Twitter in 140 characters or less:
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| twitter.com/katie_swaine | alexa.com |
Twitter is my favorite social-networking tool and here's why:
- You follow people you want to follow
- It's my main source of information
- It's more than just interacting with friends
I've had Twitter since 2009, when I was a senior in high school. All my friends in school had it too, so we would just tweet at each other all the time; before, during, and after school. (None of us had smart phones, we would either send/receive tweets via text or use the computer. #StoneAge)
I was one of those people. The ones who have conversations with their friends over Twitter. Because God forbid we texted each other. It was pretty new to us though; Twitter wasn't all that popular yet. But now as a senior in college, along the years I've found a whole new way to use Twitter.
Most non-tweeters (any person who either has an inactive Twitter account, or no account at all) will tell me, "I don't want a Twitter. It's just a constant feed of status updates and I don't really care."
and I always try telling them that there is so much more to Twitter than that!
I almost feel a sense of responsibility to disperse of all the common myths about Twitter, so I'll go into the reasons why it's my favorite social networking tool:
1. YOU FOLLOW PEOPLE WHO YOU WANT TO FOLLOW:
It's not like Facebook, where your Great Aunt requests to be your friend and you have no choice but to accept and subject yourself to her weird comments on every single photo you post.
(TWITTER PERK: Most adults/family members can only handle one social networking site at a time- Facebook. You probably won't have to worry about Great Aunt Susan following you on Twitter. She probably doesn't even know what that means.)
I've had my fair share of following those annoying people who are constantly tweeting dumb things, i.e. "Goin to the gym! #grind #GTL #toned". The thing about those people, is that they don't really realize that no one cares. So- you don't have to follow them! Bam. That easy.
I add the accounts that I follow into LISTS - you can (don't have to) create as many lists as you want on Twitter. It's basically like categorizing different accounts into one page where you only see their tweets (instead of all the accounts you follow in one place).
My Lists (click the links attached to the title to view each list)
My Lists (click the links attached to the title to view each list)
FRIENDS/SCHOOL
Of course, my friends. Self-explanatory. I grouped my friends with Buffalo State accounts (PRSSA, Student Government, Dining, etc.) because that's who/what is most relevant to me. I go to school 5 days a week and when I'm not at school, I'm with my friends.
Of course, my friends. Self-explanatory. I grouped my friends with Buffalo State accounts (PRSSA, Student Government, Dining, etc.) because that's who/what is most relevant to me. I go to school 5 days a week and when I'm not at school, I'm with my friends.
Ex.) Buffalo Sabres, NY Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist, Bubba Watson, ESPN, sports journalists.
I like to keep up to date on the teams that I like and any important sports news. Hockey is my favorite sport, and with the NHL in a lockout, I get most of my information and updates about the lockout from these accounts on Twitter.
Just saying.
Pretty broad title, but this group consists of people that I don't actually personally know (public figures, celebrities, comedians, etc.) and my favorite places/companies/organizations. I like to laugh, so I follow a ton of funny/witty people on Twitter. (@RobDelaney, @DannyZuker, @KellyOxford)
Celebrities are always fun to follow... whether they post anything newsworthy about themselves or if they just post selfies (self-portraits) of themselves, (Yes, I'm talking about you, Kim Kardashian) I get a kick out of it.
Some places that I follow are Tim Hortons, because I'm obsessed, and the restaurant I work at. (@SeanPatricksNY- follow them!)
(TWITTER PERK: TRUE STORY: I follow the shoe company, Sperry Top-Sider on Twitter. In Buffalo, there are no Sperry retail stores, they're just sold at department stores. BUT there is a Sperry store in Manhattan, and when I went there in April, I wanted to go to the store so bad. I happened to be browsing through my Twitter feed that same day and noticed a tweet from Sperry reading, "Get 25% off your purchase today at any Sperry retail store!" SCORE. So as you might have guessed, I took advantage of that. #newshoes.)
The last list I have is News Sources, which brings me into my 2nd reason why Twitter is my favorite social-networking site.
2. TWITTER IS MY MAIN SOURCE OF INFORMATION:
I follow a number of local news stations/local news anchors, and CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, etc. If you tell a non-tweeter than you get your news from Twitter, they probably don't understand why I don't just read the paper or watch the news. And this is what I have to say about that:
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| Ain't Nobdoy Got Time For That Video |
But really, all in one place, I can see what my friends are up to, what Kim Kardashian is wearing to the gym, and what's happening in Buffalo and around the world.
My tell-tale story of getting news from Twitter dates all the way back to 2009:
My tell-tale story of getting news from Twitter dates all the way back to 2009:
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| From my blog post: "You've Got Mail" |
Speaking of the news though, it's pretty amazing how much politics has really gotten involved with Twitter. Barack Obama is the first president to use Twitter to connect with citizens. Weirdly, he actually follows my friend Maria. I'm not sure why- but he does. During the 2012 Presidential Election, Obama, Mitt Romney, and Paul Ryan were very avid tweeters. During the presidential debates, a lot of people took their opinions to Twitter.
3. TWEETING IS MORE THAN JUST INTERACTING WITH YOUR FRIENDS:
THOUGHTS. I mentioned before that when I first got Twitter, I only tweeted to my friends. Twitter is and SHOULD be used beyond means of socializing. My tweets basically consist of random thoughts that go through my head throughout the day. I try to make them funny and relevant to my followers, otherwise, who really cares what's going through my head.
PICTURES. I like to post pictures on Twitter too. I think posting pictures on Twitter makes it more interesting for whoever is following you. I'm more apt to read someones tweet if there's a picture attached. Videos are a good tool to utilize too, when necessary.
JOINING THE CONVERSATION. As long as your tweets aren't locked/private, your tweets are fair game in the Twitterverse. On some TV shows, they might even show your tweet on-air. Ex.) On the talk show, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, you can tweet a question if you use the hashtag "#wwhl" in your tweet. Your question might be picked to go on the air and have answered!
Hashtags are the most important aspect of joining the conversation. You can use them in your tweets and see if other people on Twitter are tweeting about the same thing. If you're trying to get people to read something you tweeted, use a hashtag that is specific, yet searchable.
For example, if you're a local restaurant in Buffalo, you might want to incorporate the hashtag "#Buffalo" in some tweets. If someone searches the word Buffalo on Twitter, there's a good chance that they'll notice and read your tweet.
Twitter shows you what is "trending" around the world, or you can localize it down to your city. If an item is trending worldwide (or wherever), it means it's among the top 10 things being tweeted about. Right now, one trending topic in the United States is "RIP Sean Taylor". Sean Taylor was a pro-football player for the Washington Redskins who died 5 years ago today, at the age of 24. A lot of people are remembering him today in their tweets, making him a trending topic.
Twitter shows you what is "trending" around the world, or you can localize it down to your city. If an item is trending worldwide (or wherever), it means it's among the top 10 things being tweeted about. Right now, one trending topic in the United States is "RIP Sean Taylor". Sean Taylor was a pro-football player for the Washington Redskins who died 5 years ago today, at the age of 24. A lot of people are remembering him today in their tweets, making him a trending topic.
There are so many different aspects of joining the conversation, you can even enter contests through Twitter. Participate in polls. Or you can tweet things at famous people for fun, hoping they'll answer....
(Not to brag, but I've had a good number of "celebrity" responses in my day. I've even gotten into Twitter fights with Phoenix Coyotes hockey player, Paul Bissonette and also with 2 cast members of The Real Housewives of Vancouver. It's actually pretty entertaining, if you want to know the truth.)
Twitter is different. It's fun, and can also be used as a journalistic tool. It's considered a micro-blog, which is a condensed version of a regular blog. You're only allowed 140 characters per tweet, which can be an advantage and a disadvantage as opposed to regular blogging.
With 140 characters, you have to cut out the fat of anything you want to say. Sometimes it's frustrating when I can't tweet what I want to in 140 characters, no matter how hard I try. But when it comes to anything newsworthy, your tweet should be used as a teaser/summary lead for your followers to find out additional information. Most tweets like that will include a link to a story, video, blog, website, etc.
When writing for a a blog, or news website, people will generally will choose what they want to read from a list of titles/headlines, but with a tweet, you can write a short summary that might interest readers to click the link attached.
Like this:
I hope I've convinced any non-tweeters out there to sign up and start Tweeting away!
#IfYouCanTweetYouCanDoAnything.. Like getting a new pair of shoes for 25% off.
-@Katie_Swaine
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