What is Twitter?
Twitter is a mini-blogging platform that you can use to send messages of 140 characters or less to family, friends, or just the general Web community at large.
You can also choose to follow other Twitter community members’ posts, either by navigating directly to the Twitter site, subscribing to that particular Twitter RSS feed, or getting Twitter posts sent to your mobile device (text messaging fees will apply for this option; check with your provider).
What do people use Twitter for?
There are many different uses for Twitter. Some of the most common are:
- Instant updates. For instance, the Los Angeles Fire Department uses Twitter to keep the community apprised of fire emergences (LAFD).
- News. You can get up to the minute news updates from many news agencies; for instance, Sky News (SkyNews).
- Friends and family. The majority of Twitter users use it to keep friends and family apprised of what they’re doing at any given moment. It’s a great way to fire off a quick jolt of news if you don’t have a lot of time to write anything more substantial (you can see my Twitter feed at gachiejosphat).
Why should I use Twitter?
Personally, I use Twitter as a quick journal of what I’m doing day to day. For instance, looking back at the last couple weeks of my Twitter feed, I noticed that I had a lot of baseball games, lots of talking to my cat (don’t ask), and interactions with my kids. People are finding new uses for Twitter all the time – what will you use it for?
If you don’t know what Twitter is, then you really have been in the dark. Sorry to be so blunt however, if you are new to Social Media, this is one of the first networks I would sign up to. Some refer to it as their Social Networking Virtual Water Cooler… and then there is Twitters version:
Twitter is a micro-blogging service where you have only 140 characters to express yourself and share online in a creative way
I have been using Twitter now for over a year which has enabled me to meet some really cool people online who are in marketing, business, blogging, networking, and it has brought me traffic and exposure to my sites, enabling me to build my Personal Brand all the while.
As an Internet Marketer, Twitter is my source of never ending news and resources to help me with my online research into Social Media, what works, what doesn’t work and ultimately, it is up to each one of us to test and measure what works best for our own unique situations.
There are many sites offering Twitter tips on how to use this service and they all share some great advice. Personally, I use it to keep up with fellow tweeters and see what’s going on in the world and with Social Networking.
I type in what I am doing (as Twitter asks), whether it be reading, watching or listening to something on the web and providing the link – and occasionally I have a little back and forth conversation with other tweeters. I also tweet when I have updated my blogs with a link to the post. A little of everything.
Getting Started with Twitter
Twitter quite simply asks: What are you doing now?
The homepage of Twitter is where you sign up and create your profile. It’s a simple process of providing a few details like your name, email address and choosing a username for your profile. Remember, this will be your Personal Brand so choose wisely.
Once in, go into settings where you can upload your avatar, add a short bio and change your design if you wish, to the colour and style you like. Use your creativity and show the Twitterverse who you are as an individual or business.
How To Use Twitter
Twitter is a great tool for keeping up with family and friends as well as building an online presence for Internet Marketers.
Keeping up with family and friends is pretty straight forward however, when establishing relationships online, it’s great to provide value to the conversation.
You will notice once you start tweeting that Twitter has a language all of it’s own which you can explore at Twittonary.
The Twitter Dictionary aka Twittonary provides explanations of various Twitter related words.
You can select a letter of the alphabet and it will provide a list of words which are commonly abbreviated into Twitter language.
Tweeting Effectively
A few things to note when you are using twitter. You may see an @reply with your username in it. This means one of your followers (or not) has tweeted something to you. You can choose whether to @reply back to them remembering of course when you use the @ symbol, it makes the link to their profile live which is a good thing for anyone wanting to have a look at that users profile. It also shows up on the user’s timeline you sent it too making them aware of your @reply.
You can also send a DM (direct message) to anyone who is following you. A DM is a private message which can only be viewed by the recipient. Go to their profile and over to the right, you will see a message link. Click on it and type your message and send. The same applies here with the 140 characters.
If you want to provide a link and it’s simply too long to fit into the 140 characters space with your comment, you can shorten it by going to Tinyurl to shorten it for example, this
http://socialnetworkingnewsdaily.com/twitter/twitter-helped-fight-spam-comments/
can be turned into this
http://tinyurl.com/5cb9vj
As you can see, the Tinyurl has a much better chance of fitting into the 140 character space you have leaving room to add your comment.
So there you have a few basic tips to get you started on Twitter for Social Networking. Let me know how you get on in the comments here and/or follow me on Twitter @gachiejosphat .
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