It seems like everyone's using twitter... and I mean everyone. Shaq-Foo is even rocking a twitter account. I'm not entirely pleased with the beginning twitter guides I've been pointing people to - though most were good, I felt like they were lacking... so I've made my own! Simone's twitter guide for the hopelessly confused!
So, we'll start with the flat basics - if you already have an account, and know what twitter's about, skip a couple of paragraphs down.
Twitter is a social networking site that uses 120 character status updates as it's main vehicle of interaction. Twitter asks the question: "What are you doing?" and you bastardize this any way you can. The tool on the left hand side of my page mirrors my twitter account, and a lot of times I'm not even talking about what I'm doing. I talk to people, about things, post music, etc. It's not limited to "Going to work." or "Tired, worked all day", or "Cleaning up dog shit." it can be much more in-depth than that - and that's what makes it fun.
So, presumably, you've signed up a username with twitter, and are ready to begin! But first, some basic vocabulary.
Unless you've decided to protect your updates (only allow people you deem WORTHY to see them), everyone and their mother can read all the insane things you're about to post. And that's cool. Now it's time to build a network of friends and interesting people... by following!
Unlike a lot of other social networking sites, you really don't need anyone's permission to view their updates readily. There's not really a friending system (unless, again, their updates are protected... but why do that?), so get following! Two good ways to find interesting people to follow:
1. Your friends are probably on twitter. It's massive, how can they not be? Find out their usernames, and follow them using the big'ole follow button under their mugshot.
2. Under the 'Find People' heading at the top of your twitter homepage, you can find a tab called 'Suggested users' - this is a compiled list of who twitter deems to be famous and interesting. While most of them are misses - there are a few cool hits. I personally enjoy following @tonyhawk, @seth_rogen, etc.
Once you explore around, you can find more interesting tweeters from friends and from #followfriday which I will explain in a moment.
so, now you're following people. I assume, since you more than likely have friends, that you also have followers. Congrats! That's the purpose - to follow and be followed. These people (assuming they're human), are interested in what you're saying or enjoy tiny snippets of banter. Very cool.
So, now you're ready to start tweeting, or whatever the hell they call it. Glance up about two paragraphs - you see the little '@' symbol in front of Tony Hawk's and Seth Rogen's name? Well, this is the cornerstone of twitter.
History lesson! As far as I can remember, IRC (Internet Relay Channels) - a form of basic text chatting, has been using the "@" symbol to let a room know who exactly you were referring to. And it works the exact same way in twitter. @tonyhawk not only lets everyone know that's who this message is intended for - but it also lets Tony Hawk know too (Just to be a creepy, stalky fangirl).
#followfriday is an event that occurs on Fridays in which twitter users make suggestions to other people on individuals they need to be following. The "#" symbol is called a hash tag, and it denotes something in your conversation of importance. For example:
@like_alice: Is anyone going to #bonnaroo this year?
Now, I can go to www.search.twitter.com, type in "#bonnaroo", and see how many people have been talking about it. It's like making a key word search everytime you use it!
And don't worry - there'll be a quick list of links at the bottom so you don't have to go searching through this mess...
So basically, that's all you need to know to tweet (I hate that verb...). You can get as much into it as you want... the following are some very interesting tools and links to help enrich your tweeting experience.
TweetDeck - A downloadable, desktop mounted twitter browser. It updates in real time, has a URL shortener, you can post and reply to tweets without ever having to visit the twitter website. I use this and I love it.
TwitterFox - Please tell me that if you're running PC, you're running FireFox. Because if not - go download it - AND THEN get this awesome FireFox Twitter plugin. It allows you to recieve and update Twitter from the lower right-hand corner of your firefox windows. Another that I use (Yeah... two live update programs? Am I addicted to twitter...?)
Tiny URL - Make a gigantic link small! This website creates a mirror with a much shorter url so you can share more with your twitter account!
Search Twitter - You wanna find people who love Blink 182? Wanna see what people are saying about the new crappy horror movie in theaters? Search.Twitter is a search engine that searches through everything everyone's saying about anything you type it. Very awesome.
Nearby Tweets - Find out who's tweeting near you! Type in your location, and search for people by mile radius in your area!
Blip.fm Become your DJ! Create a radio station and broadcast your songs via twitter. I have an account, I hardly use it, but everyone else loves it... I'm actually a...
twt.fm fan! - Log in via twitter, allow twt.fm to access your account - type an artist and song name, and a lot of times it will find a free stream of your song that you can broadcast via twitter. I just don't have DJ dedication, I guess.
I'll compile a bigger list later, and FEEL FREE to leave suggestions for good twitter related websites/tools/plugins - I'm always interested.
Here's to this hopefully helping in the fast paced and half retarded world of twitter!
- Simone Madsen
