subject: A Newbies Guide to Twitter [print this page] A Newbies Guide to Twitter A Newbies Guide to Twitter
So, what's all the fuss about? Exactly what is Twitter, what does it do, how does it do it, how can I best use it, and why is everyone raving about it? All good questions, and here, in this short article, we intend to satisfy your curiosity and maybe start you "twittering" too, with a few helpful hints and top tips.
With 1.2 million members already signed up, Twitter is expanding at a rate of knots. It is particularly popular in the UK, and London itself has more members than any other city in the whole world.
Twitter falls in to the category of a social networking website. Taken in its very simplest context, Twitter is a notice board where you can pin your notices for friends, colleagues, or just people who may be interested in general, in whatever it is you have to say. Any message you want to publish has to be limited to 140 characters, so it's not a place where you would park articles, or reviews, or anything that is in any way "wordy". But it's really surprising just how much you can say in 140 characters, and the great thing is that all of the messages are therefore simple and succinct.
Twitter is simple and easy to join. It costs absolutely nothing and all you have to do to register is to choose a unique username and password, and reveal your email address - nothing more, nothing less. But you should also consider going to the "settings" page where you can download a photograph, or a company logo, and a tiny snippet (160 characters max) about who you are, what your goal is, or what you are interested in. People don't trust "anonymous" sources, so if your aim is to generate your own following on Twitter, this is very well worth doing.
If joining Twitter is so very simple, so too is staying a member. All you have to do is just follow the tweets that have a particular interest to you, and if you publish your own comments or tweets, just make sure that they are socially acceptable, and that you observe best practice etiquette. Always show good manners and don't use any profanities. Never berate or scandalize anybody. If you have an alternative point of view, argue your point in the best debating style. Never be offensive!
People join Twitter for different reasons; some just to socialize with their friends, some to promote their views, and some to help market their internet or offline businesses. For those in the social or political arena, you will find a list of subject headings on the left hand side of your Twitter home page screen. These are there to help you to find "Tweets" on a subject that you may be interested in, and you can register your interest by following any further developments. But if you are an enterprising "onlinepreneur", Twitter also represents a fantastic opportunity to promote your online internet business.
Those 140 characters that limit your "tweet" are plenty enough for you to get your message across, and to pique other members' interests. Handled correctly, and "verbalized" in the best way, this brief message can attract many Twitter followers, and you can devise your own simple internet marketing campaigns by "Tweating" or releasing further small parcels of information that invite people to your click the link to your website, blog or squeeze page where your online offer is ready and waiting.
Social websites like Facebook have always been a receptive area for online business marketing and internet marketing guru's, but Twitter has added a new dimension to the possibilities, and one that should be exploited to the full within the confines outlined above. Twitter could really explode your internet traffic.
