Twitter Simplified For Newbies

Wondering why there’s so much buzz about Twitter?  Or, how to use Twitter now that you’ve set-up your profile?

You can set-up your profile and then stumble around Twitter trying to figure out what @ means or RT or DM.  Or, you can load a free desktop interface at www.tweetdeck.com that takes away much of the learning curve and makes Twitter more user friendly.  Tweetdeck will actually allow you to start participating in the Twitterverse (the community of Twitter users) right away!

First, a few basic definitions:

• Tweet = a post on Twitter
• Tweeter or Twitterer = a Twitter user
• Twitterstream = a chronological listing of posts (or Tweets) on Twitter.  There is a “public” Twitterstream and a “friend” Twitterstream.
• Twitterverse = a virtual universe of Twitter users
• Retweet = to repost another user’s post while referencing the originator
• Followers = people who have opted-in to receive a user’s posts or updates.  (You can follow people as well as be followed.)
• DM = a direct message that is sent privately to the user you select
• RT = to Retweet (or repost) a message that was originally Tweeted by someone else
  

Now back to Tweetdeck.  Within Tweetdeck you can:

• Post a reply to someone without having to type the @ symbol and their Twitter name.
• Send a direct message (DM) to someone by simply clicking an icon.
• Retweet (RT) a Tweet that you liked without having to copy & paste the Tweet and then add RT @username to the beginning.
• Set-up a viewing column called “favorites” so you can add a Tweet to your favorites and go back to it when you have more time.  For instance, you might want to follow the link in the Tweet but don’t have time when the Tweet first gets posted.
• …and a whole lot more!

The Twitterverse is vast and constantly changing as people come up with new ways to use Twitter and develop new applications that add functionality to it.   This blog doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of how to use Twitter but it should simplify the process of getting involved in the constantly buzzing Twitterverse.

Follow me at:  http://twitter.com/kimberlyyow.

Happy Tweeting!

Kimberly Yow
Marketing Thats Easy.com

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