Twitip

Well, TwiTip readers… I’ve got one heckuva treat for you! Crystal N. Woods, from
Conscious Evolution, Success and Self Esteem has SO kindly taken the time to write a series of posts for TwiTip for beginners, that I’m honored to share with you over the next week or so. Take it not only as a series for Twitter newbies though… it’s something we should all read as a reminder of Twitiquette! (Follow Crystal @CrystalsQuest)

Lessons from the Evolution of Blogging Part 1: Journaling

Twitter is called “micro-blogging” because, even though it’s limited to only 140 characters, it’s evolved out of, and is still similar to, blogging.  That’s great, because while Twitter may be new, blogging has developed over time, transforming from early personal journals to where they are now, and every stage has grown it a bit closer to an art form, until it’s now recognised as a fully-fledged profession. (more…)

by Eric Stoffle – Follow him @topicturtle

For new Twitter users, understanding Twitter and how to use it may change in those first few days after signing up. It could mean working through the learning curve or it could mean too much frustration to continue. Some people stay, others move on, realizing Twitter wasn’t for them. I know of some people, including me, who stopped using Twitter but came back and tried it again to find out they really enjoyed it. The problem is, as with many things in life, there is a learning curve. I want to offer three important steps to surviving the Twitter learning curve.

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Leo Dirr is a freelance writer. Follow him @UtahNewsGuy.

When I began using Twitter a short time ago, I had no idea how much strategy could be involved in a simple tweet. You only get 140 characters, for crying out loud. How much thought could go into that, honestly?

A lot. And once I started to figure that out, my tweets got a lot more traction. I’d like to tell you about my most successful tweet to date and the strategy behind it.

Let’s begin with the tweet itself:

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As the parent of a toddler (that’s my boy @xrowse in the pic) and as a lover of Twitter I couldn’t resist this guest post by Nicole Nicolay “NikNik” from MyTechOpinion.com.

For some, it’s hard enough finding your voice in a 500 word blog post. So when it comes to expressing your thoughts and opinions on Twitter in 140 characters or less, you’d think it would be even harder. Right?!

Well actually, finding your voice on Twitter can be a pretty painless process if you employ the right strategies. For those of us with kids, we “get it” right away. Twitter can be a lot like your 2 year old. It screams and whines and will bark orders at you all day (ex: give me….get me….follow me, etc). Parents know that getting your child to communicate with them is truly an art that requires patience and creativity. And Twitter is no different. So when it comes to finding your voice on Twitter, I suggest you start thinking like a toddler or how you would communicate with one!

The following list includes my top 10 tips for developing better communication  with toddlers on Twitter:

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In this guest post Dan Hollings (@dhollings) takes a look at 6 Questions that are often asked about Twitter and gives a comprehensive introduction to how to use Twitter effectively. Grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy.

How to light a candle under your Twitterings for both Newbies and those that think they are Pros…

How silly! I’m preparing to share some powerfully useful and advanced Twitter tips, yet I start with a warped variant of a well known children’s nursery rhyme. What’s up with that? It’s simple…

At the core of Twitter is a concept so simple, even a child can do it. Yet almost every newbie who arrives at the Twitter site is overwhelmed with a variation of the following thought:

“What the…?”

My interpretation of this flummoxing phenomena suggests that most folks (newbies or not) are really asking:

1. Why should I Twitter?
2. How do I Twitter?
3. What do I Twitter?
4. How do I get followers?
5. Can I make or raise money with Twitter?
6. and… OK, I’m ready to start, what’s next?

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Hit the ‘Twitter Gym’ and keep your Twitter Muscles in Shape – In this post Snow (follow her @snowvandermore) from el vigilante shares a few tips on how to keep ‘Twitter Fit’.

Like anything in life, if you don’t use it, you lose it. The same holds true for your newly found Twitter muscles.

Now that you’ve got your Jack Johnson and your Tom O’Leary working in sweet, subtle harmony and the follower numbers to prove it — don’t pull a Jake LaMotta and let your fab turn to flab.

If you want your blog, your website, your business, your following to bust out in the days and weeks to come, you are in the driver’s seat, mi amigo — keep moving, learning, developing and growing. Put on your Richard Simmons shorty-shorts and start sweatin ‘ — there’s a million plus twitter users that might need what you have to sell — be it a product, a service, or just good old-fashioned camaraderie. All you have to do is do it — but do it right.

There are no redux’s in a twitterstream — more than a few lifeless bodies float along in the debris of what used to be. The ultimate price for not paying attention to relationships.

Image by Crocidillicus
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This video has been around for a while but I wanted to include it for those new to Twitter who might need an introduction.

Thanks to the team at Common Craft for putting it together.

Have you ever stopped to ponder what value you are creating for your followers on Twitter?

I’ve written numerous times about the benefits of Twitter to me – what I get out of it – but perhaps a more pertinent question for Twitter users to be asking is not what THEY get OUT of Twitter – but what THEY put INTO Twitter.

Don’t get me wrong – Twitter is a medium which can significantly benefit YOU and enhance your life in many ways – however when you talk to most successful Twitter users you find that they’ve discovered one thing:

I’ve seen this to be true many times in my own 1 year journey with Twitter. The more you put in, the more helpful you are, the more value you bring, the more effort you put in to enhancing the lives of others – the more comes back to you.

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How do I set up a Twitter account? Sometimes those of us who have been using Twitter for a while forget what it was like to start out and work out how to get going. So when Nate Moller of MollerMarketing (follow him at @MollerMarketing) asked if he could write a beginner post on how to set up a Twitter Account I thought it would definitely help those starting out.

What is Twitter?

“Are you in to bird watching or something?” asked one of my Facebook friends once as I made a Twitter post about my 1,000th “tweet”.

Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.

Wikipedia describes it this way:

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Before I get in to too much detail on why twitter is such a great part of online marketing, I want to teach you how to set up a twitter account.

Step 1: Go to http://twitter.com.

When you get to Twitter.com, you’ll see this page:

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In this guest post Aira Bongco (@airabongco) shares 10 tips for Beginners who are just getting into Twitter.

So you just signed up for Twitter. You make your first tweet and you realize you don’t have any followers. “What a dumb idea!” You say. “Who the hell would be interested in what I’m doing anyway?”

Don’t worry. You’re normal. That is a sign that you are a Twitter beginner. A lot of us Twitter users (or addicts) went through the same questioning routine. And look at us now. We’re geeks who are on Twitter all day and night and we can’t stop tweeting.

So you want to be like us? It’s not that hard really. Just follow these simple steps.

1. Set up your profile

The first thing you need to do is to set up that profile. See that bar on top of your twitter page? Click Settings and start filling up your profile. The notable areas in here are URL, bio, picture and design. Put up a link to your site or blog in here along with a brief description. Upload a picture to differentiate yourself from the others and then tweak your Twitter design. Like any other social networking site, it is important to completely express what you are or what you stand for in your profile.

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