The Definitive Guide To Twitter
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Getting Started With Twitter: The Guide
Welcome to the definitive guide to using Twitter. Its primary objective is to provide you with all the resources you need to get started with Twitter. Although this guide is designed for the complete beginner, even seasoned Twitter veterans might find something of value.
This lens is broken down in bite size sections for your convenience and will be updated as new features and services become available via Twitter or 3rd party developers.
If you feel that an important section might be missing from this lens or a possible innacuracy might be included, please feel free to contact the author with your concerns at info(at)kurtvonmoos(dot)com or via Twitter @kurtvonmoos
If you found this comprehensive Guide To Using Twitter useful in any way, please feel free to share it with your friends, family & colleagues.
This lens is broken down in bite size sections for your convenience and will be updated as new features and services become available via Twitter or 3rd party developers.
If you feel that an important section might be missing from this lens or a possible innacuracy might be included, please feel free to contact the author with your concerns at info(at)kurtvonmoos(dot)com or via Twitter @kurtvonmoos
If you found this comprehensive Guide To Using Twitter useful in any way, please feel free to share it with your friends, family & colleagues.
Twitter In Plain English
What Twitter Was Designed For
Twitter, at it's core, is like a cross between Facebook Status Updates, SMS & Instant Messaging. Its primary function is to allow users to stay in touch and share content via short, 145 character or less micro blog posts.
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How To Sign Up For & Use Twitter
Learn the basics of signing up for and using Twitter
To get started with Twitter, all you need to do is sign up for a free account. Check this video out for a simple tutorial on how to get up an running with Twitter.
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Key Twitter Commands
The 7 key commands & Syntax You Need To Know
1) @username + messagedirects a twitter at another person, and causes your twitter to save in their "replies" tab.
Example: @meangrape I love that song too!
2) D username + message
sends a person a private message that goes to their device, and saves in their web archive.
Example: d krissy want to pick a Jamba Juice for me while you're there?
3) WHOIS username
retrieves the profile information for any public user on Twitter.
Example: whois jack
4) GET username
retrieves the latest Twitter update posted by the person.
Example: get goldman
5) NUDGE username
reminds a friend to update by asking what they're doing on your behalf.
Example: nudge biz
6) FAV username
marks a person's last twitter as a favorite. (hint: reply to any update with FAV to mark it as a favorite if you're receiving it in real time)
Example: fav al3x
7) STATS
this command returns your number of followers, how many people you're following, and which words you're tracking.
Why Use Twitter?
Check out how the community is using Twitter
Twitter's user community has found tons of creative ways to use Twitter. This is what makes Twitter such a rich platform and so difficult to explain.
Wether you are a business, a blogger, a working professional or simply somebody who wants to stay in touch with your loved ones, in the end, Twitter is what you make of it. Check out the following links to learn why Twitter might be right for you:
Wether you are a business, a blogger, a working professional or simply somebody who wants to stay in touch with your loved ones, in the end, Twitter is what you make of it. Check out the following links to learn why Twitter might be right for you:
- Why Use Twitter? - What Twitterers Have To Say
- A Collection of Twitter users answer the simple question "Why Use Twitter?"
- The 7 Ways to Approach Twitter
- There are plenty of strategies for approaching Twitter. It's getting more complex each day, but in the end it can be boiled down to a few simple approaches.
- Ways You Can Use Twitter Right Now
- Online poll on how Online Marketing Blog readers use Twitter
- The 10 Most Creative Uses for Twitter
- Think Twitter is just for wasting time chatting to friends and strangers? Think again. There are all sorts of creative
- For Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners
- 17 great ways Marketers, Businesses and Beginners can use Twitter
- For Bloggers and Content Creators
- Tips for Bloggers. Use Twitter to drive traffic and bring a new edge to your site
- 140 Health Care Uses For Twitter
- 140 interesting health care related uses for Twitter
- 101 Everyday Uses for Twitter
- Examples of how the popular service's community puts it to use.
How To Find People To Follow
List of the Best Twitter User Directories
The entire point of Twitter is to follow other Twitterers. There are currently numerous websites that provide directories of Twitter users, as well as web services that facilitate the process of finding new people to follow. Here is a list of my favorites:
- WeFollow: A User Powered Twitter Directory
- Created by Kevin Rose (Digg.com, Diggnation), WeFollow is a user powered Twitter Directory
- Twitterholic
- A fun tool to see who the top 100 Twitterers are on the Twitter system and explore user statistics
- Twellow : Twitter Directory, Twitter Search, & Twitter Yellow Pages
- Think of Twellow as the Yellow Pages of the Twitterverse.
- Just Tweet It ยป THE Directory for Twitter Users
- Just Tweet It is a user directory for Twitter organized by genre to allow for users to easily find other Twitter users to connect with.
- Mr Tweet - Your Personal Networking Assistant
- Your Personal Networking Assistant for Twitter, helping you identify relevant followers, recommending you to other users, etc...
How To Search On Twitter
Searching, Monitoring and Following Topics & Trends on Twitter
Twitter is a great tool to search for news, public opinion, solve problems and get questions answered. Think of Twitter as one giant stream of Internet consciousness. Here are a collection of sites that make finding relevant information on Twitter a breeze.
- Twitterfall
- Twitterfall is a way of viewing the latest 'tweets' of upcoming trends and custom searches on the micro-blogging site Twitter. Updates fall from the top of the page in near-realtime and can be filtered by geo-specific location
- TwitterVision
- View live Tweets in real-time, on a 2D or 3D map of the world. Hypnotic...
- Twitter Search
- Search Twitter in realtime - see what the world is doing right now.
- Twazzup
- Twazzup is Twitter Search on steroids. For any given query string, you can see results down the left column that are updated in real-time.
- #hashtags - What's happening right now on twitter
- Hashtags are an ingenious way to tag tweets to make it easier for other users to find the content or updates they are looking for. Search by keywords and find what you need in real-time
Etiquette & Community Building Tips
Flourish On Twitter Without Looking Like A Noob
Like any other organic web community, Twitter users do things a certain way, and follow a loose set of rules and etiquette. Check out these links to make sure you don't look like a complete Noob and build your very own Twitter Community
- How to Retweet: A Simple Guide
- What is Retweeting? And why is it important? Check out this simple guide for answers
- How To Build Your Twitter Community
- 10 tips on how to build community on Twitter.
- HOW TO: Win Friends and Twinfluence People
- Building relationships on Twitter can be daunting for those who are new to the service. Here are 10 tips for winning friends and twinfluencing people.
- FOLLOW FAIL: The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter
- Here are the top 10 reasons you might not get followed on Twitter
Top Twitter Apps For Your Computer
3rd Party Apps To Make Using Twitter a Breeze
Once you begin using Twitter, it will quickly become apparent that following more than 20 people and managing large groups of followers is painfully difficult on the Twitter website. In fact, most users who stop using Twitter will often complain about "not being able to make sense of all this data!!!"
An excellent way to make using Twitter a breeze, is using a desktop application for your computer. Here are the best ones currently available:
An excellent way to make using Twitter a breeze, is using a desktop application for your computer. Here are the best ones currently available:
- TweetDeck: a simple and fast way to experience Twitter
- TweetDeck is a cross-platform desktop Twitter client developed in Adobe AIR & offers the most complete set of features of any desktop Twitter Client. Excellent choice for the Power User.
- Seesmic DESKTOP
- Seesmic Desktop is a cross-platform desktop Twitter client developed in Adobe AIR & is a popular alternative to TweetDeck. A strong choice for users seeking an alternative approach to TweetDeck's Column layout.
- Tweetie for Mac
- Designed exclusively for Mac Users, Tweetie is by far the sexiest Twitter Client you will ever see. A perfect choice for Twitter users who follow a manageable amount of people.
- TwitterLocal
- TwitterLocal is a cross-platform Adobe Air App that can be used to monitor Tweets from Geo-Specific Locations, like you neighborhood, city or country.
Top Twitter Apps For Your iPhone
3rd Party Apps For iPhone To Make Using Twitter a Breeze
- Tweetie for iPhone - Sexy. Very Sexy.
- An incredibly sexy and well designed iPhone app. Perfect for Beginners and users who don't follow a lot of users
- TwitterFon - Simple, Clean, and Fast
- Simple, Clean, and Fast Twitter Client for iPhone and iPod Touch & by far my favorite iPhone Twitter. TwiiterFon is for the intermediary Twitter user and offers unique features such as conversation threading and SMS like private messaging.
- Twittelator Pro - It's Like TweetDeck For iPhone
- Twittelator is basically TweetDeck for iPhone. Packed with power features, Twittelator is an app for the Power User. Don't expect the slick UI of apps like Tweetie or Twitterfon though...
Twitter Tips, Tricks & Mash-ups
Tips, Tricks & Mash-ups to help you get the most out of Twitter
Developers can't get enough of Twitter these days. There are literally hundreds of sites out there adding functionality to Twitter, figuring out neat Twitter Tricks and generally doing incredible things with the Twitter data stream. Here is a list of my favorites:
- Using Twitter with Facebook
- Update your Facebook Status Updates with Twitter. Great for people who want to Tweet/Update Facebook simultaneously.
- 5 Ways to Get Your Questions Answered on Twitter
- Getting quick answers to your questions is easier than ever - on Twitter.
- Find a Job on Twitter
- Tough economic times call for innovative approaches. If you're looking for a job, a great place to search is Twitter.
- twittl | discover, rate and share tweets
- What do you get when you mix Digg & Twitter? Twittl! Its the world first user based voting system specifically designed for Twitter. Users can now find the worlds best tweets all on the one site. Any user can submit any tweet and share the link with their friends who can then also vote on their favourites
- HootSuite, the ultimate Twitter toolbox & URL Shortener
- HootSuite is the ultimate Twitter toolbox. With HootSuite, you can shorten URLS, manage multiple Twitter profiles, pre-schedule tweets, and measure your success. I use this religiously.
- Adjix.com - URL Shortener & PPC Ads for your Tweets
- Adjinx is a great Twitter utility that allows you shorten URLs, Insert Pay Per Click Advertising in your Tweets in order to generate revenue and monitor your click-through stats.
- Tweetburner - URL Shortener and Link Tracker
- Great tool for Tracking the links you share on Twitter and Friendfeed and shortening URLs
- TinyChat - Create a free chatroom with just one Tweet
- Easy to use, free to use. With TinyChat you can create your own chatroom and invite people through one simple link or Tweet. You can also embed your chatroom on your blog, myspace, personal site and many other portals.
- Twtpoll: a simple survey twitter app.
- Create simple multi-question polls and take the Twitter Temperature
- TweetStats: Graphin' Your Twitter Stats
- Ever been curious about your Twitter Stats? TweetStats Graphs your Twitter statistics, visually, letting you learn about your Tweeting style and improve your search for followers.
- Tweetizen - Easy Twitter Groups
- Tweetizen is a simple web-based tool designed to help you filter tweets, and easily find the ones that are relevant to you. Start by creating your own twitter group and filtering tweets. Tweetizen also allows you to share your twitter groups. Join now!
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by kurtvonmoos
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Kurt von Moos is based near Lausanne, Switzerland and is passionate about the Web, Technology and Business Development.
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