Twitter Basics
Glossary:
Tweet: A 280-character message.
Retweet (RT): Re-sharing or giving credit to someone else’s tweet.
Feed: The stream of tweets you see on your homepage. It’s comprised of updates from users you follow.
Handle: Your username.
Mention (@): A way to reference another user by his username in a tweet (e.g. @mashable). Users are notified when @mentioned. It’s a way to conduct discussions with other users in a public realm.
Direct Message (DM): DMs are private messages sent from one Twitter account to another account(s). You can use Direct Messages for one-on-one private conversations, or between groups.
Hashtag (#): A way to denote a topic of conversation or participate in a larger linked discussion (e.g. #AmericanIdol, #Obama). A hashtag is a discovery tool that allows others to find your tweets, based on topics. You can also click on a hashtag to see all the tweets that mention it in real time — even from people you don’t follow.
Verified Post: A verified Twitter account receives a blue check icon to indicate that the creator of these Tweets is a legitimate source. Verified accounts include public figures and those who may have experienced identity confusion on Twitter.
Getting Started
CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
In order to engage in conversation, you must introduce yourself. By creating a handle (see glossary above) you can quickly describe who you are. A handle is essentially your address or calling card, and is how people will interact with you and include you in conversation. Your profile pic, header image and bio should also reflect who you are. Unless you’re planning to create a satire or spoof account, you should use your actual picture and real name, so people feel more comfortable interacting with you.
DISCOVER SOURCES: Find and follow others
It’s best to begin your journey by finding and following other interesting Twitter accounts. Tip: One great way to find more interesting accounts is see who those you know or admire are following.
Click Discover at the top of your Twitter page. You can find and follow other accounts in these four ways: 1) browse accounts by category, 2) browse accounts that we think might be of interest to you 3) import your address book contacts to find out which friends are already on Twitter, 4) search one-by-one for people or groups of interest.
CHECK IT OFTEN: Pay attention to what’s happening
Messages from others you follow will show up in a readable stream on your Twitter homepage. Once you’ve followed a few people, you’ll have a new page of information to read each time you log in. Click links in others’ Tweets to view images they’ve linked to. Click hashtagged keywords (#) to view all Tweets about that topic.
TAKE IT WITH YOU: Connect your mobile
One of the best things about Twitter is that it’s portable. Connect your account to your mobile phone or download a Twitter application to begin reading Tweets on the go. Tip: Using Twitter via SMS allows you to pick and choose which updates you want from those you follow, so you can get mobile updates from the accounts that matter most to your life on-the-go.
BUILD A VOICE: Retweet, reply, react
Use existing information (other people’s Tweets) on Twitter to find your own voice and show others what you care about. Retweet messages you’ve found and love, or @reply with your reaction to a Tweet you find interesting. Tip: If you’re a new user, others are more likely to find your messages if they are Retweets or @replies.
The next time you see a particularly fascinating tweet, click “reply” and add your two cents. Interacting with ordinary people is a great way to get the hang of the “@mention” (just use the “@” sign before that person’s handle). Clicking “expand” or “view conversation” on a tweet will display all the responses that message received in chronological order, including tweets from people you aren’t following. You can see when someone follows or @mentions you in the @Connect tab at the top of the page.
Once you feel comfortable with these tools, it’s time to start interacting with more influential Twitter users. Twitter gives you the power to directly connect with government officials, celebrities and cultural movers and shakers. By @mentioning specific people, the odds that they see your conversation increase drastically. Who knows? They might even respond or retweet to their own personal audiences.
MENTION: Include others in your content
Once you’re ready to begin authoring your own messages, consider mentioning other users by their Twitter username (preceded by the @ sign) in your Tweets. This can help you think of what to write, will draw more eyes to your message, and can even start a new conversation. Tip: Can’t think of anything to write? You don’t have to. The real magic lies in your reading of content on Twitter.
DIRECT MESSAGE:
You can also communicate directly with people who are following you. These “direct messages” are private, but if you remember Congressman Weiner’s travails, you’ll want to use the direct message (DM) tool cautiously. A good rule of thumb is to only post Twitter content that you would be comfortable seeing on the front page of your local newspaper.
That being said, to direct message a person, that user must also be following you. Go to his profile and click on the icon next to the “follow” button. In the drop-down menu, select “send a direct message.” Now you can compose and send your 140-character private message.
If Twitter users have opted to receive direct messages from anyone, then they don’t have to be following you.
RETWEETING:
Retweeting is a common way to share something interesting from someone you follow to your own set of followers. Pertinent information tends to spread virally via retweets. It’s important to remember that a retweet should be thought of as quoting someone or citing a source.
There are a couple of ways to retweet someone (see image below). You may choose to simply hit the retweet button that appears when you hover your mouse over someone else’s tweet. When you click this button, the tweet will be sent to your set of followers, using the original tweeter’s profile pic alongside a note that you have retweeted the post. Additionally, a small green icon will appear in the top-right corner of the tweet. This is illustrated in the top example of the picture below.
Another way of retweeting arose from the Twitter community itself. This way is a ever-so-slightly more labor intensive, but gives you the opportunity to comment on a tweet before you retweet it. Simply click to expand the tweet, copy and paste its text, and then create a new tweet by clicking the compose icon in the top-right of your profile page. Be sure to include the letters “RT” and the handle of the person who originally tweeted the information. (This is illustrated in the lower example in the picture below.) Notice that the tweet now appears in your timeline, with your profile pic and your comment before the original tweet.
Again, these are two ways to perform essentially the same action. It’s up to you to determine when it’s appropriate to include a comment in your RT.
GET FANCY: Explore advanced features
As you become more engaged on Twitter, others will begin to find and follow you. Once you’re familiar with Twitter basics, consider exploring the site’s more advanced features: lists, direct messages, and favorites. Learn how to include images or videos in your Tweets, or consider connecting your Twitter account to your your blog, Facebook, or website. Tip: The best way to gain followers on Twitter is to regularly engage and contribute in a meaningful way.
HASHTAGS:
Hashtags label and indicate the subject matter of certain conversations taking place on Twitter. The hashtag is represented by the number sign “#.” Putting one of these little symbols in front of a word or phrase indicates a subject you think is worth talking about. The words you use after the hashtag become searchable because Twitter tracks them. That is to say, if you click on a particular hashtag, you’ll be able to see all tweets that have also used that hashtag. It’s a grouping mechanism that allows you to get the general public’s sense about a specific topic or issue.
This is a very convenient way to drop in on subjects as broad as #OrganicFood or as focused as #BehindTheLaunch. Feel free to create your own subjects — just make sure you don’t use any spaces between words in a hashtag. The #Discover tab at the top of the page will display content and hashtags that might interest you, based on your own tweets.
LISTS:
Twitter: How to use lists
Mashable – How to use Twitter Lists
Listorious – Discover the best Twitter lists
Poynter: How Journalists Can Use Twitter to Customize, Discover and Curate
Tools:
A. Twitter
Alongside the explosive growth of Twitter users is an equally stunning growth of applications you can use to manage Twitter.
Another tracking tool: Hootsuite