A simple 4 page guide to get you started with Twitter.

1. Connecting
with
Twitter
What
is
Twitter?
Twitter,
created
in
2006,
is
a
form
of
microblogging.
Initially
based
upon
SMS
messages,
‘Tweets’
are
limited
to
140
characters,
displayed
and
delivered
to
the
author’s
‘followers’.
A
‘retweet’
(RT)
is
when
another
user
reposts
your
message,
thus
circulating
it
to
their
followers
–
a
true
compliment
–
and
where
the
true
power
of
Twitter
lies
–
networks
of
networks.
What
is
Twitter
good
for?
Twitter
is
great
for
making
and
maintaining
contacts
with
others
with
similar
interests,
with
hashtags,
e.g.
#odheg,
functioning
as
active
links
(an
index)
and
helping
find
others
interested
in
the
same
content.
Hashtags
are
particularly
useful
for
making
contact
before/
during/
after
an
event.
Third
party
applications,
especially
via
smartphones,
expand
the
usability
of
Twitter.
Setting
up
a
Twitter
Account
Go
to
http://twitter.com,
and
enter
your
full
name,
email
(can
only
be
used
once),
and
password.
Click
‘Sign
Up’.
When
you
click
sign
up,
it
will
give
you
the
option
to
choose
a
user-­‐name
(many
are
already
in
use,
so
you
may
need
to
be
creative;
choose
the
shortest
one
that
seems
memorable).
Profiling
and
Connecting
Twitter
frequently
changes
the
log-­‐in
screens,
but
you
will
encounter
options
to
follow
certain
users,
and
add
your
profile
information.
You
can
choose
to
do
this,
but
the
quickest
route
may
be
to
skip
through
all
the
screens
,then
select
‘View
my
profile
page’
when
into
Twitter,
then
select
‘Edit’.
(CC)
Digital
Fingerprint
(March
2013)

2. Account:
Username;
email;
security
settings;
location
info
Password:
Change
password
Mobile:
Set
up
your
phone
to
text
Tweets
Notifications:
Decide
what
email
notifications
Twitter
will
send
Profile:
Add
picture,
name,
location,
web
address,
160
character
biography.
Don’t
send
tweets
to
Facebook,
they
should
serve
a
different
purpose
to
status
updates.
Design:
Change
the
screen
background
(uncluttered)
Applications:
Check/revoke
access
to
applications
you’ve
given
permissions
to.
Sending
a
Tweet
Click
on
‘Home’,
and
start
typing
in
the
box
that
says
‘Compose
new
tweet’,
maximum
140
characters
(text-­‐speak
is
acceptable).
Press
‘Tweet’,
and
your
first
tweet
is
live.
Following
Others
Go
to
‘Who
to
Follow’.
Use
the
search
box
if
you
know
a
name,
a
company,
a
Twitter
user
name,
or
have
a
particular
interest,
or
‘browse
interests’.
If
you
want
to
find
people
you
know/have
email
addresses
for,
try
‘Find
Friends’.
When
you
have
found
someone
interesting,
click
on
their
user
name
to
see
more
(see
below),
or
just
click
‘Follow’
(You
can
always
de-­‐follow
later
if
you
change
your
mind).
Start
engaging!
(CC)
Digital
Fingerprint
(March
2013)

3. Engaging
with
Others
Go
to
‘Connect’
to
see
interactions
from
others,
including:
Where
others
have
mentioned
your
@twittername
in
their
tweet;
retweets:
Material
that
those
you
follow
have
retweeted.
Go
to
the
icon
next
to
the
search
box
to
access
direct
messages
(private
messages,
sendable
only
to
people
who
follow
you;
Lists
of
Tweeters
e.g.
Local
people
The
#hashtag
is
key
to
the
functionality
of
Twitter.
An
old,
but
useful,
example:
think
if
you
searched
for
“Lost”,
you
would
find
all
the
people
that
had
lost
their
handbags,
umbrellas,
etc,
but
if
you
searched
for
#Lost,
you
would
find
all
the
people
who
were
discussing
the
TV
series.
Note
that
the
hashtag
is
an
active
link,
and
will
bring
up
all
tweets
with
the
hashtag
–
which
can
be
written
anywhere,
and
there’s
no
central
hashtag
register
–
if
you
want
to
create
a
new
one,
try
a
few,
until
you
find
one
that’s
not
being
used.
(CC)
Digital
Fingerprint
(March
2013)

4. Lists
Lists
are
useful
for
collecting
together
specific
groups
of
people,
so
that
you
can
focus
only
upon
their
tweets,
and
ignore
all
the
other
tweets
in
your
timeline.
The
lists
(of
which
you
have
a
limited
amount)
are
publically
accessible,
and
therefore
if
you
are
the
first
to
create
a
‘useful’
list,
others
can
also
follow
it.
To
find
a
list,
go
to
‘Settings’,
select
lists,
and
see
the
lists
you
already
have.
Click
on
a
list
to
see
tweets
from
all
those
in
a
list.
You
can
also
create
a
new
list
from
here.
Other
Functions
There
are
a
range
of
options
for
inter-­‐acting
with
your
followers
or
your
followees.
1) Write
a
tweet
with
the
@username
of
another
person.
The
name
can
be
anywhere
in
the
tweet
–
at
the
beginning
of
a
tweet,
it
will
only
be
seen
in
the
newsfeeds
of
those
who
follow
both
users.
2) Send
a
Direct
Message
(to
someone
who
follows
you)
3) Add/Remove
from
lists
(one
of
the
easiest
ways)
4) Block
(you
will
rarely
need
to
do
this)
5) Report
(only
report
if
actually
spam)
6) Turn
off
RTs
(you
won’t
see
any
retweets
they
make,
just
their
original
tweets)
7) Turn
on
mobile
notifications
(know
when
they
have
tweeted)
8) Embed
this
profile
(offers
the
HTML
code
to
allow
the
profile
to
be
seen
in
a
website).
Getting
Involved
Twitter
is
a
simple
tool
with
huge
potential
–
you
can
meet
new
people
who
can
develop
into
friendships
or
working
relationships.
There’s
no
strict
rules,
but
there
is
a
clear
etiquette
–
if
you
wouldn’t
want
to
read
it,
why
would
you
post
it?
Take
time
to
list,
engage,
and
post
interesting
content,
not
just
promote!
(CC)
Digital
Fingerprint
(March
2013)