How to use the Northeastern University School of Journalism's Twitter feed to make announcements, break news and share resources.

1. Welcome to @NUjournalism Using Twitter to promote events, break news and share resources

2. http://twitter.com/nujournalism What “followers” see when they visit our Twitter page

3. Signing in at http://twitter.com Click on “Sign in,” in upper right

4. Signing in at http://twitter.com Enter username “NUjournalism” (not case-sensitive) Enter password (case-sensitive) Choose “Remember me” only if using non-shared computer Click on “Sign in”

5. What home base looks like “What’s happening?” is where you will enter text. “Home” comprises latest posts from feeds we are following. You can see whom we’re following, and who’s following us, by clicking on “following” and “followers” in upper right.

6. Writing a tweet (sorry) You are limited to 140 characters. The “17” tells you how many you’ve got left. Next you’ll add a link using a link-shortener. Bit.ly is recommended.

7. How to add a link in Twitter Open a new tab or a new window for the page to which you want to link Select and copy the URL in the address bar near the top of your browser Open another tab or window and go to http://bitly.com

8. Using Bit.ly Paste your link into the text box. Click “Shorten.”

9. Using Bit.ly Paste your link into the text box. Click “Shorten.” Look for “Your bit.ly link.” Click “Copy.”

10. Return to your tweet Paste your shortened link at the end of your tweet. Uh, oh. Too long.

11. Return to your tweet Fiddle with the text until you come in under the 140-character limit. Journalism students ought to know that SPJ is the Society of Professional Journalists. For clarity, you can add “for journalists” after “Great advice.” You’re done. Click “update.”

12. Updated home page

13. How it looks to a follower

14. Can you delete a tweet? Yes Make sure you are logged in and looking athttp://twitter.com/NUjournalism Move your cursor over the offending tweet;a small “Delete” option will appear in blue to the right of the tweet Click to remove

15. What’s up with @, #, RT, D, etc.? SPJ’s guide is a good place to start Includes link to Mashable guide, which is much more in-depth Since @NUjournalism is mainly for news and announcements, extra features are better for personal account

16. Beyond Twitter on the Web TweetDeck is a great way to manage multiple accounts, such as yours and @NUjournalism. It also lets you: Automatically shorten links Set up different groups of followers Post to Facebook

17. Beyond Twitter on the Web TweetDeck is a great way to manage multiple accounts TweetDeck is also available for iPhone

18. Beyond Twitter on the Web TweetDeck is a great way to manage multiple accounts TweetDeck is also available for iPhone ÜberTwitter is best choice for BlackBerry

19. Random thoughts Timing is important. For heavy Twitter users, your tweet’s life may be a few minutes. How often should we post? Hard to say, but two or three a day might be a good target. Emerson College journalism department is using Twitter effectively. Seehttp://twitter.com/emersonjoudept