Twitter 101

presented by:stephanie butler (@writingquirky)

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

try:fly.twitter.com

your profile

profile photo

name

user name

bio (160 char)

header photo

summary

tweets

background photo

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

the lingo

@mention: a link to another userRT (& web retweet): to share another user’s contentMT: modified tweet#hashtag: to link tweets by keyword, theme, event or to make a jokefavourite: a Twitter bookmarkDM: a direct message sent between users who follow each othertrend: a popular keyword or hashtag

a tweet

https://twitter.com/writingquirky/status/273132825723686912

user

mention

hashtag

link (to a photo)

lists

• filter content by users or groups

• public or private lists• useful tool:

twitlistmanager.com

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

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-Search-Ninja.aspx

the Twitter interfacetweets from users you follow, profile summary, trends

your tweets retweeted, your tweets favourited, mentions, new followers

news,trends,tweets from your network

your profile, your tweets, profile summary, your favourites, your lists

Twitter search

profile settings, account settings, lists, Twitter help

send a tweet

direct messages

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

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

thanks! questions?