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For Those About To Tweet
Imagine sending your 140 character message across the Internet. This is essentially Twitter.
If you’ve ever sent a text message, you already know how to Tweet. But with Twitter you are broadcasting to the millions of people already on the Twitter network, not just a single friend or associate. While it is interesting to view the mega-Twitter stream of all current Tweets, most folks track the messages of those they follow.
First you will need to set up your account at Twitter.com. Registration is a simple process which can be completed in a few minutes, but there are a couple of things to consider: your Twitter user name and your “One line bio.” Twitter recommends that you enter your real name in your profile so that folks you know can find you. You may choose to also use your real name as your user name, or something completely different, but Twitter is not a place where anonymity is encouraged. Note that your Tweets are archived and can be found via Twitter Search and Google, so they will likely survive you. Even if you delete one of your Tweets, they can still be recovered.
Your Twitter Bio is important because it’s another way that folks with similar interests will find you. You’re allocated 160 characters for this, so choose words that best describe you. For example, my bio is:
Now that your account is set-up, you may have some friends already on Twitter whom you’d like to follow. Simply search for them by name and click “Follow” under their image to see their Tweets in your Tweetspace. You may also search for scientists (Michio Kaku), movie stars (Demi Moore) and/or famous athletes (Lance Armstrong) to follow, perhaps even President Obama. You may also wish to search for your favorite publications and or web sites like the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan or Scientific American.
You may also search by keyword looking for folks who share your interests. Fashion, Culinary, Singularity or Motorsports queries reveal the current Tweeters and Tweets on these respective terms. Review the Tweets, and if you see something interesting you may choose to follow that person or organization by simply clicking their name then clicking the “Follow” button on their Twitter page.
Now that you have selected a group to follow, you may soon get notifications from others who wish to follow you. You are not required to follow everyone who follows you. I typically review the new follower’s recent Tweets and read their bio; if they seem interesting, I reciprocate the “Follow.” Twitter’s popularity is attracting spamsters, and some of them are cleverly veiled, so use some discretion when clicking the “Follow” button. You will likely come across “Follower Harvesters,” whose central goal is pumping their Tweet Stats, and “Tweetbots” who seem human until their repetitive, canned messages become apparent.
Twitter is a great application for sharing news, videos, ideas and finding thought provoking information. Remember, you control the content you see via the folks you choose to follow. I have found that I typically have three or four daily thoughts or news bits that I feel like Tweeting, sometimes more and sometimes none at all. The Golden Rule works well in Twitter too; Tweet others as you want to be Tweeted. Yes, that’s exceptionally corny, but certainly applicable in Tweetspace.
My next Twitter writing will focus on etiquette regarding replies, direct messages and source attribution, among other details. You will learn a lot just by jumping in and observing how the Great Conversation progresses.
In addition to accessing Twitter via a web browser, there are numerous Twitter applications that run on phones and computers. I like Tweetdeck on my laptop and use Twitterfon on the iPhone, among others.
You are welcome to follow me on Twitter and I’d be happy to answer any questions this writing may have generated.
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