Explaining Twitter in 25 Tweets

Thank you Geoffrey

WHAT IS TWITTER?

1. You see the faces of people you know with notes of what they are writing.
2. You are declaring an emotion and expecting a human response
3. Twitter is the most effective marketing tool on the planet.
4. Twitter has become something unexpectedly important—a discovery engine for finding out what is happening right now

MY BASIC RULES OF TWITTER

1. Define your purpose in using Twitter
2. Think hard about your thumbnail and biography link.
3. Start following people judiciously with no obligation to follow all who follow you.
4. Start tweeting, aim at at least 5 tweets a day, a good experience, a question, something about me and two replies or retweets.
5. Learn to use @, RT, DM and #

WHAT YOU GET WITH TWITTER

1. A flow of tweets with no inbox problem and no need to reply
2. You dip into notes from people you care about
3. Twitter allows you to 'rewind' conversations had by others. It is a stream you can dip your toe into.
4. An asymmetric connection - you can follow celebs without drowning them
5. People behave civilly; if they don't like it they go away

WHAT POLITICIANS ARE SAYING ABOUT TWITTER

1. Politicians can be liberated form traditional media and the culture of spin It gives them their voice again. It could be a chaotic election (The Labour Twitter Czar)
2. Don't twitter if you are not prepared to go places that you don't expect (Ed Balls)
3. The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it – too many twits might make a twat. (David Cameron on Absolute Radio)

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TWITTER

1. Adults are just catching up to what teens have been doing for years
2. A Twanker is an egocentric individual who twitters only for one-way broadcasting about their greatness.
3. A Twidiot is an individual who uses Twitter only to talk about insignificant things that noone cares about.

AND TO SUM UP

1. Twitter is all about the coffee: when you have coffee you are communicating with people: think about who you drink coffee with and in what context. (James Clay)
2. If a tenth of what you say is repeatable or retweeted, you must be doing it right.
3. In a remote part of the Twitter network, very weak signals that are good, get picked up as in the case of Janis Krums, (Laura Fitton)
4. Twitter is a secret beach for web surfers, Follow the twitterers and they will show you where the best surf is.

Silverwaver
October 9th 2009