Have you started using Twitter regularly yet? Well a lot of people are already using this network for different things such as their business and personal needs. Upon signing up for an account you will be given a generic background at first.

What many newer Twitter users do not realize, is this background can be easily changed into anything that you desire. You can choose to add some cool colors to your background or have your company’s logo showcased on your page. Changing the background on your Twitter account is actually relatively easy and only involves a few minor steps to accomplish the task.

You are going to need to access your Twitter settings first. The settings option can be located inside your account and should be on the right hand corner of the page. After you have entered into the settings page, you will then see the option that says design.

From the design page you will be given the choice to choose the theme that you would like displayed on your Twitter account. There are a lot of different themes and backgrounds that are available to you to choose from – making your Twitter account bear some of your personality features is not difficult to do.

If the backgrounds that Twitter has available on their site are not your cup of tea you can upload your own background at your leisure. Uploading your personalized background is a fairly simple task to complete and many Twitter Background websites offer this as part of a free service.

You basically scroll down to the home page of your Twitter account and press on the design button that is located below the Twitter themes. You will then need to click on the icon for changing the background on your page. Once you are on this page, you will then be able to upload whatever picture you have chosen to be your new Twitter background.

There’s also an additional link that gives you the option to change colors on the picture that you previously uploaded to your Twitter account. You can peruse through multitudes of colors until you find one that catches your attention.

However, be aware that not all of the colors that are given to you to choose from will be available if you upload your own background onto your Twitter page.

There are many different reasons why someone would be interested in changing their Twitter backgrounds. Part of the reason why someone would think about changing their background is to give their page some style and make it look original in comparison to the generic background that everyone is given for their pages.

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.

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.