Twitter, introduced as a form of quick social networking, is quickly becoming a popular media form for people to connect with others and to quickly share information.
At first, Twitter can appear to be confusing, especially for those who may not be used to social networking or Internet lingo in general. However, with a couple of quick tips, Twitter can be a useful networking tool to use casually, professionally, or obsessively.
However, it should be cautioned that Twitter users should take the same steps to protect themselves as they would on other social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
How Twitter Works
Twitter works when users submit short messages of 140 characters (including spaces and punctuation) or less via cell phones, the Internet, or mobile applications to Twitter's website. The website will then send a user's update to his or her list of friends, also known as followers. These updates are called tweets.
Each user accumulates a list of followers, or people who the user may know in real life, celebrities, companies, or organizations that the user has a genuine interest in. Users can follow many other users, creating many small social networks that can share information in a matter of seconds.
For the more advanced Twitter users, independent developers have created programs such as HootSuite and TweetDeck, which allow users to manage multiple lists of users, schedule tweets ahead of time, and further filter and sort tweets, trending topics, and other information coming across the Twitter channel of communication. These software platforms, which are usually free, also allow users to sync all of their social media profiles (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and manage them from one place.
Spreading the News on Twitter: Retweeting and Retweets
When a user receives a tweet that they find particularly important, funny, or wish to pass on to their list of followers, a user can retweet a message from another user. From the Internet and mobile applications, this is done by clicking on the "retweet" icon that can be found by the bottom right corner of each tweet. Those who wish to retweet a message via text message add the phrase "RT @(username)" and paste the tweet into a new message.
Those who wish for a tweet to be sent and passed along quickly may add "Please RT!" at the end of a tweet, asking users to spread the message quickly by retweeting the information.
Mentioning Other Users on Twitter
If a user wishes to mention or direct attention to another user in a tweet, the @ symbol is placed in front of the person's username to highlight the individual in question. This tweet is still visible to all of a user's followers, so this method is best used for public information that is not meant to be kept personal.
For more personal updates, users can send a direct message to another user by beginning a tweet with "D (username)" followed by the message. These tweets are sent directly to the user it is addressed to via email and text message, if text messaging updates are enabled. Direct messages are better suited for one-on-one conversations and private notes to a single user.
Trending Topics and Hashtags on Twitter
Sometimes, there are certain trends that Twitter picks up on through thousands of tweets that pass through the website. Once a large portion of tweets regarding one topic have been posted in a short amount of time, the topic of discussion becomes a trending topic.
Hashtags, or the # symbol, are used by Twitter users to identify topics that are trending at the time or that they wish to see trending. The hashtag symbol is placed in front of a word or a series of words to bring attention to them and group them with other users' tweets regarding the same topic.
When on Twitter's website, users can view tweets regarding trending topics by clicking on words or phrases immediately following the hashtag symbol.
After understanding a few basic terms and concepts, Twitter can be a useful and fun form of social networking that can connect friends and strangers across the globe.
Ashley Anderson - Ashley is an Ohio-based writer and editor with specializations in higher education, writing, and social activism.
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