Twitter rules of thumb … and keyboard.
CONFESSION: I am a woman obsessed. With Twitter.
Ready to join the rest of the class?
Photo courtesy of flickr user mallix
What The Tweet is Twitter?
Defined: Twitter is a social networking site that allows you to post 140 character tweets to the world. Think, Facebook status-sized blog posts.
In practice: To me, Twitter is blogging in its purest form, allowing for instantaneous communication among people, somehow maintaining a delicate balance between simplicty of use and complexity of tools and possibilities.
Some Basics
If you’re just starting out on Twitter, there are two basic ideals that will get anyone moving in the right direction.
- Be a real person – Be sure to add an avatar and some personal info. This is usually the first (and often the only) thing others look at when deciding to follow you or not. To most, users who still have the default avatar are seen as sketchy (think those annoying blue question marks on Facebook profiles). This also means NOT tweeting ENTIRELY about your product/service/company and NOT using Twitter just to pull in an RSS feed or other automated posts.
- Be an interesting person – I find it’s best to think of Twitter more like your blog than your Facebook status. Remember that everything you post is public (your mom might find it one day). You want to provide something of value to the world. Whether you’re posting interesting links, funny videos, quotes, your analysis of last week’s American Idol… try to be clear and relevant (even if to a very small niche group). Christi Day, the fantastic woman behind the Southwest Airlines Twitter account once told me (over a margarita) the rule of thumb: “Tweet as often as you eat.” This doesn’t mean “tweet about what you’re eating,” but more “share something meaningful with the world two to three times a day.”
MORE! MORE! MORE! Fayza on Twitter: A Webinar
My fantastic friend and coworker Fayza put together the following webinar “Introduction to Twitter.” It is definitely worth watching if you are a Twitter newbie (Twewbie?), and look carefully… you may just see some of my tweets featured!
NOTE! After viewing this video, you should be able to understand this tweet (and hopefully laugh hysterically like I did):
From the Bible, Social Media Translation: <moses> RT @god: @pharaoh Let my people go.
Introduction to Twitter from Fayza on Vimeo.
EVEN MORE!
These are just some quick notes for now. If you liked this post, here are some other interesting links:
- Finding Utility in the Jumble of Tweeted Thoughts (via the New York Times)
- 9 tips for starting a Twitter account for your LOLcat! >^..^< (from qcait.com)
- 7 Ways to Approach Twitter (via Mashable)
- The Psychology of Twitter (HT @ktarlow)
And a special shout out to all my Twitter friends and lovers!
Here are a few. Get your twitter mosaic here.
Related posts:
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hahaha badass I am the very first if you read from right to left and top to bottom..
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