I think most of you know what Twitter is, after all I’ve been writing posts about various Twitter tools and tricks. But still I get emails and some questions in comments: “What is Twitter and how does it work?” Here’s quick beginners guide to Twitter so from now on, everyone knows what I am talking about. (Because there will be more posts about Twitter and Twitter tools in future).
Don’t be overwhelmed by Twitter. It’s easy, it’s fun and it’s free. But… What is it?
People all over are Twittering. WTF is Twitter anyway? Most heavy duty techies and electronic device users know this, but still, new to many people, is this quickly rising phenomenon called “twittering”, the verb that describes the use of the application called Twitter.
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that has changed the way many people communicate. Twitter allows users to send “updates” (or “tweets”: text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to Twitter website via short message service (e.g. on a cell phone), instant messaging, from their computer at home or work, or through a third-party application.
Some see this as a way to simply report their ’status’ to friends, some use it to post interesting links, some use it as a savvy marketing tool and still there are countless ways to utilize this real time quick messaging application.
It’s very easy to do. You just sign up (free registration), pick a user name (your site or profile web page will be ‘http://twitter.com/your name here’), and you can ‘design’ your Twitter home page by uploading an image or choosing web colors.
Then what?
Well, you can search for other twitterers by using the search box or browse other Twitter users and choose to ‘follow’ their tweets if you wish (that’s all what Twitter is about – following others and getting others to follow you). Let me be your first friend on Twitter – Follow me. You can make your tweets private or public and even send messages direct to other twitterers, as opposed to publicly posting yours.
That’s all! Pretty simple I know… That should clarify all your questions and dilemmas about how Twitter works.
Stay tuned – I will be writing more posts about Twitter, like how to use it to market your business or website, connect with like-minded people and many other creative uses of this cool service.
Technorati Tags:twitter, how twitter works, what is twitter, beginners guide, tweets, social media, social networking, online communities
February 8, 2009
Impressive article Gennice! Way to go!!
February 8, 2009
Very interesting article indeed!
Good way to inform beginners to Twitter :)
February 8, 2009
Well yeah, everybody should know what Twitter is because it’s cool and it’s fun! :D
July 15, 2009
If I sign up for twitter, can i unsubscribe unlike other social pnoms that are so it?
July 15, 2009
Yes you can. You can even delete your account once you don’t want to use it anymore… But I don’t think anyone who tried Twitter ever deleted their acc! :)
December 2, 2009
I am new with twitter and I want my students to work with twitter next year when they have to complete research projects. Any suggestions how I can train them and how can I bring twitter into my classroom?
December 5, 2009
No doubt that you’re gonna make a great move when recommending Twitter to your students. (I wish some of my professors would be like you)
You can tell them that they can find Twitter to be very helpful research tool. Especially if they use http://search.twitter.com which will find relevant tweets to the topic of research.
The chances are, many people had some kind of involvement in that topic, and they contributed by wrting something about it or pointing out to some useful resources or information, and all that can be really helpful.
Also, they can even ask their followers about specific topic of research and many would be kind enough to help and share their knowledge…
There are many other ways Twitter can help, it’s just a matter of how creatively is being used.
I wish you all the best with your class and thanks for reading! :)
December 6, 2009
- i just love to Twitter everyday with my friends. Twitter is much better than blogging in my opinion and it is very addictive too.
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December 25, 2009
Twitter is some ways is much better than blogging. I love to Twitter my everyday activities on my friends and relatives.
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January 25, 2010
Why do I need to twitter when email lets me do the same at length?
January 25, 2010
Maybe because you don’t need someone’s email address to tweet them?
February 9, 2010
I feel like I’m completely out of touch. Although I have been hearing about twitter for a very long time I have not looked into it. Had not idea how it really works and still feel like I need to read the complete idiots guide. Thanks for the intro.
February 14, 2010
I am new to twitter but would like to continue to write to like minded people.
February 19, 2010
how different twitter is from orkut/ facebook?
February 19, 2010
Facebook appeals to people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online; the mashup of features like email, instant messaging, image and video sharing, etc. feels familiar, while Twitter is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.
Most people can very quickly grasp how to use Facebook to connect to friends and family, using it to share thoughts, images, etc. Like MySpace but more geared to adults than teens, Facebook is a social networking Portal; beckoning you not to leave but rather to stick around and communicate within the network.
Twitter on the other hand, encourages you grab ideals in byte-size chunks and use your updates as jumping off points to other places or just let others know what you’re up to at any given moment.
The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting; you get more immediate responses and it seems to live somewhere between the worlds of email, instant messaging and blogging.
I hope that cleared some of your dilemmas…
April 2, 2010
Hi, my friend Twitters & I’m still trying to get my head around it. I have to access her Twitters via my PC (via an email msg). So why not just send me an email pointing me to her website??
April 20, 2010
Excellent and useful guide.
April 27, 2010
I love to use Twitter whenever i want to know the latest buzz about my friends. I also use Twitter to know the latest buzz from famous persons :
June 4, 2010
hey! thanks to u i’m officially a twitter! now that sounded funny. but thanks anyway
June 17, 2010
You mean thanks to me you are now officially a Twitterrer? :D You’re welcome!
July 17, 2010
I am also a rookie in this department. Can I use twitter when I am overseas and what does it cost to twit? Thanks for the guidelines. Can you twitter from all cell phones?
Bye