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Twitter


Paper cut out Twitter bird

Everyone wants to know about Twitter, everyone is writing about Twitter. At the expense of writing another “me too” post, I’m going to occasionally populate these pages with the most up-to-date info I come across about Twitter. I will add a few terms now and then, but there are whole Wikis for Twitter lingo.

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a micro-blogging service. Simply put, it’s similar to a blog in that it allows you to post public content but the content must be 140 characters including punctuation, links, and spaces. It’s similar to Instant Messaging, yet for the most part public, though you can send a direct message.

Followers and Following
Twitter users can Follow you, in other words follow your posts. They can only do this by Following you though. If someone is not Following you, they will not see your Tweets. The reverse is true that you cannot see someone else’s Tweets unless you are Following them, except in the case of a ReTweet (see below). You can send a direct message to someone, but this only works if they are Following you. Anyone can Follow you without your permission, if they are a pest or you don’t want them to Follow you, there is the ability to block them. Similarly, you can Follow anyone you want. Follows aren’t always reciprocal. Just because you Follow someone doesn’t mean they’ll Follow you back, especially if they are a celebrity or “Internet Famous”. There is great debate as to the etiquette of Following. Some say Follow everyone that Follows you, some say be selective. Personally, I’m selective. If you Follow someone back, they can spam you.

Attachments
Twitter doesn’t allow attachments per se but you can add links to your Tweets. Some Twitter software allows you to add a picture that is automatically uploaded to a site, like TwitPic, then a link to it is added to your Tweet. You can add a full URL to a Tweet or use TinyURL or other URL shrinking services to make it smaller. It’s not uncommon to see a 100 character URL, then where does your message go?! If you are bogged down by updating your Facebook status, you can have your Twitter feed do it for you.

New & Numbers

Terms

  • Tweet – a post or status update to Twitter.
  • ReTweet – not unlike forwarding, basically reposting someone else’s Tweet.
  • Twitteratti – the big shots of Twitter that everyone Follows like Chris Brogan, Pistachio, Robert Scoble.
  • TwitPic – while Twitter doesn’t allow a picture to be added to a Tweet, many 3rd party applications do, these usually pop up on a site called Twitpic.
  • Tweeps or Tweeple – those that Tweet.

Software
There are many ways to interact with Twitter, through mobile SMS, desktop software or through smart phone apps. I have an iPhone so I’m only privy to those applications and desktop software. I prefer Tweetie though I’ve tried most others. I use Tweetdeck on my desktop or go oldschool and just hit Twitter.com. Mashable has ongoing lists of Twitter tools, of which there are over 100, so I wo’t list them all here, just the ones I’ve used.

Celebrities & Brands
There are many celebrities and brands joining Twitter. I Follow a few, a few Follow me. No, I will not tell any of the celebs that Follow me to Follow you, nor will I reveal their names. There are plenty of sites that do. I will reveal fictional characters that I Follow. Jut because they’re using a fictional character name doesn’t mean they represent the character. In my mind, a character Twitter means that the Tweeter must ALWAYS stay in character, except for the fact that they’re using Twitter. They must honor the storyline, the era or time their character is in and the universe in which their story takes place. I’ve begun a running list of character Tweeters here, beginning with the Mad Men characters. Feel free to suggest others.

Twitter bird image by Nerea Marta.