Twitter is a great way to get up-to-the-minute information. It's a social networking site that asks the simple question, What are you doing? And the answer to that question is endless! Well, as long as you can say it in 140 characters or less.
I know a lot of BuddyTV users got started on Twitter in order to enter our 'I Wish They'd Bring Back My Favorite TV Show' Contest. But, whatever the reason you got started, we don't want to leave you high and dry! Here are a few twitter basics to help you get the most out of Twitter.
Here is a little Twitter Vocab:
- Follower: someone who has subscribed to your updates.
Now, what the heck does all that mean? Let me try to explain!
Once you have logged in you will be brought to your home page. There is a white text box at the top for your tweets and below is a feed of all the tweets for people you are following. Simply write your message and click "Update." If your tweet is too long the numbers turn red and your message will be cut short.
Followers/Following:
Following someone on Twitter means you receive their updates. Your followers receive yours. To view the complete list simply click on "following" and "follower's" on the home page. Click the button "next" to see more. They are listed starting with the most recent. When clicking "followers" you also get the option to follow back!
To Reply to a User's tweet: If you see a tweet you would like to comment on you can do one of two things:
Simply type in the text box @USERNAME and the message and hit "Update"
Or, take your mouse and hover over the tweet you like. You will see an arrow on the right side. Click the arrow and you will automatically be brought to your text box with the @USERNAME already typed. Then just continue the message and click "Reply"
To View replies:
On the right hand side of your main page there is a menu. If you click on @USERNAME you will see ALL of your @replies. It is important to check your replies here because not all replies show up on your home page feed. If you are not following them back, the @reply will only show up here.
To view direct messages (DM) click on "direct messages." This can be found on your main page on the right hand side. Unlike replies you can see the number of DMs you have from the main page.
There are several ways to send a DM
You can type D USERNAME and the message from the main page if you know who you want to DM
From the DM page you hover over the message you want to reply to and click on the envelope. This will bring you back up to the text box and you can type your message.
Or you can use the drop down menu on the DM page and select the person you want and then type in the text box.
The tricky think about DM is that you both have to be following each other in order to do it. This feature is disabled if the person isn't following you back.
ReTweet (RT) is a great way to let your followers know something someone else said. Did someone's tweet make you laugh, did you find it interesting, are they asking for some help? These are all good reasons to RT. It basically tells all your followers, 'Hey! Check out what this person is saying!' The more you do it the more likely your followers will do it for you (which could lead to more followers)!
The proper way to RT is to go to your text box and type:
RT @USERNAME and retype (or copy/paste) the message.
Links: One more thing! If you're surfing the internet and come across a link you want to share, you're going to most likely run out of characters to tweet! That's where this website comes in handy.
Simply open a new window or tab and go to
http://www.tinyurl.com. This site lets you shorten the URL in one easy step. You just copy the URL you want shortened and paste it into their text box. Click submmit and it will convert your link to a tinyurl. Now you can post it to twitter!
Still have questions about the basics? Leave a comment, or better yet @ reply me on twitter. http://www.twitter.com/buddytv and I will try to help you out. Plus, we can talk about TV and play games!
-Rachel Cameron, BuddyTV Staff