An introduction to Twitter for absolute beginners Updated: March 20, 2012

1. Twitter Basics
1) The Interface and Profile
2) Tweeting and URL Shorteners
3) Following
4) @ Mentions
5) Retweets
6) Hashtags
7) Search

2. What is Twitter?
• “Microblogging” – short updates of 140 characters of less
• A place where people share information and build networks
• A great space to catch new stories, find new angles, and get new sources
“The audience isn’t on Twitter, but the news is on
Twitter”
The Economist, 7/7/11
http://www.economist.com/node/18904124

3. Common Complaints
There’s too much information – I can’t read all of it!
You shouldn’t try to consume all of it – Twitter is based on browsing
and scanning, not reading cover to cover.
People are talking about mundane things like what they had for lunch
– I don’t care!
Yes, some people do, but you won’t follow those people, and you’ll
scan right over messages like that.
But how is this journalism?
Twitter is a tool, just like your rolodex, your telephone, or your
morning newspaper – using it correctly should aid your reporting.

4. So let’s get into it…
First thing’s first:
On agency computers, access Twitter
using Firefox or Google Chrome, NOT
Internet Explorer

5. Home: twitter.com
Shows the most
recent tweets
from everyone
you’re following

6. Profile: twitter.com/username
ncludes your
name, location,
short bio,
website
ake sure you
input a bio and
a photo
A profile page also shows your recent tweets, who you follow, who follows you,
lists you’ve created and lists you’re on. People will use that information to
evaluate you (and you can use it to evaluate others).

7. But what do I DO?

8. Tweeting: The Basic Function
Type your tweets in
the “Compose new
tweet” box.
You get 140 characters, and it will count down so you know how many characters you
have left. If you copy/paste a long link, Twitter will automatically shorten it for you to
conserve characters.
Click “Tweet” to send your tweet.

9. Where a tweet goes:
To anyone who follows you
The same way your Twitter stream shows tweets from the
people YOU follow, everyone else’s Twitter stream shows
tweets from the people THEY follow. Your tweet has the
potential to be seen by any of your followers.*
Into the public Twitter universe
Your tweets are visible on your profile page and can be found
through search. Anything you say on Twitter is publicly
available.
*Sending a tweet does not guarantee it will be seen by all
(or any) of your followers. Only a percentage of your
followers will be paying attention to their Twitter stream
at any given time.

10. Following: The Heart of Twitter
The follow button is accessible on a user’s
profile page, or if you click on their name
in your timeline
The people you follow are the people whose tweets show up in your timeline.
Following is NOT reciprocal. If you follow someone, you see all their tweets. They
do not see all your tweets unless they follow you back.
Users typically ARE informed when you follow them, but are not informed if you
“unfollow” them later (so it’s okay to continuously refine who you follow).

11. @Mentions: Conversations
Including @username in a tweet is the proper way to:
1) Have a conversation with
someone
Yes, these “conversations” are public – there is
a different way to send private messages if you
need to
2) Give credit to your source
Always cite your sources when you can – it’s
journalistically ethical and good Twitter
etiquette
3) Talk about or reference
someone/something
Doing this “pings” the person you’re talking
about, so they are more likely to see your
tweet

12. Make sure you’re checking to see who’s
@mentioned you!

13. @Mentions: One Nuance
Although conversations with @mentions are public and will be seen on your public
profile, they don’t necessarily show up in your followers’ streams.
Two cases:
2)Your tweet begins with @username*
This tweet will only appear in the timeline of someone who follows both you and the
person you’re talking to.
2) Your tweet includes @username somewhere other than the beginning
This tweet will appear in the timeline of anyone who follows you, regardless of
whether they follow the person you’re talking to.
* If you want to begin your tweet with @username but
still want it to show up in everyone’s stream, use
.@username instead.

14. Retweets: Forwarding a Tweet
RT = Retweet
It means you’re forwarding someone else’s tweet to your followers. You might do this
if their tweet was: informative, interesting, funny, useful.
You can add your own commentary to the front of the tweet and make small tweaks to
conserve characters, but do not substantially alter the content of the original tweet.

15. Two RT Variations
1) The Built-in RT
Twitter lets you push the
original tweet, from its original
sender, to your followers.
Put your cursor over any
tweet to see this option.
2) The MT (Modified Retweet)
Used when you have made
substantive changes to the
original tweet, usually
because it was too long.

16. Is a RT an Endorsement?
This is an ongoing debate on Twitter, and you will often see people say in their profile
that a RT ≠ an endorsement.
No, a RT is not an endorsement, but your credibility is a big part of your social capital
(and a big part of your job as a journalist).
If you disagree with something or are RT-ing unconfirmed information, add some
commentary to explain why.

17. Hashtags: Group Chat
Hashtags (#tag) are used to group tweets about a certain subject so they are easier to
find. You’ll often see them used for:
Events
Topics
Memes
Humor

18. Use Hashtags as a Search Tool
Clicking on a hashtag automatically does a Twitter search for that hashtag so you can
see all the tweets being tagged.
Use hashtags in
your own tweets
to make them
more findable.

19. Search: Find Tweets, People
You can search for tweets, Twitter users and
media by keyword.
Toggle between “Top” and “All” to see what the most important Twitter
users are saying and what everyone is saying.

20. Ready for more?
Check out “Making Twitter Your Newswire”
http://www.slideshare.net/JessicaStahl/making-twitter-your-newswire