2. why bother?
• 500 million registered users (140 million
active)
• 750 tweets are sent per second
• 15% of adults using the Internet have a
Twitter account
• 18-24 (22%); 25-34 (23%); 35-44 (17%)
• more than 50% of active users follow
companies, brands or products
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-stats-2012_b30967
5. what is a tweet?
• short (<140 characters) message shared
via Twitter
• a tweet may contain
hyperlinks, @mentions or #hashtags
• tweets appear on your follower’s home
stream, but can also be viewed by other
Internet users
6. the lingo
@mention: a link to another user
RT (& web retweet): to share another user’s
content
MT: modified tweet
#hashtag: to link tweets by keyword, theme,
event or to make a joke
favourite: a Twitter bookmark
DM: a direct message sent between users who
follow each other
trend: a popular keyword or hashtag
8. lists
• filter content by
users or groups
• public or private lists
• useful tool:
twitlistmanager.com
9. links
• to preserve character count, many users
prefer to use shortened links
• example: bit.ly & ow.ly
• these work by URL redirect
• many link shorteners allow you to track
clicks & demographics
10. search
• use search to find users, keywords and
hashtags of interest
• you can also use boolean operators to
narrow your search results by
source, link, keyword, location, etc.
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/20459/How-to-Become-a-Twitter-SearchNinja.aspx
11. the Twitter interface
tweets from
users you
follow, profile
summary, trends
news,
trends,
tweets from
your network
your tweets
retweeted,
your tweets
favourited, m
entions,
new followers
your profile,
your
tweets, profile
summary, your
favourites, your
lists
Twitter search
direct messages
send a
tweet
profile
settings, account
settings, lists, Tw
itter help
12. getting started
Accounts I recommend:
@uofg – University of Guelph
@UoG_ATS – U of G library
@BetterPlanetUoG – BetterPlanet Project
Tags:
#guelph #uofg #gryphonpride #ontag
#fundchat #ONpoli #acwri #litchat
13. best practices
•
•
•
•
think before you tweet – it’s public
avoid deleting your tweets
engagement > broadcasting
don’t always have control over your
messages – but now you can respond
• be familiar with privacy settings & policies
• find your voice & be authentic
• ask questions