A Few Basic Twitter Tips

So, by now you know I've made up with Twitter (sort of) after our break-up in March. I am currently pushing my FriendFeed posts to Twitter when possible (new blog post alerts, sites to check out and a few other things).

For the longest time, when I checked my Gmail contacts to see who might be on Twitter when I was actively tweeting, there was no one. I mean zero - nada - ziltch ... no one to find and follow from CBH, our vendors and well, the rest of my contact list.

When I made-up with Twitter the other night, WHOA - 33 contacts now use Twitter!!! YOWZA!

So of course, I followed you all. Now, a few things have come to light ... which of course, I will share with the world - or at least those of you that read this post.

1. Many of you signed up for Twitter, wrote one post and then ... well, I don't know, you haven't tweeted again. Some of you just signed up and have never posted? Don't get on a site just because you hear that it is the next big thing. Research - evaluate and then decide if you want to participate.

2. I see lots of blank bios. If I didn't already know you, I would NEVER follow you without a bio. It's only 140 characters, you can think of something. Sum up yourself and let folks know a little about who you are ...

3. Many of you posted about work only - give me a social post or two - let's get to know each other.

4. Give me substance or get off. Don't just tell me what you are doing - tell me what you are reading and give me a link so I can go and check it out. Tell me what you are listening too and give me a link so I can listen in ... get it? Share photos, links and substance - most of all be relevant. URL to long for 140 characters? Check out TinyURL - www.tinyurl.com and convert your link in seconds to something smaller and more manageable.

5. Learn the basics. Here are a few definitions to get you started:

Tweet: a tweet is your 140 character or less post on Twitter








@Reply: you can reply directly to anyone's tweets or mention them via their @username















DM: these are direct messages from that are private from the twitterverse (between you and the twit you DM)


Followers: twits that are following your tweets

Following: twits that YOU are following and therefore showing their feeds in your twitdom - find by name, network, email or check out the suggested users










One more thing, check out your Settings - make sure you fill out your one line bio!!!

Happy Tweeting :)