[real-eyes] Twitter 101
- From: "V Nork" <ginisd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:44:01 -0700
Hi, Just Passing along what I thought was an instructive and fun to read
article, as kind of a departure for me since I usually try for briefer posts.
Just opened my first Twitter account, have lots to learn, Best, Ginnie
Ashton Kutcher trashes his neighbor's chickens. U.S. Rep. John Culberson trashes
President Barack Obama's address to Congress. Brea Grant, one of the stars of
"Heroes,"
doesn't trash anyone, but is looking for a new veggie restaurant in Southern
California.
In the last few months, Twitter has become "the new hotness" in technology and
culture.
Celebrities are pushing geeks to the side as the most popular names on the
network,
and there has been the rush of media coverage. Network news shows use it to
communicate
with viewers, and news organizations, including mySA.com, send out breaking news
alerts via Twitter.
And yet, many of you probably have no idea what it is. Twitter is very simple,
and
that simplicity makes it hard to explain since it lacks formality.
Q.What is Twitter?
A.Twitter is a free social network.
Q.What is a social network?
A.That's a Web site or Web service that allows people to digitally contact and
stay
in touch with friends or with a wider community that's also on the network.
Users
chat, send each other messages and share information, such as pictures, music
and
videos.
Q.How is Twitter different?
A.Most Twitter contact consists of text messages that can be viewed by anyone
with
access to a cell phone or computer. Users can limit who sees their messages and
whose
messages they receive. Though there is a centralized Web site to send and view
messages,
many users don't need it, preferring to do all of their Twitter communication on
their phone.
Q.Why is Twitter so popular?
A.Twitter appears to be the flavor of the month among tech hipsters. The value
of
Twitter, it seems, is that all messages are short bursts and there are plenty of
them. Because of size limits, Twitter has spawned a stylized way of writing
that's
active, to the point and mixes its own acronyms with those borrowed from
traditional
instant messenger lingo. And because it only has 3 million users, Twitter is
like
a well-kept secret among the Tweeps, which is the term coined to describe
"Twitter
people."
Q.What is a tweet?
A.A tweet is the term coined to describe a Twitter message. Because Twitter uses
a cell phone's text messaging system, all tweets run 140 characters (spaces
included)
or fewer.
Q.How do you tweet?
A.Tweets can be sent from a computer, though the emphasis is on mobile
communication,
usually sent from a cell phone or a smart phone such as an iPhone. If you're
good
at text messaging, you'll be good at tweeting. If you prefer the long form of an
e-mail, tweeting will be a dicey skill to master.
Q.Will tweets take over my phone?
A.It's possible. If you worry about being inundated with tweets and running up a
huge text messaging bill, Twitter allows you to control how you receive tweets,
so
that only certain messages from certain people make it to your phone. Or none of
them. Or all of them. Messages you send and receive are always available, in
your
account, on the Twitter home page on your computer.
Q.What happens to my tweet after I hit "send?"
A.All tweets go to the Twitter phone number: 40404. Each tweet is swallowed up
by
the Twitter server and then thrown into the rapidly moving stream of tweets from
around the world.
Q.Can I respond to specific tweets?
A.Yes. Tag that message with the user's name and the "@" sign, such as
@roybragg,
@johnmccain, @rainnwilson to respond to a specific person.
Q.Can I send private messages?
A.Certain tweets, called direct messages, can be sent privately to another
individual
from cell phone or computer. On smart phones, which have Web data plans, direct
message
tweets are sometimes cheaper than a per-message price.
Q.What makes a good tweet?
A.Hard to say. While the lingo is unique, the content isn't. There's no
structure
to Twitter topics. Users are given one charge by Twitter - "What are you doing?"
Q."What are you doing"?
A.Messages can run the gamut, from personal tirades and self-promotion to pithy
observations,
news flashes and hints. A glance at the Twitter public timeline - all tweets
from
everyone, appearing as they are sent in real time - shows a universe where the
comments
are as random as eavesdropping on conversations at the airport. One tweet is
about
comics books. The next is about politics. The next is about lunch. The next is a
tech tip. Then someone responds to the political tweet, sparking another
response,
and so on.
Q.What can I do to avoid being overwhelmed by tweets?
A.One of the best things about Twitter can be one of the most frustrating and
one
of the most frightening, to wit: the tsunami of information coming at you at all
times from all around the world. To hone Twitter into what you need it to be,
the
system allows you to pick your friends and have others pick you to be their
friend.
"Followers" are people who receive your tweets. The people whose tweets your
want
to read are called your "following." In many instances, following is a mutual
thing
- you and your friends all follow each other, sharing messages as if you were
sitting
around a table. You can block anyone from reading your tweets, or you can stop
following
anyone at any time.
Q.How do I find or send tweets about certain topics?
A.Search for specific topics at search.twitter.com and you can see who tweeted
it
and when. Another technique involves searching for a short code term, called a
hashtag,
that is sometimes added to the text of a messages being sent out. A hashtag is
the
name of the topic, preceded by the "#" symbol. Examples of hashtags include
#spurs,
#cowboys, #???. Each of those would refer to tweets on those topics.
Q.Why are hashtags useful?
A.Using hashtags, Web sites dedicated to those topics can collect all of the
tweets
for ease of reading. One of the most popular hashtags is #tcot, which stands for
Top Conservatives on Twitter (topconservativesontwitter.org), which includes
tweets
from conservatives all around the country sharing thoughts, opinions and
debating
topics.
Q.What's the best way to use Twitter?
A.There are several options:
* On a plain-Jane cell phone, text messaging is the only choice. The Twitter
home
page works on a computer, but it's not designed well. There are stand-alone
applications
that augment Twitter functionality and add features that aren't on the home
page.
* On a PC, Tweetdeck allows you to see multiple windows at once. Twhirl lets you
run multiple Twitter accounts at once.
* On the Web, Hahlo and Twitterfall are Web sites built to deliver tweets in
real
time, streaming fashion via a browser.
* On a Blackberry, Twitterberry is the most popular choice.
* On an iPhone, Tweetie and Twitterrific are the most popular choices.
Q.What else can you do with Twitter?
A.There are hundreds of programs and special Twitter usernames designed for
specific
purposes. Some will share your music with friends, such as TwittyTunes or
Blip.fm.
Programs such as Tweet What You Eat will help you diet. Others will help with
personal
finance, send out reminders, maintain your calendar, act as a timer, share
pictures,
map where your friends are, track sugar intake, etc. You can combine Twitter
feeds
with other social programs, such as Facebook, MySpace, Digsby, etc., so one
update
will serve all services.
Q.What are some tricks of the tweet?
A.Best tips for sending:
* Web addresses: Twitter has rejuvenated the art of the "URL shortener." These
are
Web sites, such as bit.ly and tinyurl.com, which take long Web addresses and
shorten
them by up to 80 percent. budURL.com is the new kid on the block, created by an
Austin
company that allows Web site owners to track the shortened URLs.
* Video/pictures: The most popular site is TwitPic, which allows you to upload
camera
photos and a tweet that includes a link to the online picture.
* Location: The social network BrightKite will forward messages, as well as your
GPS location, to the Twitter network.
* Online video: Using sites such as Twiddeo or 12Seconds allow you to send links
to online videos.
Q.What are the basics of Twitter etiquette?
A.As with the rest of the online world, don't type in ALL CAPS - it's considered
e-screaming and is considered to be obnoxious. Other tips:
* When you share someone else's tweet, it's a "re-tweet" and should be prefaced
like
this: RT @(name of original sender) followed by the contents of the original
tweet.
* Abbreviating is allowed.
* Don't send multipart messages in consecutive tweets unless it's absolutely
necessary
* It's OK to promote your blog, but make sure you offer other tweets through the
day
* Don't carry on personal conversations in the public timeline. (This is Twitter
version of the "Hey! Get a Chat Room, you two!" rule of message boards.)
* Make every tweet interesting, compelling or informative to someone who isn't
you.
Don't waste everyone's time with a tweet such as "I'm having a bologna
sandwich."
A better tweet would be: "This bologna sandwich tastes like steak ... if steak
were
a heavily processed meat by-product."
* Don't tweet when you're drunk or angry.
* There's no need to correct obvious mistakes, such as innocent typos.
* If it's a big mistake, however, send out a corrected version. And next time
you're
on a computer, delete the original.
* Twitter is not a substitute for face-to-face conversation. That means Twitter
isn't
for breaking up nor is it for booty calls.
Q.Will I like tweeting?
A.That depends on what you want to do. If you want to read a lot and tweet
rarely,
that's OK. If you want to seek like-minded people, it's great. If you want to
vent,
that's OK if you do so with panache. But it may not be your cup of tea. If it
isn't,
just stop.
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