Twitter can be confusing for us novices, so here is a quick guide to help you find your way around Twitter.
Tweet
When you are writing a message on Twitter this is called a “tweet”. The messages can not be any longer than 140 characters and usually include #, @ or links. Keep in mind that the point of tweeting is to start a conversation with people. Make sure that your tweet says something that people will be interested in reading.
Example:
Retweet
If someone makes a comment (tweet) and you want to pass it on to all of your friends, you can retweet it. Once you have “retweeted” a comment, anyone following you will be able to see that comment. Retweeting is very simple; all you have to do is hover over the tweet you want to retweet. Below the comment a few links will appear, click the “retweet” link. To make sure it worked, click the “profile” link on the top header bar to see the new tweet displayed on your page. You will notice that these tweets will have a green corner tab to show that they are a retweet and not an original tweet.
Example:
# Hash Tag
Twitter is all about having a conversation. Hash tags (#) help you and twitter keep the conversations organized. By putting “#” in front of a key word or topic it starts a conversation string based on that word. This way when people are searching twitter for a certain topic to talk about, twitter will search through all the “#keyword” to help them connect with the right conversation.
Example:
@ At Symbol
the @ sign helps you connect people within a conversation. Unlike # tags where you can put it in front of any keyword or topic; you need to put @ in front of someone’s twitter name. This will then automatically link that person or twitter page to the conversation. For example, if you wanted to add IWD, @IWD would not work; it would have to be @teamwebdesign; because that is the name of our twitter account.
Example:
Make sure to practice! Check out IWD’s Twitter page and try out all of your new found knowledge.
