Twitter 101
58We've all heard of MySpace and Facebook but what the heck is Twitter? Well, basically Twitter is the equivalent to your MySpace and Facebook status, only better. With Twitter you can reach millions of people instantly for free. It can be used for personal or business purposes. Twitter messages or tweets, as they're called, answer the basic question, "What are you doing right now?" But you can also post opinions, responses, links, questions, anything you want. Your messages should be short and to the point because you're only given 140 characters per update but being that you have up to 1,000 updates per day you can always continue your idea on the following update if you had to. These updates are posted on your profile and sent to your followers. Following someone means that you can see what they are up to by reading their updates. You are able to see who you are following and who’s following you by clicking the respective links underneath your Username.
Everything is more fun when done with your friends and family, so find new friends or follow old friends to stay in touch. Find your friends and family by using People Search, Twitter Search, Address Book import or URL look up. To do a People Search click on “Find People” located on the top navigation bar, you will then be on the “Find on Twitter” tab. Search for your friends using their first or last name or their username. You can also follow groups, organizations, celebrities or anyone who has a Twitter account. When you find someone you want to keep in touch with, click “Follow” and you will receive their updates automatically on your page. Sometimes they will decide to follow you too. You have the option to block someone from following you. I’m all for blocking the creepos. You can also find friends by importing your contacts which have a gmail, yahoo, aol, hotmal or msn email account. Just click on “Find People” then “Find on other Networks” and type in your email address and password, then Twitter lets you know which friends have a Twitter account.
Find new friends with similar interests by doing a Twitter Search of keywords, phrases, locations, interests, etc. To do this go to your bottom navigation bar, click on Search and follow those you find interesting. Twitter keeps track of the most popular search topics called “Trending Topics”. The list is located on the right side of your page.
In order for people to find you, fill in your account information by going to “Settings” and entering your location, real name and a brief biography. If you have your own website or blog you can also enter the URL. It’s great to get free advertising from wherever you can. So now you’ve entered all your information but you don’t want everyone to see your updates, (I don’t mind but maybe you do) go to “Settings” and on the bottom of the page, click the box that says “Protect my Updates”. Your page will be private and only people you allow will be able to follow you.
If you’d like to contact another user you have two options…send a Direct Message or if the content of your message is not very personal and you don’t mind everyone seeing it, you can place the message into your update box and type the @ symbol before the user’s screen name followed by your message. For example: I’d like to send a response to the message Crystal sent me so I’d write… “@Crystal That’s a great idea!!” and Crystal will know that the message was meant for her.
Twitter can be updated via internet, text messaging or 3rd party application. For Twitter apps go to Twitter.com/downloads To update via text, click on the “Settings” tab then click “Devices” and enter your cellphone number. Now you will be able to receive and post Twitter updates using your phone. (Check your wireless plan for texting charges).
Everyone has their own personality and style. Some like to show theirs through their Twitter pages by changing their layouts. Stars, stripes, cartoon characters whatever is you is OK. If you’d like to customize your profile you can do so by going to “Settings” (again) then “Design”. To make things easy, Twitter offers some premade layouts. Just click on your choice and you’re done. If you don’t like their choices you can Click Here and check out some other layouts you might like.
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ourawesomeworld) and check out my site (http://www.ourawesomeworld.com). My site works best using Internet Explorer. Class is over. I hope you’ve enjoyed Twitter 101:)
