How to Use Twitter

Posted on March 12th, 2009 by Marck

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Real-time microblogging is the next best thing in online social networking. Short and simple updates and statuses about current events and passing thoughts is becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. Twitter is one of the most popular microblogging applications on the Web, and it’s very easy and convenient to use.

What is Twitter?

Twitter is an online service that allows users to post small messages and updates called “tweets.” Tweets are small lines of text, up to 140 characters in length. The neat thing about Twitter is that it can be accessed through mobile devices; you can post your tweets on your Twitter page through a cellular phone or other mobile devices. Like any other social network, friends and acquaintances can connect with you through Twitter. You can also send direct messages to your friends, and broadcast your thoughts and opinions to the world.

Twitter Basics

Signing Up to Twitter

Go to the Twitter.com home page and click “Join Twitter.”
Fill out the information asked of you. Make sure that you have a unique username and a secure password. Fill in the captcha code.
Once you’ve finished signing in to Twitter, you should look around the site and start building connections with people you know, and subscribe to the tweets of important news sources.

Sending Tweets and Messages

The small text box on your Twitter profile is where you type tweets and send messages to other people. There are two kinds of tweets that you can send through the service:

Public tweets are messages that can be read by everyone, even if the reader is not a subscriber to Twitter.
Direct messages are private messages that are sent to just one or more users. To send a direct message, type “d” (without the quotation marks), followed by a space, the username of the person you want to send a direct message to, and type and send your message.

Twitter Tips

Here are some ways that you can maximize your Twitter experience:

Keep it short and simple. Tweets are short messages read on the fly. Short messages full of substance and information are very effective ways of communicating through Twitter.
Quality over quantity. Some people have the tendency to fill their Twitter feeds with constant updates about anything and everything. Instead of flooding your Twitter page with random tweets every hour, it’s best to have a few tweets in a day so that people can follow your thoughts.
Broadcast your Twitter feeds. All Twitter pages have an RSS feed that you can link to your blog, website, or attach to your e-mail footers. The RSS feed is also useful for people who read and broadcast tweets via a mobile device.

Twitter is a fun, engaging experience for many Internet users. With these tips to get you started on Twitter, you can send tweets short and sweet.