Yesterday I mentioned that “What are you doing” or “What’s happening” are bad questions to answer. These are the questions at the top of the ‘tweet box’ in Twitter, Yammer or others which are to help you come up with information to tweet about. Rather, you might want to answer these questions:
- What have you seen something online that would be interesting to your followers? Tweet the link.
- Have you had an AH-HA moment? What was it?
- Have you seen the ordinary in a different light?
- Did you take a picture or video you would like to share?
- Did someone else say something you thought was particularly interesting?
That should get you started. As you can tell, it is all about sharing useful information.
TWICTIONARY
But, Twitter today is not what it was when it started. In fact it was very different in the way it is being used. And guess what? Twitter had nothing to do with it! It was the users that morphed Twitter (unlike MS Word morphing you). They started using it in ways Twitter did not think of, and it grew. In fact, its use could almost have a dictionary dedicated to it. Here are a few:
- RT = Retweet. When you see another’s tweet you want to pass on, you retweet it. Example: “RT @ThisIsSethsBlog Seth’s Blog: What Matters Now: get the free ebook http://bit.ly/5Ta1lE”
- @ = Mention. When I want to get your attention or attribute something to a specific person, I will use “@yourtwittername”. For example, @kevindjones will let me know that either the tweet is for or about me in some way.
- DM = Direct Message. Yes, you can privately message one person only. This is a break from the traditional twitter model. To do this start your tweet with “d twittername’, replacing ‘twittername’ with the person you want to message. For example, someone would DM me like this, ” d kevindjones Shhhhh. Don’t tell anyone.” The catch? They have to be following you to DM them.
- # = Hashtag. Signifies a topic. First used with the 2007 San Diego fires: “#sandiegofire 300,000 people evacuated in San Diego county now”. Here is an example of one I just found, “Let people know you are attending the #SMWF ‘Social Media World Forum’ add up an event badge: http://tinyurl.com/yap3443 & let us know!” The topics don’t even need to be real. Another example tweet from @ITSinsider: “I need to run out for a number of errands. Including a visit to the oral surgeon #joytotheworld” Here are some more hashtag tips.
- Twitterverse = The whole of Twitter users.
- Tweeps or Tweeples = people who use Twitter.
- Tweeter (1) = a person using Twitter
- Tweeter (2) = How Twitter is pronounced in the South.
URL SHORTENERS
A URL is a web address, like http://google.com. When you want to tweet a web address, sometimes they can be sooooo long that they either take up your whole tweet or don’t fit in 140 characters. There are many services that shorten these URLs. The most popular are http://tinyurl.com & http://bit.ly and the newest is Google’s. They are simple to use and VERY handy.
WHEN TWEETING…
Use common sense. Remember that your audience is everyone and they all could be listening – including your family, your employer, your future employer, your future spouse…
Some people have forgotten this and have not fared so well.
TO DO – Start Tweeting! (Difficulty Level: EASY – Time: As needed)
- Add your twitter name (@kevindjones, for example) to the comments below so we know who we can follow.
- If you haven’t already, load up a desktop application for tweeting.
- Start tweeting.
- Look at others’ tweets to see how and why they tweet.
TOMORROW: How to use Twitter/Yammer at work.
