What is Twitter? Twitter Review

What is Twitter? Twitter Review

Visit Twitter on the web at http://twitter.com/

Twitter: Expressing Yourself in 140 Characters or Less

Do you remember the time when text messaging was all the rage? Well, that was the model that Twitter was built upon. Founder Jack Dorsey wanted a platform that allowed a person to broadcast a message to a small group. Once development started in 2006, Twitter has never looked back and continued to develop into the blockbuster that it is today.

Twitter page for Impact Social Media @ImpactSocialMe1

The Twitter Experience

The concept of Twitter revolves around building a community of people who share your interests. You do this by following accounts that interest you, posting updates, getting followed by like-minded people, and communicating with them. With that said, here’s a lengthier look at its features:

• Posting tweets

Twitter limits the length of your post to just 140 characters. However, there are tools you can use like Tweetlonger in case you talk too much for Twitter. Your posts don’t necessarily have to be all text because Twitter does allow posting of pictures along with text. A tweet can also contain links – whether to articles or sites – you think your followers would like.

Keep it short and sweet only 140 characters allowed!

• Language

Twitter has its own set of terms used widely across the site, and these include:

• RT

Stands for retweet and is used when you want to broadcast a message tweeted by another user. You can also add in your own input when you retweet.

If you see something cool retweet it

• DM

Stands for direct message which allows you to carry on a conversation with another user in private. It only works if you both are following each other.

Send direct messages to your followers

• MT

Stands for modified tweet. A retweet is using the entire message as is, however MT is used when you change some of the content to accommodate the 140-character limit.

• HT

Also styled as H/T. This stands for hat tip, which means that another user found the information you’re sharing.

• Twitter Hashtags

These are terms that are prefixed with the pound symbol. It works like a tagging system to group tweets bearing the same theme. For example, a marketing professional chooses to tag his tweet with #marketing because he feels it will help other marketing professionals. Those who want to learn about marketing can then do a search for “#marketing” and hopefully come across the tweet sent out by the marketing professional.

Some users also choose to use hashtags to host twitter parties. For example, the hashtag #ttot is used by travelers to talk about travel-related topics. Others use hashtags to identify with their brand (#RipCity for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA) and to celebrate an event (#GRAMMYs).

Hashtags let you emphasize and also find tweets

• Twitter Retweet

The automatic version of RT. Most of the time, users manually retweet because they have something to add. Using the button works when you like to send the tweet just as it is.

• Twitter Favorite

Many are puzzled by the presence of the favorite button citing that they don’t really know what it’s for. Well, there are some things the button is good for:

• you can use it to acknowledge a tweet (more like a silent way to say thanks)
• you can use it as a bookmarking tool for when you want to refer to the tweet later

• Twitter Lists

You can curate lists in Twitter to get a customized timeline that pertains to just one theme. For example, you can make a list comprised of Taylor Swift fans so you get updates about what they’re saying about the country singer.

• Twitter Saved Searches

If you don’t want to keep typing a certain term into the search bar, you can save the search. The current limit for this is 20 search terms.

• Twitter Advertising

Twitter offers a very advanced selection of advertising opportunities that are tied to extensive analytics. You can market for followers and promote tweets. You can selectively target your ads to users, industries, locations and more.

Lots of advertising opportunities at Twitter

Flash to the Past

Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey in 2006. In October of that year, Dorsey, along with Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and other members of podcasting company Odeo acquired Odeo and its assets (which included Twitter). Twitter became a company in 2007.

The site peaked during the South by Southwest Interactive conference in 2007 as it was the medium used by conference-goers to keep tabs on the event. From that moment, Twitter continued to grow and please its user base by continually adding features that help them use the platform better.

Famous People and Brands on Twitter

A lot of well-known people and brands have joined Twitter to communicate with their audience including:

• Lady Gaga
• Coca Cola
• Oreo
• Justin Bieber
• Red Bull

Coca-Cola with over 2.3 million followers on Twitter!

 

Justin Bieber with over 49 million followers on Twitter!

Whether you’re an individual or brand, there are lots of perks that Twitter can offer you. It also helps that information is delivered in the shortest way possible, which is really valuable in these times when people are mostly in a hurry to consume information.

You are more than welcome to come visit is at twitter and our user name is ImpactSocialMe1 and our URL is https://twitter.com/ImpactSocialMe1

If you have questions or comments about Twitter or would like to tell us about your personal or business profile there feel free to add your comments below.

Video: What Is Twitter?