackberry? The software you need is free. Just go to Twitterberry for Blackberry, determine that your Blackberry has the proper system requirements, and download it. Then, you’ll be able to send tweets directly from your Blackberry.