A friend's Facebook status sparked of this post.
Twitter is a funny thing. We all know it's there. We also know have friends who are 'on' it. But what does one do on Twitter? Where do you begin?
This is Twitter 101. If you use Twitter already - skip the post, or even better add to it via comments. The Twitter help page has all this information, but here is my take.
Twitter is a 'micro-blogging' platform i.e. you say what you have to say in 140 characters. It does play havoc with your spelling and grammar but surprisingly, one gets used to it quickly.
It is opposed to blogging (which is what I am currently doing) where you can use how many ever characters you like.
Choose a relevant 'handle'. This is your identity on Twitter. It begins with the @ symbol. Mine is @priyankagill. Keep it simple, short as it eats into the 140 character limit when people reply. Use the ' _ ' symbol if you have to. Add numbers only as a last resort. Keep it in sync with your other social profiles for simplicity and consistency.
Fill out your profile. Put up a picture. It tells other Twitter users a bit about you. If yours is a public profile, search engines will also index it. So make it count.
Find your voice. You may be a mum of two with a great sense of humour or a fashion journalist or a die-hard knitter or a book-lover. Whatever you are interseted in, I promise there are more like you out there. Use twitter to connect with them.
Tweet. Often. This means say something relevent, fun, interesting and do it regularly. By the way - its called a 'tweet' not a 'twit'. It's a verb.
Find interesting people to 'follow'. This will add what they have to say to your 'time-line' which is like your newsfeed on Facebook.
If they are saying something that resonates with you - respond to it. Do it politely. Don't be intimidated. Even celebrities reply rather naturally on Twitter - at least the nice ones do. Like Jonathan Ross (@wossy) - he once responded to me... He's lovely! So did Barkha Dutt (@bdutt). She's quite active on Twitter and a great one to follow.
Twitter is about having a conversation and occasionally evesdropping on other people's conversations. Follow Suhel Seth (@suhelseth), his brother Swapan Seth (@swapanseth) and Soni Agarwal (@SoniAggarwal) to see what I mean.
Obviously follow all the celebrities. The verified ones have a tick next to their handle. It is almost like being a fly on their walls. The more socially savvy ones tweet well and connect.
Follow friends for sure. They are most likely to support you, to have a conversation with you. But the beauty of twitter lies in how quicly you get to know perfect strangers really well.
Twitter is great for news - I follow all major news sources.
Apart from tweeting, you can also 'retweet' innteresting, informative tweets written by someone else. It is a way to send out information to your followers and share the expertise of people you follow.
For example, I follow Hussein Kanji (@hkanji). He is a hot-shot venture capitalist with a strong expertise in the tech world. He reads absolutely everything and tweets links to what he thinks is relevant. I get a big chunk of my tech news via him. I also retweet him a lot.
Use the inbuilt 'retweet' function or write 'RT' and copy, paste the tweet. ALWAYS credit the original writer. Never, ever pass on someone else's tweet as your own for obvious reasons.
You can also quote a tweet. Comment and put the " " symbols around the quoted tweet.
Always reply when someone mentions you. Be polite. Say thank you for a nice mention or a retweet or even a follow, if you can. Good manners go a long way on Twitter (as they do in real life). Engage your followers.
If someone annoys you (such people are called trolls) you can block them. I also block 'bots' - computer programmes that follow you, users with obscene profile pics and those who are plain rude!
If you begin a tweet with the handle - only people who follow both you and the other person can read it. To make it public, don't begin with the @ symbol - or at least put a "." before it.
Twitter is fun. The more you use it, the more rewarding it gets. It is a good way to pass time when you are waiting in a cue or are in transit. It also opens up your world to intelligent, wonderful people with a stimulating point of view.
