Twitter lessons

April 10, 7:06 AMDenver Internet ExaminerMari Kurisato

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I've covered the micro blogging service called Twitter before, but now that I've used it for awhile I thought I'd offer a few pointers for folks who are just getting their feet wet. This isn't a “how to use Twitter to make a bajillion dollars” article, but more a few notes on things to consider. None of these are hard and fast rules, more so just guidelines I've used and seen popular Twitterers use.

Lesson 1: Twitter is Whatever:

Lots of people will tell you how you should or shouldn't use Twitter, and essentially they are telling you how their groups are using it or not. The secret trick is, none of them are completely accurate when it comes to the whole service, just their groups. Twitter can be what you want it to be, but it's best used when you decide why you want to use it in advance. Many people use it solely for business purposes, others use it to connect with a small group of friends, still others are using it for both purposes, successfully and unsuccessfully. Making a purposeful decision on how you want to use it and what you get from it will filter out the types of users you interact with, which group's written or unwritten rules you follow. It can also impact the number of people who pay attention to you.

Lesson 2 Followers are great, friends are better.

Unless you're a celebrity like Demi Moore (@MrsKutcher) you'll need to work to build your social network, but sometimes getting thousands of followers isn't necessarily the best option. Instead, use Twitter search to find people that share the same interests, and people that you find interesting, rather than following everyone you see. If you follow thousands of people from the get go, many users who might otherwise be interested in what you have to say might be turned off by your indiscriminate approach. If you follow people that interest you on the other hand, and engage in socializing with them the same you would in your day to day social circles, you'll build a good list of followers that matter. In my example I have relatively few followers (900) but I have dozens and dozens of people who interest me and find me interesting. Although I never intended to use Twitter to sell my illustrations, it's started happening, because people are interested in me and my art. As a result, I've made some art commissons but more importantly I've made friends as well.

Lesson 3 Be civil; because what you say on Twitter has instant impact

Be careful what you say on Twitter, because it will stay in the search database for a long time, and it is a very public network. That means if you're going to vent about a person, you should do it off the service, in case they might be using Twitter and search for their names. If you feel the need to vent on Twitter be vague about details, for the same reason. Feedback is instant, if you say something mean about a user, even if they aren't listening their friends might be. For the same reason, unless you're a celebrity known for cursing, try to keep it to a minimum, because unless you make the cussing humorous it will negatively impact your experience. Essentially, if you wouldn't say it in a public library or around a school yard full of kids, don't say it on Twitter.

Lesson 4 On Twitter there are no rules, just consequences

While there are no hard and fast rules on Twitter that I've seen, certain actions have negative consequences that may lead to people avoiding you like the plague, and eventually getting you banned from the site. Take a few seconds to think “How would people in a public library react to me saying what I'm about to share on Twitter?” Ask yourself if you really should send intrusive direct messages (DM's) to people you've just met asking them to buy something. Is that really how you want to spend your vital first impression?

However you decide to use Twitter, try to have fun while you're doing it, and keep thse lessons in mind as you go along; at the very least it will help you have more fun!