Do you Twitter? I do! I consider myself to be a “late-blooming Twitterer” because I only discovered it in late March. It seems that Twitter is all the rage everywhere you turn lately. If you haven’t heard of Twitter yet, WAKE UP! Just kidding… 
Let’s talk Twitter! Here’s what you can find in this blog post:
- What is Twitter?
- What is a Tweet?
- What does Follow mean on Twitter?
- How does Twitter work?
- Why Twitter?
- Twitter Tutorials
Twitter is a free and fun way to keep up with what other people are doing as they are doing it and vice versa. Basically, it is a “live” or “real-time” messaging service that you can use both online and on any mobile phone with text messaging capabilities. It is also referred to as a “micro-blogging” service but since the tweets are limited to 140 text characters, I prefer to think of it as a messaging service.
*Tip* – Check with your carrier before using to find out what you are charged for text messages. I added unlimited text and internet to my phone plan to avoid a per-use charge for texting and internet usage.
What is a Tweet?
A tweet is a text post or status update on Twitter.
What does “Follow” mean on Twitter?
To follow someone on Twitter basically means that you are adding them as a contact and will receive their tweets.
How Does Twitter Work?
When you sign up for Twitter and add your first contact (meaning you are choosing someone to follow), you will immediately start receiving their tweets (as long as the person you add has a public profile and not a private one). You can choose how you want to be notified of their tweets, whether by receiving a text message for each one (which can get overwhelming if they tweet a lot), or you can simply choose to read them when you login to the Twitter website.
Personally, I like having the ability to choose how I want to be notified by each individual user because some people send out waaaay too many tweets for me to keep up with and it would drive me crazy to be interrupted constantly via text message by everyone I “follow” on Twitter. This is one of the reasons I prefer Twitter over email, mailing lists and newsletters for some contacts.
*Tip*– If you choose to receive notification of new tweets via text messages for one or more of your contacts, you can choose to turn off notifications during a specified time period (example from 10pm to 9am). This way you can sleep or work without being interrupted. To set this up, click on the “settings” tab, and then “mobile”.
Still, I prefer to be notified via text message for just a few friends and family members. For everyone else, I check out their tweets via the website or via one of the widgets on my blog or facebook page. (I’ll show you how to get those later).
Just because you have chosen to follow someone does not mean they start receiving your “tweets” in return. They have to choose to follow you before they start receiving yours. In your settings, you can choose to be notified via email when someone starts following you. I try to visit all of my follower’s profiles to see who they are and if it is someone I want to follow, I add them to my list.
*Tip* – Just because someone follows you does NOT mean you have to follow them in return. I was worried about being “rude” when I first signed up about this but have learned not to follow everyone who follows me because some people use twitter to send out “spam” to make money off of you by selling you a product or service, etc. Only follow the people YOU want to receive tweets from.
If you do follow someone and decide not to (for instance if they over-tweet for your tastes or if they turn out to be someone else), you can simply choose not to follow them anymore. You can also block someone if they bug you. This is another instance where you have much more control over twitter than you do using email.
Why Twitter?
From a personal aspect it’s fun to keep in touch with your friends and loved ones and to keep one another updated on what’s happening throughout your day, week, life, etc. I also like to keep up on news, my favorite celebrities, as well as groups and organizations related to topics that I’m interested in. Twitter can be used as another method of “social networking”. (Social Networking is a term used to describe the way that users build online networks of contacts and interact with these personal or business friends in a secure environment. Some of the most popular social networking sites include Facebook and MySpace.)
*Tip* – When looking for a public figure, make sure you are actually following the “real” person. Most celebrities have many profiles that are not real. People (with nothing better to do) make up fake profiles so you need to check and make sure it’s really that person’s twitter account. You can usually find this out by doing a search on any search engine like “Does Joe Schmo have a Twitter account?” and it will usually tell you.
Of course there has to be another side to Twitter (i.e. making money), otherwise everyone wouldn’t be talking about it or using it right?
Twitter is FREE Advertising
There are so many ways to use Twitter to advertise a product, service, idea, organization, etc. Businesses can use Twitter to keep their customers updated on new products, services, sales, etc. Basically, anyone who wants to advertise can use Twitter to as a free, efficient method of communication with their followers. The good news is that because Twitter gives you control over your contacts and the ability to block people, etc., you can’t really spammed like you can via email.
- *Recommended* – This is a very detailed, step by step tutorial in .pdf format which means you can read it online, download it to your computer to read later or both. I have a copy saved on my desktop that I refer to when I need it. This tutorial has pictures and very clear instructions and I recommend reading it to every Twitter user. Click here to read or save it.
- This is a very basic Twitter Video Tutorial that walks you through signing up and sending a message and a few settings. It’s a good “getting started” video tutorial but is not enough to explain all of Twitter’s features.
I hope this is enough to explain the basics of Twitter. If you do decide to sign up, feel free to add me as a contact. Just go to: http://www.twitter.com/thekatsmeow. You an also do a search for me by my username (thekatsmeow) or my real name (Kathleen Driggers).
Do you want to be notified about new posts regarding Twitter? You can subscribe to my blog below or if you are a Blogger user, you can click on the Followers Widget in the right column near the top of this page. (Works for Google Friend Connect members also.) I will be updating this topic frequently. Coming up next is “How to add Twitter to your blog or website.”
*If you have a Twitter tip to share please post a comment and let my other blog readers see it.
Happy Twittering!
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