Twitter say what? Explaining Twitter

Some of you have no idea what the buzz is surrounding twitter. Some of you have twitter accounts, and have NO idea the potential they hold. Others are twitter pros, and probably will not even read this post. Either way I’m here to explain the benefits of twitter to you, your blog, and to your friendships.

Twitter is a social media website that lets you write out and read messages of up to 140 characters, including all punctuation and spaces. These messages are public (unless you change it to private) and you decide what sort of messages you want to receive. You can send and receive messages, or tweets, equally from your desktop or mobile phone.

So how do I get started?

• Head on over to www.twitter.com where you’ll find a box like this:
  
• Go ahead and click on Sign Up
• You’ll be asked to put in your name, and some info about yourself as well as choose a Username (aka twitter name). Make it something fun, something that people will know you by. If you have a blog/website this is a great place to use that name as well. This way people will associate your twitter name with your blog/website.

That was simple, now wasn’t it? Now that you have a twitter account what do you do with it. First you need to decide what you want to do with it.

Do you want to promote your blog/website? Go ahead, put it out there. A sample tweet might read “ Top to Bottom Baby Boutique is a great source for all your #clothdiapers needs.  www.ttbbb.com ". You’ll want to find # (hashtags) that others are searching to help promote your tweet.

All I want to do is enter giveaways. You may read blogs and only want to use your twitter account to enter giveaways. That’s fine! Sample tweets are usually included in the giveaway post that you’re entering.

I want to learn more about something….and make a few friends along the way. You’re going to want to learn more about #(hashtags). Hashtags are a way of “searching” twitter. You can search for many things. (these are also used in twitter parties to stay on topic) You can pretty much hashtag anything, and find something on it. Some of my favorites include : #clothdiapers #bfcafe (breastfeeding chat) #bfing #babywearing

Now you’re thinking, okay I get how to tweet, but I’m never going to use it, because let’s face it using it on the web isn’t the easiest thing in the world. I have a program that will make your twitter life easier!

Tweet Deck is an application that you download to your desktop, ipad, ipod, or mac. With Tweet Deck anyone can tweet like a Pro. Customize your Twitter experience effortlessly with columns, groups, searches and automatic updates.

Once you get Tweet Deck downloaded you’re going to want to customize it for your needs. It’s pretty simple once you play with it. You can add things like @replies (which is whenever someone wants to talk to you), # searches, and DM’s (direct messages only you and the person who sent them can see). Really this program is pretty easy to use, but if you’re having problems with it feel free to email me (toptobottombaby@cox.net) with any questions you might have.

You now will probably start to make friends on Twitter, you’ll probably want to follow them as well, so you know when they’re on!

And be sure to follow us @toptobottombaby , Jess - @mamajdubs , and Amanda - @amongthemess 

Twitter is a great way to get your name out there in the world. It’s as good of a social media tool as Facebook if you just use it to your advantage. It’s also a great way to make friends. Usually there is someone out there willing to talk with you. I don’t know how many friends I have only known/met through twitter.

Now that you have a better idea of what’s going on on twitter, why not check out our post on Twitter Parties, and how to attend them!