Twitter is all over the news these days. The media blitz over the past several weeks has been astounding-verging on the annoying for those of us who still watch TV News. So if I were to ask ten people in my neighborhood if they use Twitter, most are likely to say they have an account, but still don’t get it.
First things first, if you don't have an account yet...There's no way to "get it" until you get it. Go to Twitter and sign up. Then, do these things and you will get it. There's no sense in telling you about what it is without showing you how to use it along the way. Twitter is a new social network. It's a group of users. Some are like you and some are not. You'll have a chance to get to know a bunch more people if you really want to.
Ok but what do you DO with it? Well you learn from it. You find information about things you're interested in and you get to chime in if you have anything interesting to say. If you DON'T have anything to say right away, don't say anything.
1. It’s not stalking it’s walking around together. Don’t worry about how many people are following you at first. This actually gets in the way of your initial understanding of Twitter’s value. You’re likely to “find your voice” in time. Think of the “what are you doing?” box as a “thought bubble.” If your thoughts are random and weird, there’s likely to be lots of people who would be interested in reading your random and weird thoughts. You’ll find them soon enough.
2. Mobile use is optional. Once you begin to truly “consume” content, then you can think mobile. In the meantime, learn using the regular web interface.
3. The “hash” structure opens up a whole new world. Explore it. In the standard view, look to the right. You’re likely to see at least a few “Trending Topics” with a # sign in front of a few words. You can think of the # sign as a “group builder.” Click on a trending topic that you think you might be interested in. If you want to say something to the group, type a thought and add the same #group to your post. Then, click refresh. Now you’ve just published your first group tweet. So why are there some trends without the hash symbol? Well that’s because you can search for any word and are likely to find something. The hash structure pulls together the whole topic into a group.
4. Search for stuff you’re interested in. You’re likely to find conversations about it. If you find a group you like, Click the save this search button. Now you have started a list of saved searches.
5. Twitter can be a “custom news channel” so if you have a favorite news anchor, search for their name, read some of their recent Tweets and see if you like their “voice” on Twitter.
There’s more to come on related topics like “how to respond” and “how to retweet” (and why you should) in future posts, but for now, happy twittering.
If I have the distinct honor of having been close enough in time to your first exposure to Twitter, or if you happen to like MY voice, feel free to follow me at @click2dennis Otherside, happy tweeting peeps... or rather tweeps. Read my next post on Separating Business from Pleasure in Social Media.
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