People to follow on Twitter

As I was redoing the blogroll it seemed like a good time to add a section for a Twitter-roll also. Lucky for me the Twitter Friends plug-in by Paul McCarthy gives a neat visual on people I follow or follow me.

My Flock

Let’s face it everybody is on Twitter. If not, you have heard of it and just haven’t found a spot to jump into the mix, here is a group of people you can follow to get your feet wet with. You’ll never find yourself for a lack topics to discuss because this is a diverse crowd. Also feel free to follow me @gizmotastic while you are exploring Twitter.

A mix of blog, (cellphone) texting, e-mail and chat room – Twitter has become a world wide phenomenon. It is not a perfect medium, but it fits into most lifestyles as a way to communicate in flash. On Twitter you are limited to 140 characters. This allows users to keep up with their friends on cell phones in addition using a computer. At first it seems nearly impossible to convey a meaningful message in a short span.After a while it will become second nature. Longer messages are usually more private and not meant to be shared to a wider audience.

Twitter in under five minutes

If you are new to Twitter here is a small primer to help get you started. It is not intended to be an unabridged guide, ust enough information to get you started without over loading you with information. If you are looking a for something a little more in depth, yet easy to understand I would suggest Twitter For Dummies. If you are thinking of marketing your service or business on Twitter you might want to read Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time.

Follow

To follow someone simply go to their profile and click the “Follow” button under their profile photo. The button will change to “checkmark Following”.

@

To send a message to someone use the “@” + their username + your message. Keep in mind that the message can be seen by all, so if you’re thinking of robbing a Doughnut Hut this isn’t the best way to plan it.

Direct Message

To send a private message to someone use the capital D + their username + your message. This only works if the other person is following you also. The direct message is not the best way to keep friends if you send offers to make millions on the Internet or other “Get Rich Quick” schemes.

RT

RT or retweet is when you find a message interesting enough to share your followers. The proper format is “RT” + the username of the original poster + the original message. Don’t add a URL to a “Get Rich Quick” website with the message…

#

Hashtags “#” are used to tag a message part of a theme.
Example #beer #iranelections #NASCAR

WHOIS

If you are curious who it was that sent you a message you can look-up who they are and how long they have been on Twitter.
Example WHOIS + username.

There are many useful things you can do with Twitter and many more that are just plain nonsense. I’ve just covered enough to help get you started in the world that is Twitter.

If you found yourself in the mosaic of Twitter above or just to tell other of this page you can click here to share it on Twitter.