My good friend Scott Kirsner wrote an article about twitter for the Boston Globe,
The tweet cheat sheet, but the online version has NO LINKS, as usual for the Boston Globe, and doesn't provide the twitter usernames mentioned in the column.
Here are links to everyone mentioned in the article and my additional tips for you to get started with twitter.
People mentioned in the article with links to them on twitterLaura Fitton - (
@pistachico on Twitter), a local entrepreneur and author of the recent book
Twitter For Dummies
[Amazon Link].
Chris Brogan - (
@chrisbrogan on Twitter), president of
New Marketing Labs.
Joanne Chang - (
@jbchang on twitter),
Meyers + Chang, (
meyersandchang on twitter),
Flour Bakery.
Ellen DeGeneres - (
@TheEllenShow on twitter)
John Mayer - (
@JohnCMayer on twitter)
Oprah - (
@Oprah on twitter)
Shaquille O’Neal - (
@The_Real_Shaq on twitter)
Scott Kirsner (
@scottkirsner on Twitter), his
Innovation Economy Blog.
Use Your Own Name Sign up for Twitter at
Twitter.com.
Pick your own name as your username. Own your name on the web. It helps people find you on different sites and maintains your personal brand.
Use the WebsiteUse the website. It's easy to use and not intimidating.
Twitter ApplicationsLaura Fitton recommends
Twhirl for a desktop computer.
Note that Twhirl was purchased by Seesmic and rolled into
Seesmic Desktop.
UberTwitter for BlackBerry
Tweetie for iPhone and Macintosh.
Use A Period in Front of Direct MessagesPeople use @ to refer to other Twitter users. When you use and @username to refer to another user, only that user and those people who are following that user will see that tweet.
Put a "." in front of the @username or p
ut the @username inside the body of the tweet is you want all your followers to see it.
Example of username embedded within the post.
Everyone following
@kirstinbutler will see this.
Use twitter Lists to Find People to FollowTwitter just implemented
lists. If you go to a users profile page you'll see lists of people grouped together. This is rolling out for all users shortly. For example, go to
Robert Scoble's page and look over
his lists. The are listed in the right hand sidebar. You can click 'Follow this list' to have the list in your own side bar, or you can selectively click on people in his list and click them to follow them individually.
Here's his most popular list right now:
http://twitter.com/Scobleizer/my-favstar-fm-listNote: If you can't see the list, twitter hasn't enabled your account with lists yet. They will. Be patient.
RetweetIf you want to repost exactly what someone else has tweeted, retweet it.
Retweeting is for taking EXACTLY what the other person said and reposting it.
Three Steps to Re-TweetingStep 1: Copy and Paste their tweet into the text entry area on twitter.
Step 2: Add 'RT' to the front of the tweet
Step 3: Add @theirusername of the person who originally made the tweet.
If you want to comment, do so outside the retweet. Either at the beginning or end, and make it clear that what you are saying is not part of the retweet. Use something like,
[Cool] RT @theirusename Blah, blah, blah... I had a sandwich. LOL.
Cheers!
Twitter will be making this easier in the near future.
Retweet Yourself - Re-RunIf you retweet yourself, just add RR to the front of the tweet.
It looks silly to have a tweet with yur name in there twice.
stevegarfield RT: @stevegarfield Hi Mom!
vs.
RR: Hi Mom!
RewriteIf you want to rewrite someone's tweet, you can do that, but instead of RT at the front of the tweet, put (via @theirusername) at the end.
Note: Lots of twitter clients have re-tweeting built in.
Be Yourself, At a Bar Be yourself on twitter, just make sure you don't spam people or get repetitive with calls for people to go to your website to buy something. Think of twitter as a bar where everyone is standing around chatting with each other. Every tweet doesn't have to be a masterpiece, but keep it interesting so people will want to follow you.
Follow me on twitter at
@stevegarfieldHave some twitter tips, suggested people or lists to follow? Add them in the comments. Thanks!
Disclosure: I'm an investor in Seesmic.
