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Learning how to use Twitter

Posted by: Meg Thilmony

Thursday, January 8, 2009 4:46 PM

I wrote a story for today's paper about how The News-Gazette has been using a social networking site called Twitter.

I tweet some for The N-G, and I've noticed a couple of people look like they've just signed up. I know when I first signed up, I was totally confused about what it was and what it was good for. Where are all my friends, I kept wondering, and how do I find anyone?

Since then, I've gotten a much better idea how to use it. It's great for quick, mobile communication and networking with people who share your interests but not your location. Lots of people in The News-Gazette's circulation area use it, too, so it's a way to make new friends and keep updated on what's going on in other people's lives.

I've written up some tips for other newbies out there, so you can make Twitter work for you. But before I get too far into them, let me explain some of the lingo involved:

Tweet: a message you post on Twitter. It's 140 characters long and answers the question "What are you doing?" Many people include links to other sites in these, and everyone can see them. You can protect your page, however, to control who follows you.

Followers: People who sign up to see your tweets. You can follow other people, too.

Twitter feed: A list of tweets from everyone you follow.

@username: How you reply using a tweet. These then show up in a section of the site called "replies," to see everyone who's responded to your tweets.

Direct message: A way to contact someone through Twitter that isn't open for public consumption. Many people do this to exchange contact or other information they're not comfortable with the whole world seeing.

Now that you'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about, here's how to get started.

It's pretty easy to sign up on Twitter - not much different from any other site. Once you get on, try typing up a "tweet," that 140-character message.

After you try that, look around for people you might know. Twitter has an e-mail search that may help you dig up some friends. And The News-Gazette's page tries to find local people who use the service, so you might want to check out who we're following and who follows us. Some local names you might recognize on Twitter are Parkland College President Tom Ramage, local attorney and Champaign City Council member Tom Bruno and The News-Gazette's own John Foreman, John Beck and Mike Howie. Cool, huh? Twitter can give you a direct link to those people.

Once you get used to following people and even getting some followers yourself, try signing your phone up to get mobile alerts from Twitter. You can also Tweet by sending a text message or using your mobile phone's Internet browser. Many of The News-Gazette's twitter followers receive text or mobile news alerts because they've done this. I think it can be part of the sign-up process, or you can find it under the "Settings" tab on your Twitter page. Make sure you know your texting or data plan before you do this, because the tweets can really pile up.

And now for some tips about how to use Twitter successfully.

Be tenacious

It can be tough to find people on Twitter, especially locals. It doesn't have a "Champaign-Urbana" network like Facebook. You really have to look carefully to find those you want to communicate with. You can do this by:

browsing blogs. If your favorite blogger uses Twitter, he or she will usually post a link.
using search.twitter.com - search things like your location or your favorite interests.
use Google, of course. Search "Twitter" and whatever issue you're interested in.
socially networking. If you're looking for people you know, start with one friend. See who he or she is following, and you might recognize some folks.

Be conversational and a good communicator

Twitterers want to converse with you. Be human. When someone tweets you, reply, even if it's with a thank you. It's the way social networking works, and people want to feel like they're important enough to get a reply.

Be active

If you never tweet, you're not going to get much out of it. Try to use it and see how it works for you. You might find you really like it.

Be careful

Remember, unless you decide to protect your updates (which is possible), anyone who can find your site can read all about you. People have ways of getting around those security features, as well. My own rule with my Twitter page is, if I wouldn't want someone to read it in the newspaper, I don't tweet it.

Good luck - if you need more help, just Google "how to use Twitter" and you should find plenty of resources. Feel free to e-mail me at mthilmony@news-gazette.com if you need any more help. Or better yet - tweet me!