How To Use Twitter

If you just came here from Twitter, chances are, this article wont help you. Every week I talk to someone that says ” I don’t understand Twitter” or “Can you help me figure out how to use Twitter?” so this weeks How To Tuesday is on, you guessed it, “How to use Twitter” (or Twitter 101).

Twitter is a microblogging platform that is very similar to a chat room or live forum. You post messages to people you allow “follow” you in a limiting 140 characters (or less) and read messages from people you choose to “follow”. Because Twitter keeps its messages short, you can find a variety of “tweeted” messages from what someone had for breakfast to a breaking news story.

Twitter has proven to be one of the fastest moving forms of news to date with URLs being “ReTweeted” often quicker then a news channel can even get a breaking new graphic on your TV screen. (When the plane landed in the Hudson River, a “twitterer” on board had a cell picture up on twitter before any other news source had it.)

Here is a small video on twitter. Sorry, my Flip has as hard time reading text on a computer screen.

[flashvideo filename="videos/twitter.flv" width="448" height="361" /]

Helpful Terms you need to know from twitter:

• Tweet: Your 140 Character Message
• RT or ReTweet: Someone copying your message and resending back out to their followers
• Tweeple: Twitter Users
• Twittectomy: Unfollowing a friend
• Twitterstream: Your timeline of messages
• DM or Direct Message: Message sent to you privately

Aside from being a place to publicly “chat”, it is also helpful to bloggers, public relations, and companies in bringing traffic back to their site. Twitter is useful in directing new site traffic, getting a ton of opinions at one time very quickly, chatting, finding unique links and news stories,  finding out what people are saying about your company or product, and  keeping a hold on what the “world” is talking about. However, some days…it really is just what you had for breakfast.

Here are a few sites that you can use to help you have a better twitter experience (and there are 100′s more):

• TweetBeep: Find out if your name, brand, or product is mentioned on twitter
• Friend or Follow: Who are you following that isnt following you? Did you leave someone out on your follows? This site tells you who thinks you suck.
• Tweetdeck: Organize your tweets into a column fashion so you dont miss out and its more easily categorized.
• Tiny URL: Make your links shorter so you take up less characters on twitter
• TwitHire: Need a job?
• Twitturly: Most Popular stories on twitter
• TwitterKeys: Spice up your conversations with icons
• TweetLater: Schedule your tweets
• TwitterPatterns: Customize your backgrounds
• Post like a Pirate: Ok, this is just funny

You can make your profile public or private, look for messages via hashtags (#search terms) and interact. I use Twitter mainly for marketing, but on occasion, like last night, Ill hang out for a few and have some conversations.

As you can see from my very scientific example here with many red arrows, what you type is what your “Followers” see and what you view is in your timeline depending on who YOU “Follow”. You can control who follows you or how many you follow.

Very simply, its one big chat area.

I can “Tweet” out:

I can respond to someone elses message:

I can read responses to me:

A few Twitter Tips from MomDot visitors:

• @hair4myprincess says: Use TwitterFeed to post your tips automatically
• @3kidsandus says: Download and install TwitMe for wordpress users to auto tweet your blogs
• @akblessings says: Use a customized background to make your twitter more memorable
• @Suzlyn says:  Use HootSuite to tweet ANYTING on the web
• @_Karen says: Follow businesses you have worked with in the past to keep up with future announcements and strengthen relationships
• @MaternalSpark says: Make sure to use keywords for your blog or site in your twitter profile.  Google indexes your profile and they rank well.
• @theohanamama says: You do not have to create a new account in order to change your name…just go to settings, account and it will tell you if your new name is available.  All followers and those you follow will stay with you.
• @justaddcharm says: At TwitterCounter.com you can get a free badge for your blog that will display your follower count.

Alright, have any more questions? Leave them behind!

~Trisha

(twitter @MomDot)