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Learn the basics about Twitter in 15 minutes!

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Twitter is a service for people to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. These messages are posted to your profile or your blog, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.

Twitter lets users engage in conversations with other users in 140 characters or less.

What is Twitter?

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Basic Terms

Tweet Posting a message to Twitter@ + name The command which allows tweets to be

sent; proceeds username (i.e. @journchat)Following You choose to receive someone's updatesFollowers People who choose to receive your updatesDirect Message Private message sent between two peopleBlock Preventing someone from reading your

updatesFavorites A public area to save your favorite tweets Fail Whale When too many people are tweeting!Hashtag The # next to a word allows for conversation tracking (#tweetup) http://search.twitter.com Tweetup A face-to-face gathering of those who tweet

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minutes Your User ID = 15 characters•Make your ID easy to remember•Preferably your name, brand or something you want associated with YOU•You’ve only got 140 characters, use them wisely•Check the availability of your username across multiple platforms (http://usernamez.com/)

EXAMPLE:@skydiver, @savvyauntie, @nancyloo

Your Twitter ID

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minutes 1.Who are you?

Connector: knows a lot of peopleMaven: trusted expert who seeks to pass

knowledge alongSalesman: charismatic people with powerful

negotiation skills

2.Who do you want to communicate with?Clients, like-minded people, friends, etc.

3.What are you looking to gain?Increased brand visibility, build a large network, etc.

Start the conversation

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Follow first

• Find people to follow• http://www.twellow.com• http://wefollow.com• http://mrtweet.com • http://justtweetit.com

• Say hello• Read the bio of those who follow you• Decide who you want to follow back• Share your knowledge• Promote others and interact• Ask questions

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Tips for engaging

• Add your Twitter ID to your email signature, website and resume

• Download a Twitter application for your Blackberry or iPhone

• Send an email to friends, family and co-workers with your Twitter ID and see if they are on Twitter

• Embed a Twitter widget on your blog or website• Start a hashtag• Join a hashtag• Put together RSS feeds for your favorite topics on Twitter

http://search.twitter.com • When you comment on blog posts, include your Twitter

ID• Add your Twitter ID to your Facebook and LinkedIn

accounts

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Resources

• Conserve Space: Shorten your URLs• http://bit.ly• http://tiny.url• http://www.tiny.cc

• Applications• http://www.tweetdeck.com• http://www.twhirl.com • http://twitter.com/downloads

• Resources• http://mashable.com/category/twitter-lists/• http://www.twitip.com

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Remember: there are no rules!