If you’re new to Twitter, you might not know what the buzz is about. Exactly what is Twitter and what can you expect to see there? How valuable is it to the regular person? There are many benefits to Twitter you might not expect, including support, breaking news, and connections of both a business and personal nature.

Not only is Twitter a micro-blogging platform for people to interact within 140 characters, it is a hotbed of information, breaking news, and plain, old-fashioned gossip. People from all walks of life populate Twitter, offering opinions and snippets from their lives to which other people can relate. Twitter can alleviate boredom, inform, and unite in a way that is unprecedented. Twitter is very similar to the beginnings of IRC or AOL chat, but it connects people in a way that is unique.

If you’re a single mom and need information on schools in a new district, you can find someone who can help you find what you need. A student writing a paper for an important class can find people who can help find links to facts. Writers, crafters, artists, musicians, can build a following or join a group that shares similar interests. And breaking news often finds its way to Twitter before it even reaches the mainstream media.

How is this possible? The accessibility of Twitter is key, as is the large audience. Although it has proven difficult to get an accurate count of active Twitter users, most counts range to over 2.5 million Twitter users to date. That’s a lot of brains to pick, a lot of experience to tap, and a lot of information on which to draw. New applications for mobile phones make Twitter even more accessible, and often what happens on the street is recorded first on Twitter.

For instance, the Iranian election was followed closely on Twitter, and when the Iranian government tried to shut down information from that country, their efforts were stymied by witnesses able to access Twitter and communicate the events through words and pictures. The globe is not as tiny as it was before Twitter came on the scene.

Celebrity use by the famous such as Oprah, Ashton Kutcher, and Shaq O’Neill have also brought Twitter to major attention. People don’t want to feel isolated, and with the mobility of the American population and waning of local neighborhoods, Twitter has become an interesting substitute in many ways. Twitter even reaches across borders to bring opinions, news, and reflections from other cultures.

Although skeptics in the beginning thought Twitter was just a passing fad, since launched publicly in July of 2007, it has shown no signs of slowing down. It’s difficult to predict the future of any social networking phenomenon, but it will be interesting to see how Twitter evolves with its users and what the future holds in store.

When becoming a part of the Twitter collective, it’s important if you’re a budding small business owner or freelancer to stand out from the crowd. Since there are millions of Twitter users, this can be a tall order. One of the tools at your disposal is the right choice of photo, or avatar, to display in your Twitter stream.

An avatar is not mandatory; if you choose not to upload a photo or avatar, one is automatically assigned – a generic Twitter avatar sported by all who don’t choose to upload a personalized avatar. This can really hurt your chances of connecting with those on Twitter by reducing the recognition factor, and wastes a golden opportunity for branding.

Image Credit Cinematropolis

Most Twitter people agree, they like to match an actual face to a name. Some people may be uncomfortable with displaying their photo in such a public space, so there are ways to work around this to make everyone happy. An odd camera angle may work, or a picture with you in trademark sunglasses that tend to cut down on the recognizable features of your face. A cartoon caricature might be an option, or even a pencil sketch. Consider a photo of you when you were a child, in a costume, or any other photo that gives an idea of the person behind the account without giving everything away, unless you’re comfortable with being recognized offline as well as online.

You may choose to display a company logo or graphic, and that’s fine, but there are some considerations. Because the space allowed is so small, make sure to choose colors that are bright or contrast nicely. It’s difficult to pull out the Tweets of a logo that looks like all the rest – and since many Twitter users monitor their account with third party applications, some of which have dark tones, a brightly colored or contrasted image stands a better chance of being noticed.

Choose your avatar or photo carefully, because until you establish your presence on Twitter, changing the avatar frequently will confuse your followers and they may not recognize who you are on your next visit. Once you are a regular contributor, it’s acceptable to switch out your photo as you wish, however, be prepared to lose a follower or two who may not realize who you are right away.

For branding purposes, it is recommended that you use the same image on all your social networking sites for maximum recognition, so the choice of your avatar is an important one, indeed. Before you make your final choice for Twitter, solicit the opinions of trusted friends, partners, or co-workers to get some feedback on what your avatar portrays. By choosing the perfect Twitter avatar for your profile you take advantage of an opportunity to brand yourself, your service, or your business for instant recognition.

Once you become familiar with the Twitter interface and have acquired a following, it’s easy to become comfortable with chatting to other people and being friendly. For the most part – this is a good way to make and maintain several great connections. However with every social media platform there are a few out there that will stop at nothing to use and abuse your kindness for profit or just shear malice.

1. For business purposes, you may want to list your physical address on your Twitter profile, or make it available as a link. However, it is not advised you do this for your personal address. If it is important for people to get a hold of you for whatever reason, it’s better to provide a post office box number. Remember, while you have control of whom you follow on Twitter and who follows you, you don’t have control over who sees your profile.
2. Twitter is vast, with a network that reaches wide. If you are planning a vacation, use Twitter to gush about it or post pictures when you return. Divulging times and dates when you will be away from your home or business is asking for trouble from unscrupulous people who may make you a target from the information they glean from your Twitter stream. If you need to maintain an active feed set up automated Tweets when you’re away so it looks like you’re still active in the community.
3. If you have not protected your Twitter updates, it means that everything you Tweet is seen on a public timeline. Anyone who accesses the Twitter homepage can then view your Tweets, so keep personal information you wish to be private to yourself, or protect your updates so only the people you accept as fellow Tweeters can see your postings.
4. Do not give out your Twitter password. If you have delegated Twitter duties to another person in the case of a business, make sure they are instructed also to not give out the password to the Twitter account, and change the password often. Giving out a Twitter password is like giving someone the key to your front door, so be just as careful.
5. There are a plethora of viruses, and Trojans out there just waiting for you to click on a Twitter link to infest your computer. Keep your virus program up-to-date and run it daily. The best advice is to not click on a link from someone with whom you’re not familiar, and don’t post links to Twitter that you have not checked out yourself. If you receive a link in a direct message, unless it’s from your someone you trust, resist the temptation to click on it.

Common sense will take you a long way toward protecting yourself on Twitter. As with most things, the more familiar you become with Twitter the more comfortable you become, but this is the internet, after all. Utilizing the above Twitter safety tips will insure both a pleasant and profitable Twitter experience.

If you are new to Twitter, and wonder what the funny looking symbol (#) means or have seen strange phrases and comments appear with the “hashtag” annotation in your stream. You may have asked yourself what does this really mean? or Why are there so many people tagging there tweets with this foreign syntax?

On Twitter, the hash symbol is a way of tagging, or grouping, a specific topic. Words appearing with the hash symbol in front of it (ie. #twittertips) will show up in an RSS feed with all other comments so tagged by other Twitter users. As an example, the following comment might appear in the Twitter stream:

“I’m very happy with Peter Doyle’s #photography service.”

This comment is then grouped with others sporting the tag of “#photography” and becomes tagged to use Twitter’s own search function. In the search box, type “#photography” and every comment with that tag will show up in a separate Twitter stream. This is quite useful if you’re looking for information regarding a specific topic, and it’s a good way to find people with similar hobbies, jobs, or interests. (hint, hint)

The Twitter hashtag function is also a good way to keep in touch with a specific group of people, and writer’s groups have really put this to good use by using the hashtag as a way of staying constant contact. Many groups have sprung up around this little symbol, such as #flashfriday, where authors pen a fiction story every Friday and share the link, or #writechat where writers meet virtually and discuss the craft. Groups of all different interests have found innovative ways to use this Twitter function to meet virtually and exchange information.

Of course, as with any Twitter user created innovation, there are some that use and overuse this helpful Twitter tip, so it’s important to keep in mind that not all Tweets deserve a hashtag, nor should they receive one.

e.g.

#I #just #brushed #my #teeth #with #toothpaste #it #makes #me #happy

#why #have #people #stopped #retweeting #me, #this #is #not #cool #I #feel #like #an #epic #fail

If you use too many, people will start to ignore your Tweets and you run the danger of clogging the Tweet stream of the hashtag topic with unnecessary or irrelevant content, instead of adding value or information.

However, one of the best things about Twitter is it has a sense of humor. Check out #bobearday for some chuckles. Hashtag.org offers a directory of hashtags and explains what each of them means, and of course, you can always use the Twitter search function to find what interests you.

#bobearday Image Credit

Hashtag Meme-ing On Twitter

Several “memes” have popped up on specific days of the week, making each day not just informative, but fun. Participating can not only link you up with interesting people, but help you to introduce yourself – as well.

The Twitter meme phenomenon started with #followfriday, where every Friday Tweeters listed people they felt were worth following, accompanied by the #followfriday hashtag, to alert others on Twitter about follow-worthy fellow Tweeters. It was a resounding success, and the meme phenomenon spread to other days of the week. New memes pop up frequently on Twitter, and the interaction is invaluable if you’re endeavoring to build up a Twitter presence to beef up your social media profile for either business or personal reasons.

Listed here are some of the more popular Twitter memes and the day of the week on which they fall. Participation is not mandatory, but again, it personalizes your social media profile and may highlight people you’d like to follow and vice-versa.

#sinnersunday: Where you confess what you did instead of going to church to others on Twitter who have done the same. It should be noted that this was once named #sinsunday and its use has dramatically tapered off in the last few weeks.

#musicmonday: People post on Twitter to what music they are currently listening, and some people link up their favorite online music program such as blip.fm or Grooveshark. Both services provide a direct link to a favorite song.

#twittertuesday: In case you missed Friday’s edition, here is a chance to promote your current Twitter favorite for the benefit of all your followers.

#wonderfulwednesday: A day to celebrate the middle of the week. What is making your Wednesday wonderful? Tweeters everywhere want to know.

#thankfulthursday: This is the day to thank your mom, your dog, but most especially the fellow Tweeters that make Twitter what it is to you. There is no trophy or award, but it’s nice to say thanks (and to hear it, too!)

#followfriday: On Friday’s you can give a shout out with this tag to show your fellow twitter users who you feel is worthy of a follow. This is in no way an all inclusive list. It should be noted that some twitter users are against using this tag, because they feel it clogs up their stream.

#caturday: A combination of cats and Saturday, this is a day to celebrate your feline friends and share them with your Twitter friends.

Participation is fun, and you don’t have to make an all-day project of it, but a few related Tweets during the course of the designated day can have a two-fold benefit; they allow you to get to know your followers better, and by the same token, they get to know you better.

What is TweetDeck? It’s a third party application developed by Adobe Air to help you manage your Twitter account. Unlike the Twitter home page, TweetDeck provides you with the tools you need to maximize your Twitter experience and enhance the benefits of having a Twitter account.

Once you acquire hundreds of followers, having to refresh the Twitter home page to keep up with the constant stream becomes a full time job. TweetDeck is a free program, designed to manage your followers and follow pertinent Twitter conversations without having to continually refresh, complete with alerts, customized columns, and an URL shortening service.

The download is fast and easy to install and takes up minimum room on your computer. Columns are pre-loaded to display “All Friends”, “Mentions” (or @Replies), and “Direct Messages”. You are able to set up your own columns according to your interests and direction. For instance, you can add specially designated columns that displays “Friends”, “Family”, and “CoWorkers” to help you better manage the people you are following. Or, you can create a column devoted to business industry topics and the movers and shakers in that industry. You’re only limited by your imagination and ten Twitter columns.

In addition, additional columns can be set up to reflect specialty groups or search terms. If you are interested in trending news, for example, you can create a column specifically for “health care”, and all the Tweets that reflect that particular phrase will show up in that column. This is a good way to find fellow-minded Tweeters you may not have ordinarily encountered.

You may have up to ten Twitter columns, and there is a slide bar at the bottom for access, or you can restrict yourself to a single column view. Twitter settings are easy to change from the tool button at the top right of the screen. Uploading a photo, recent hashtags, and even translation buttons are also available on the upper right of the screen.

In the beginning of your Twitter career, the Twitter home page may be enough for you to handle your followers and interests, but as you become more involved in the Twitter universe, gaining and following more interesting people, the Twitter home page will not be enough for you to manage efficiently. Relevant columns set up with TweetDeck will organize your Twitter experience and reduce the amount of frustration from missing a relevant Tweet or just trying to keep up.

TweetDeck is not perfect – the interface may seem a little intimidating at first, but it is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Colors can be changed in settings, and if the chirp of the Twitter alert is annoying, you can mute it entirely. All-in-all, TweetDeck is a very efficient way of managing your Twitterverse, designed to minimize frustration and help you get the most out of your Twitter experience.

Okay, you’ve been on Twitter a couple of weeks, have gained a few followers, started to get the hang of chatting with friends and family in “real time”. What else can you do with Twitter? Is it just a glorified chat program, or is there more to this form of social media than meets the eye?

Twitter is actually a great deal more powerful and useful than you might imagine. It has great search capabilities, if you know what to do, whether you are looking for people, information, or a job. Once you learn about Twitter’s capability to pull up information, you will wonder how you got along without it.

Whether on the main Twitter page or using a third-party software such as TweetDeck, Twhirl, or other programs to help you manage your Twitter-verse, there is a search field included. Enter the keywords or description of what you’re looking for, and every mention of that particular subject will pop up in a separate column.

Some of these mentions may not be of much use, just bits and pieces of conversation between Twitter buddies. However, in sifting through the mentions you could find exactly what you’re looking for. For instance, perhaps you’re looking for information regarding health care, or breaking news on the latest tech gadget. Simply enter the keyword of your interest, and plenty of information is available for your perusal.

Twitter search is also a powerful tool for job searches. Enter the keyword for the career in which you’re interested, and chances are there are employers looking for suitable candidates for jobs. Often links are included that will take you to their specific website, with instructions on how and when to apply. In this economy, you need every edge you can get when looking for employment, and Twitter can be that edge.

In your searches, you may not find the exact information for which you are looking, but the Twitter stream may give you a good jumping off point to continue on your quest for information. This is particularly valuable as a writer or journalist, where breaking news often shows up on Twitter before it hits the mainstream media. You can also set up permanent columns in TweetDeck to do a constant search, and you can monitor the stream for events as they happen.

Whether you are researching a paper, looking for a job, or writing about current events, Twitter is an invaluable tool in your arsenal of research. If you are really stuck, ask your fellow Twitter buddies for help. If you’ve chosen the right mix of followers, you have people who represent every walk of life, and someone on your Twitter list may have just the nugget of information you need. Either way, there is a plethora of information out there for every subject, just a simple click away.

In this video Evan Williams (co-founder of Twitter)  goes on to speak of how the Summize search engine came about – without the pre-fromatted intent by Twitter’s inception. This is by far one of the most powerful features  that has evolved from the Twitter Platform. So powerful, in fact, that Twitter bought Summize and now integrates this search functionality into the Twitter architecture.

Women have made strides in today’s society – there are females in every profession and it is no longer assumed that we will marry and have babies right out of high school. But a few things haven’t changed, like the number of women who are tech-savvy and up on all the latest Internet communities. (We’ll save the reasons for this relatively unchanged phenomenon for another discussion!) For whatever reason, many of us are missing out on this exciting social platform on which we can exchange information, invest in interesting conversations, and have a little fun at the same time.

It seems that many of us may outwardly mock the use of Twitter and poke fun at our friends for using it, but deep down really- we want to try it out. But, where do you start? For those of you with just the tiniest inkling of curiosity, here is a guide to the basics of Twitter. Go ahead and try it out – it’s guaranteed to get you on the same page as your male counterparts! Of course you can find some of this information in the “help” section of Twitter, but what fun is reading the instructions? Read on for some basic information to get you started tweeting today.

First things first, right? You must sign up to take advantage of the features that Twitter has to offer. Signing up is pretty simple, you just go to the Twitter website and fill out the required information. If you’ve signed up for anything online before, this will be a snap. The most difficult part of signing up may be coming up with a user name – just relax and get creative! Your user name, or Twitter address, will appear similar to your email address. A Twitter address appears as “@yourname.”

You’ll also need to provide your profile. It is helpful to note that if you have a website you may want to include it so that you don’t come off as a potential spammer. Additionally, if you don’t feel comfortable putting certain details in your profile, you don’t have to. Don’t worry; it’s up to you as to how much information you provide in your profile.

Once you’ve signed up for Twitter, it’s time to get started. On Twitter, members communicate by tweeting, but what exactly is a tweet? Tweets are simply the messages that you send and receive on Twitter. It’s really quite easy to send a tweet. Simply type your message into the “What’s happening?” section and keep it under 140 characters. Short and to the point is the way to go on Twitter.

Once you know how to tweet, you’ll also need to know how to follow. If you find something particularly interesting on Twitter, you just opt to follow them. People can also choose to follow you, if they so desire. Once you have added people to your list that you’d like to follow, any messages they post will appear in your Twitter stream – this is just like your email inbox. It’s also possible to send direct messages. These look a little different than regular tweets. Direct messages are often marked as private tweets that will not appear on any main Twitter stream.

Though this guide is in no way exhaustive, it should show you other ladies just enough to get started on Twitter. The days of pretending that Twitter is totally silly are gone! – you know you want to tweet about every mundane experience you have throughout the day! Go ahead, get started today.

Just like many social networking websites, the iPhone can help you stay connected with family, friends, and colleagues whether you’re near or far. The iPhone is so much more than a phone – allowing you to send text messages, emails, and even surf the web when you need to. Because the iPhone has Internet capabilities, it is not uncommon to see people tweeting away right from their phones.

Staying connected through social networking sites like Twitter is simple on the iPhone. Twitter was designed with a mobile phone in mind which makes it the perfect accompaniment to the iPhone. There are plenty of cool ways to use Twitter on your iPhone, and if you haven’t tried them out, now’s your chance.

The SMS System

The easiest way to use Twitter on the iPhone is probably through the SMS system. Essentially, this is the text messaging system that you are probably quite familiar with. Text messaging is what the founders of Twitter must have had in mind when they implemented the 140 character limit for tweets! The best way to use your SMS system with Twitter is to register your phone number on the social platform then just send whatever message you want anytime, anywhere!

Twitter Mobile Website

Since you have access to the Internet with the iPhone, you can also visit the Twitter mobile website to update your followers with any news or comments. This is quite easy and takes no time at all. Simply access your mobile browser and head to m.twitter.com/ which is a special URL to be used on a mobile phone. From there, log into your account and tweet away! You can do this while you wait in line, sit in class, or on your lunch break. The Twitter mobile website allows you to do all the same things that you’d do right from your computer.

Emailing Twitter Updates

Did you know that you can use Twitter through email on the iPhone? Well, you can. If you don’t have the time to log into the Twitter site or simply don’t want to use the SMS system, you can just send an update via email. All you have to do is register with TwitterMail.com and provide your Twitter details. You’ll be given a Twitter email address to which you send your tweets. Once you’ve set this up, your tweets will be instant.

iPhone Twitter Clients (highly recommended)

If none of the above ways of using Twitter on your iPhone work for you, there is another way. You can send tweets through a web-based Twitter client developed for the iPhone. The two most common are TweetDeck and Tweetie2. These are both client optimized applications that allow you to manage your Twitter account from the iPhone. You’ll be able to see all the latest tweets from your followers and contacts, update your status remotely, and view the public timeline over Wi-Fi or AT&T’s Edge network.

TweetDeck

Tweetie2

Today, there is absolutely no excuse for not staying connected. Even though people are busier than ever, you can stay in touch with your iPhone using Twitter. Using any of the four ways mentioned above will allow you to connect with your friends, coworkers, family, and colleagues instantly and without delay.

You may want to maximize the visibility of your Twitter profile for various reasons – monetizing your profile, spreading the message about your products or service, or simply for the fun of it. The one thing you need to remember is that your Twitter profile is just like any other website, so the basics behind increasing your reach is very similar. So, when it comes to maximizing your Twitter visibility, come at it from the angle that you would for your own blog or newsletter.

So, just like with any other website, increased visibility comes from increased traffic. This means that if you want more followers on Twitter, all you need to do is drive plenty of web traffic to your Twitter profile. And if you’re looking for a particular audience, your best bet is to drive targeted traffic to your profile! Though this is probably pretty obvious for the seasoned online marketer, it may not be as clear to the average Twitterer.

Many advisors have put a lot of emphasis on Twitter usage such as the time of day and frequency, but this really doesn’t have a strong of impact as you might think. How you tweet and when you tweet are not crucial to driving traffic, and visibility, to your Twitter profile. What you really want to do is get a larger number of followers. This can be done anytime of day – or night for that matter! Your main goal should be to keep sending visitors to your profile. Remember, you can only get followers when they know you exist!

Knowing that the main key behind maximizing your Twitter visibility is driving traffic to your profile, you are free to experiment with traditional online marketing strategies. Just think about how you might promote a website. This means think about what incentives you might be able to offer and why someone might want to follow you on Twitter. Ask yourself why a potential follower would even want to subscribe to your Twitter profile, especially if he or she does not even know you.

If you don’t have your own website and have never promoted your blog, driving traffic to your Twitter profile may be a little bit more of a challenge for you, but it doesn’t have to be. To help you drive traffic to your Twitter account and maximize your visibility, here is a list of some simple things you might want to try:

• If you’re tech savvy, design a tool or an application that others might like to use. When you promote that, you can also promote your profile.
• If you have your own company, offer Twitter as a form of customer support and a way to contact you.
• Announce, host, or organize a contest on the Twitter platform.
• Include a link to your Twitter profile in your email signatures. You can do this on forums as well.
• Make sure you have a link to your Twitter profile on all of your other blogs and websites.
• Talk about Twitter on forums or blogs and include a link to your Twitter profile.
• Exchange Twitter recommendations with other Twitter members.
• Buy a link or a banner on a website where your target audience may spend a lot of time. Direct the link to your profile.

Once you have a significant number of followers on Twitter, dealing with tweets can become a grueling experience. But remember, it doesn’t have to be. In essence, Twitter should be an overall rewarding and fun experience if you’re using it for personal reasons. If you’re using the platform for business purposes, it should be thought of as an effective tool and a way to stay in touch with your customers and clients. In an effort to keep your sanity where it belongs, here are some tips on dealing with tweets.

First and foremost, remember that you do not have to read every tweet. With a certain number of tweets coming in, this could very well become an impossible task anyway! If you really feel that every tweet should be read, and you’re using Twitter for your business, perhaps make it an employee’s task to read the tweets. The same goes for replying to tweets – there is no rule that says you have to answer each one. Try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty if you don’t reply to them all.

When it comes to tweeting in response, take a look at the tweets you’re considering. If you’ve received a tweet that you feel you must reply to, but it doesn’t make sense to tweet in front of the whole world, consider sending a direct message. Direct messages allow for one-on-one conversations, which is great for customer support and private conversations. Twitter Search is also an effective tool to help decide which tweets to reply to. You can do a search to find if someone is talking about you (or your company) and chime in accordingly.

If you need help managing your Twitter account and don’t have the manpower or budget for an employee to help out, consider using a third-party client. Such clients as Twhirl and Tweetdeck make it a lot easier to manage a Twitter account that has plenty of followers. And remember, if you’re billing clients and tweeting all day, you may end up losing those clients, so be careful and take the help where you need it.

As you learn what to tweet about and how to go about doing it, you’ll get the hang of it. Remember, there is no way to use Twitter wrong, so if someone has a problem with the way you use Twitter, they can unsubscribe from your list. If you’re using Twitter for your business, try and stay interesting and relevant to your industry while avoiding tweets only about yourself. If you’re looking to build a list of followers or a loyal community, the best way is to comment on other people’s tweets and to re-tweet what others have said.

When dealing with tweets, people will throw negatives at you. The important thing to remember is that these are just like opinions and don’t have to influence your view of Twitter and how you use it. Some examples of such negatives include that Twitter takes up too much time and takes you away from productive work. Other arguments include that Twitter has no strategy and doesn’t replace customer service. The list goes on and on. Sometimes, these negative comments may be posted right on your Twitter stream, so just beware and don’t take anything too personally.

If you are thinking of, or already use Twitter there may be good reasons to stay with one account only. There are also times when it is a better idea to have two or more Twitter accounts.

The advantages of using only one account:

Obviously if you are just using Twitter to stay in touch with your friends and make more, then one account should be all you need. If you have made a mess of things (it happens) you could always start a new account with a new user name.

If you are planning to brand yourself it is best to stick with one account only. Have an overall plan in mind and use your tweets to the best advantage you can to get your profile out there. Build your followers trust by letting them see both your personal and business side. Getting people to your blog or even multiple blogs can work best this way.

When Multiple Accounts may work better for you:

Often people wish to use Twitter both as a purely social tool and as a marketing tool as well. It can be a good idea to have one account that is more personal so you don’t need to worry too much about being ‘professional’. Set up a separate account for your marketing efforts and work on developing that in the way that suits you. Put simply, if you are trying to market something people don’t really want to know that you are going to watch the kids play soccer and eating out on the way.

There is nothing wrong though with occasionally having business-type tweets in your personal account and more personal tweets in your business account. Probably the most important thing is to have a clear strategy and plan in place for both accounts. Know what your aim is and then develop your Twitter presence to suit. If you are running two accounts it is a good idea to use something like Twhirl. This allows you to have both accounts open at the same time.

One of the biggest advantages of having multiple accounts is that you can be more selective in your followers and who you are following. There are a few people who even have 4 or more accounts. To do this you will probably need additional tools to keep things manageable.

Examples of where you might want more than 2 accounts would be: business, personal and other (perhaps sending tweets out to a sports group you manage, or church group etc)
Multiple businesses or niches that you are managing may work better with a separate account for each.

There are a variety of ways and strategies that Twitter users employ to make their accounts work. You can always experiment and find out what works best for you. Always make your plan and then take the time to monitor and evaluate what is working or not working and then tweak your Twitter account/s to suit.

Many people, especially internet marketers, think that using a retweet on Twitter will be harmful to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are not even sure what a retweet is, it may be time to learn, especially if you are planning to use Twitter in your marketing efforts.

Picture taken from Zazzle.com, no Affiliation!

A retweet very basically involves letting your followers know about another good tweet. To do this you need to highlight and copy the original tweet or the relevant and press the reply button on the side. There are several ways to make this a retweet but the simplest is to use the letters RT, leave a space, then add @theusersname. If you forget to put the space in the link to the original poster’s name won’t show, and that is not good manners.

Using basic good manners is important on Twitter, just as it is on any social networking site. Give the person recognition for the post you are retweeting. It is also good manners to add a short comment about why you are retweeting, especially if the post is simply a link. For example RT @username , originalsiteorlink. Great info here on beermaking.

Another important point is not to just go retweeting anything. Make sure it is something you genuinely find interesting or your followers won’t be interested either. Having something of real interest to retweet also shows that you are a part of the Twitter community and not just using automated tools.

So what’s in it For Me?

It is all about building credibility and trust. Contrary to popular belief, sending someone to someone else’s site is not going to take their interest away from you. Quite the opposite is true. By sending a retweet it shows you are an interested and interesting person. The chances are that the person whose tweet you used will also take an interest in your own tweets too, that is basic human nature.

How to I get people to retweet my tweets?

Obviously it is nice to have your own tweets retweeted too and there are a few ways you can help your self to achieve this.

1. First and foremost, have something interesting to say! If you have the time to use Twitter then you have time to find things of interest. Digg and StumbleUpon are good starting places to find amusing and new links of interest.

2. Keep your own tweets short. This gives room for other users to fit in the RT and your username to retweet. You can use programs like tinyurl to help keep your links much shorter too.

3. Use the #hashtag. By doing that people who are not following you but are using hashtags to search will find your tweet too.

4. Just ask! Obviously you need to be a little discreet about who you ask to retweet for you and how often.

Develop the art of being a good retweeter and make your mark on Twitter. Being a thoughtful member of the Twitter community can only help to build a group of quality followers and that’s what it’s all about.

Almost as fast as Twitter grows so do the number of internet ‘make money through Twitter’ scams. If you have come here looking to find out which ones are for real and which ones aren’t you might be disappointed. Rather than naming specific programs it is better to simply check what to look out for, and what to keep.

The truth is, most of the best information you need to know about making money through Twitter is available completely free, through blogs and through observing Twitter itself.

The worst of the worst:

These programs (complete with testimonials) will tell you how all you need to be making $1,000 a week through Twitter in only half an hour a day. Sounds great doesn’t it? Perhaps back in Twitter’s very early day’s that was possible but not now.

This kind of buy into – for a one-time only price, or a set monthly fee will tell you that all you need to do is:

1. Set up a Twitter account.

2. Possibly buy a domain name, or have a link leading to your affiliate page

3. Make sure your profile page has a link leading to that page.

4. Make 4-5 replies to other peoples tweets once a day for a week (making sure you include a link back to your sales page)

5. Set up automation to follow thousands of Twitter users so some of them will follow you back.

6. Set up automated tweets to broadcast the link to your page at regular intervals.

7. Sit back and wait for the money to roll in.

Sorry this is going to make no one rich but the person you hooked up with, and probably the ‘guru’ they bought it from.

What to look for in a genuine make money on Twitter scheme?

1. A program that gives you a full explanation on how Twitter and social networking works.

2. Genuine advice on how to build a credible reputation on Twitter.

3. If not their own advice, at least links to helpful sites.

4. Good tracking software.

5. Ongoing support to help you in your business.

These are the very minimum requirements that show you might at least have a chance. Both good and not so good Twitter (and any other make money online) schemes will be full of great sales copy. They will be full of great testimonials too.

People ARE making money from Twitter and will continue to do so. Before jumping straight in it can be a good idea to get a feel for how the Twitter community really works. Start an account, or simply listen in for a while and observe.

Make sure to research carefully before you hit that sign in button. Ask around, yes you can even put out a few tweets. Do yourself a favor and keep your BS detector on. There are some great schemes out there that will work; you just have to be able to pick the chaff from the wheat. Trust you own judgment and make Twitter your friend.

If you aren’t using Twitter to promote your blog you should be. I don’t think there are many bloggers out there now who aren’t using Twitter. If they aren’t that’s probably why we don’t know of them. Twitter has taken off like a house on fire and if you want traffic it is a must have for every blogger.

OK, not everyone in the world has Twitter or wants to use it. It is not for everyone. But there are so many who are it would be crazy not to use it to show off your blog wouldn’t it?

The simplest way to promote twitter on your blog is to download a program like Twitterfeed. You will need to set up a Twitter account which will feed your blog posts directly into Twitter. This will bring you more traffic, which is what every blogger wants right? Twitterfeed can give you great feedback stats to keep track of how you are going too.

Word Press has some great Twitter ready templates that you can use to give people the option to follow you on Twitter. Don’t overlook the other social networking sites either.

Blogs and Twitter seem to belong together almost naturally. Your blog and your Twitter account can work seamlessly together to give you credibility online. If you are going to use Twitter it will work better if you can do more than just have automated blog posts show up. You don’t have to post to Twitter every day either. Over 60% of twitterers post less than once a week. It is far better to tweet or respond (retweet) once or twice a week in a way that shows who you are than to post inane comments that offer nothing.

While you certainly don’t have to keep within the niche of your blog it can be a good place to start on Twitter. Use Twitter Search to find keywords that will lead you to tweets that will interest you. If you have something of value to add, go ahead and tweet. If you have nothing to say then it is better to keep quiet rather than just throw in a link to your blog. If you are making interesting and useful tweets other Twitter users are more likely to take a look at your profile, follow you, and check out your blog. If they like what they see chances are they will let others know too.

If you have gone as far as setting up a blog you should have no problems getting yourself known on Twitter. It is after all micro-blogging. It gives you the opportunity not just to drive traffic to your own blog but to learn from others too. Sharing information, ideas and showing a little of ourselves is what the global community of Twitter is all about. If you are a bit nervous about starting a twitter account just peek in for a while and read lots of blogs about twittering. Getting in on it is easy, so let your true colors show and enjoy.

You have signed up for a Twitter account, but now that you have signed up one, you don’t know what you should post on it. You have done a couple of tweets, but it seems like no one is interested in your shopping expeditions or how many cups of coffee you have drunk today.

So how do you decide what types of things you should tweet about on Twitter? Here are some suggestions on how you can find topics to tweet about.

Look for breaking news online– The first thing that you want to do is look for breaking news online. Don’t go with things that happened hours ago –most people know about it already. Look for things that happened within the past half hour or less. This is something fresh and new. This is something that people are going to be interested in.

Search online communities – The next thing that you can do to find content for your Twitter page is to look through the online communities. There are communities that are there just for the main purpose of helping people to find material that is new and fresh. Digg.com is a good place to look, as is the Stumbled Upon website.

Look at blogs – The reason that a lot of bloggers are popular is because they are willing to take the time and look for interesting tidbits of information. There is a wealth of information out there to be found.

Give an opinion – If there is something big happening in the world, like when Michael Jackson died, give your opinion about that. If it’s a big news story, even if it’s been around for a while, people are going to be interested in reading what you have to say about it.

Search on Google – Google is one of the best sources of information that you are going to find. There are hundreds of pictures, stories, anything that you can think of that you can tweet about. Chances are that there are people who will read your Tweet and need a smile. Find something that is going to make people feel good and post it.

Remember, there really are a lot of resources out there on the Internet for you to use when you are looking for Twitter topics. If it gives you a smile or information that you did not know, chances are that someone who is following you is going to enjoy knowing about it as well.

Try and remember to give your followers a variety of subjects to look forward to each week. If you are using Twitter simply for your own personal business, think of a theme for each day of the week. That will give your readers something to look forward to and will help to keep them interested. You may even find that there are people who are going to tell their friends about your Twitter page. Before Long, you are going to find that you have thousands of followers.

Each day more people are joining the Twitter world, becoming Tweeps. Twitter allows them to meet and follow people from all over the world. And, just like meeting new people in person, there may be uncomfortable moments in the beginning. Here are seven ways that you can break the ice with new Tweeps.

1. Common Interests
Briefly mention something that you are interested in. This does not mean going on about you, and everything you are doing. It means mentioning your passions or what you are focused on, as this will attract Tweeps with common interests. Parents can swap tweets about kids, while law students can discuss their classes.

2. Current Events
Talk about the news of the day. This can be an actual news event or something like a meteor shower that is going to happen that night. This will draw in those Tweeps who are following the same story and want to offer their take on the event.

3. Animals
One Twitter writer suggests that animals are a common link and can naturally bring like minded Tweeps together. Animal lovers always enjoy talking about their pets and sharing with others. Write a short tweet about your beautiful and funny cat and get ready for the replies.

4. Art and Culture
Next to animals, art and culture are topics that people love to talk about and share with others. Talk about the music you are listening to, or the painting you saw at the museum. Twitter can be like an unending art appreciation forum, opening up new ideas and thoughts on art.

5. Humor
Almost everybody likes a good laugh, and humor has always been a great way to break the ice with new people. The trick is to use humor that is funny, i.e. no old and tired jokes, yet isn’t offensive. If your goal is to make others relaxed and interested in following you, don’t be too over the top.

6. Quotations
People like to be inspired, and to inspire others. Mention your favorite quote and find Tweeps who also like it. Or use a quote on a specific day, such as quoting Abraham Lincoln on his birthday. You can also use Bible verses or other religious sayings if you want to meet up with Tweeps who also find inspiration in these spiritual words.

7. Flattery
Ok, this is a no brainer. Just about everyone likes to be liked and flattered. People are often advised to talk about the other person, not themselves in order to build a relationship. So if you want to break the ice with another Tweep, talk about them and what they are interested in. You’re sure to have Tweeps replying, and hopefully asking about you.

Twitter is the latest step of communication, building on the changes that the internet has already brought about. People are more digitally connected with one another than ever before, and Twittering can be used to create and build even more connections, once you’ve broken the ice with your new Tweeps.

Twitter is something that a lot of people have been joining, but there still are quite a few people who are interested in joining but don’t know how to get started. If you are one of those people, one of the first things that you should do is to find the people that you know already on Twitter. There are several good reasons why this is a good idea as a first step for getting to know Twitter.

Familiarize

The first reason why you should look for your friends first on Twitter is that they will help you get familiar with Twitter. You can use the search feature to find your friends on Twitter. You can follow them on Twitter and see what they are saying and tweeting about. When you are looking for people that you know on Twitter first, you know that they aren’t going to mind you following them and chances are that they are going to follow you back.

Assistance

The second reason why it’s a good idea to find your friends on Twitter is that they are going to be able to help you if you have questions. You are going to be less worried and embarrassed about asking them for help than you would if you didn’t know them. They are going to be willing to help you and not make you feel bad about asking.

Tweet Topics

The third good reason to find your friends on Twitter is that you are going to have good things in common to tweet about. You don’t have to worry about thinking of topics to tweet on, and you don’t have to worry about not having anything really important to say. You could talk about the fun time that you had with them the last time that you got together or you can talk about something that you are planning to do. You can talk about a movie that you saw together or you can talk about a book you’re all reading together.

Build up a Following

The final good reason to look for your friends on Twitter when you first join is that you are going to build up a following with them. You have a better chance of getting some followers from people who know you already and who are your friends. Then, you can start following other people and getting other people to follow you.

When you are joining something new, it’s always a good idea to know that you already have some friends on there before you go out and look for people you don’t know. It can be frustrating if you don’t have any followers on Twitter, so that is why it’s a good idea to get in touch with your friends on Twitter. You will find that it is going to help you get familiar with the service and to let you look around before you really start to jump in with both feet and see what Twitter is all about.

Almost everyone who has watched television in the recent months has heard about Twitter. It’s mentioned on the news, it’s mentioned in commercials, and it’s all over the Internet. It has become a very popular site in a very short period of time.

But there are a few things that you should remember when you are using Twitter. These things are considered faux pas, and doing them will lose you a lot of followers.

1. Tweeting About Every Little Thing You Do – This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make on Twitter. Have you ever gone on Twitter and read some of the constant updates that people make, mentioning what they are watching on television or eating? It’s boring. Mention important things that people might be able to help you out with, like home improvements or searches you are doing.

2. Just Advertising – Okay, so you have a lot of affiliate links that you want to tell people about. That is fine, but people are going to get rather upset if t hat is all you do. Make sure that you are giving people information that they can really benefit from as well as posting affiliate links. You will find that you are going to benefit as well.

3. Using Product Images – You want to make a good first impression when you start up your Twitter account, so don’t choose a picture of one of your products as the image for your profile. Not only is it tacky, but it’s going to make people not want to follow you because they think it’s going to be one big commercial. Choose a nice picture of yourself instead, so that they can put a face with your name.

4. Cursing – The final thing that people do on Twitter that is in bad taste is using profanity. Remember, you don’t know who may be looking at your Tweets and what their personal feelings about profanity are. If you are going to use a lot of profanity, you may find that people are passing over becoming your follower. Therefore, it’s a better idea not to use it at all.

5. Trend Spamming – Trend Spamming is a sure fire way to get you noticed. But this kind of attention is not something you want to be part of. Basically some unsavory characters look for current trends on twitter and and use the keyword of the trend to peddle their product. Below is a prime example of some – for lack of a better term – Dirt Bag trying to profit off the death of another.

The idea on Twitter is to get people interested in what you have to say and to have a good following. This may mean that you are going to want to sit and think before you tweet. A good rule of thumb is to think about the things that you want to read about on peoples’ tweets and to use that as your guide.

When you are doing your tweeting, think about the faux pas listed above and ask yourself if what you are doing is breaking one of them. If it is, reconsider what you are writing. You are going to find that the Twitter experience is much more enjoyable for both you and your followers. Thinking about the feelings of others is going to help you to have more followers and to lose fewer followers over time. They will want to see what you have to say.

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There are a lot of people who have decided to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. Not only are regular people joining Twitter, but movie stars and celebrities are also setting up accounts.
If you are someone who are interested in joining Twitter, here are some tips that you can use to make the most out of your Twitter experience.

- Shrink Links – The first thing that you are going to notice about Twitter is that you have only a small amount of space to get your message across. In order to get those long urls into the 140 character threshold you may want to use a service to shrink your link down to a manageable size. One of the most popular services to use is tinyurl.com, you will find this service built into many website applications as well as desktop programs, used to manage your twitter account.

- Retweet – Most people are not going to mind if you want to paste their tweet on your own Twitter page. The only thing that you should remember is that you should put RT @ and their user name in front of the tweet so that you are giving them credit. For a lot of tweeps, the retweet is the highest form of flattery.

- Direct Message Followers – You will find that you can send a direct message to someone who is following you. It’s something like sending someone a very short email or an instant message. The only thing is that you can only send direct messages to those on Twitter who are following you. It should also be noted that in many instances, the DM has been set on autopilot. Meaning, when you follow someone you may receive a scripted DM back.

- Reply to Users – Another thing that you can do is to send replies to Twitter users. All you have to do is to put an @ sign before their user name on Twitter i.e. you can send me a message by using @michael_duvall in your update field.

- Search – You know that there are a lot of famous people on Twitter, so why not see if you can find them? All you have to do is use the search option on it and see if you can find your favorite celebrities. It’s also a great way to see if your friends are also on Twitter.

- Share your Pictures – Just like any other blogging site, Twitter also has the option of sharing pictures with other people on Twitter. Whether they are pictures of your new baby, your new pet, or your new hairdo, you can upload your pictures quickly and easily with services such as TwitPic or twitxr.

The six tips listed above are the ones that cover the topics that most people are looking for when they are looking for tips on Twitter. They are designed to help you get started as a new user on Twitter and to help you get your feet wet in the Twitter experience.

Twitter offers so many different options for its users, and that is why so many people enjoy using it. It has all of the things that people are looking for in a blogging site in an easy to use format. From the young to the old, from the student to the businessman, everyone can find something that they can use on Twitter to enhance their life and their online friendships and experiences.

There has been a lot of hype lately on different news media about Twitter, and a lot of people are wondering why they should sign up for a Twitter account when they already have a blog that they post to regularly. But there are several good reasons why it’s a good idea to sign up for a Twitter account.

It’s Still Relatively New – One of the best reasons to sign up for a Twitter account is that Twitter is relatively new. You have a better chance of being seen on Twitter, and there’s a better chance of someone who does not read your blog noticing you on Twitter.

It’s Time Saving – The second reason to sign up for a Twitter account is that people go there because they know that the posts there are going to be brief. In today’s world, people are constantly on the go and they don’t have a lot of time to waste reading a long article. So Twitter offers them what they want – information in a compact form.

It’s Trendy – The third reason to sign up for a Twitter account is that it’s very trendy. It’s what is ‘in’ now. Eventually, this trend may die out, so it’s important to take advantage of it while it is still hot.

It’s Affective – The fourth good reason to sign up for a Twitter account is that so many people have found that they are getting good results with it. It’s a good tool to use no matter what you will be using it for, whether it’s for personal or business reasons.

With so many different people on Twitter, including celebrities and people from news stations, it’s easy to see that it has become larger than any other blogging site has before. Where else can you follow someone like Tom Felton or someone else from the Harry Potter movies and know what they are doing during the day?

Twitter is a site that many people have joined and many more are joining every day. If you are looking for people to share your thoughts and ideas with, you can’t go wrong if you sign up for a Twitter account. It’s a site that takes what you can do on a blog, condenses it, and helps people to easily follow those who they are interested in.

If you are a fan of blogging, then chances are you are going to be an even bigger fan of Twitter. Just remember that you should give people the information that they are going to be able to use. They are going to love the short blurbs that you are posting, and before you know it, you are going to have a lot of interested people following your Tweets.

Twitter is a bloggers dream – the ability to give the information that they are passionate about to the masses, the ease of gaining new followers, and one of the best search engines right there at Twitter user’s disposal. Everything that you could want or need.