Twitter? Seriously?

Elissa Kline

November 11, 2009

What’s worse than serving a life sentence without parole?

Going to Tuck with a Twitter Addict

What is Twitter? What? Free social networking and micro-blogging service that

enables its users to send and read messages. Messages are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers.

Who? Jack Dorsey, Chairman

Evan Williams, CEO

Biz Stone, Creative Director

How? Twitter has raised over $155 million from venture

capitalists.

Twitter Username1. Don't be afraid to use your real name. There's nothing

wrong with using your name on Twitter. 2. Do tell us about your profession or other interests. You

can use your name to tell us what you want to do. There's no better way to attract followers than to give them a hint about who you are.

3. Do be creative. If your preferred username is taken and you don't want to use your name, be creative. Make it meaningful. Make it funny. Do something that interests us.

4. Do distinguish yourself. Tom75 and Tom85 might as well be the same person to me. I know you don't know the taken usernames before you sign up, but don't just add a bunch of numbers after your name.

5. Do consider its impact. How will your chosen username affect the way other users view you? Will they want to talk to you after they see your username? You need to decide what kind of impact you want it to have and go from there.

Twitter Basics Tweet: A "tweet" is a single message or post to Twitter. Each

tweet can be no more than 140 characters.

Follow/follower: On many social media and networking sites, you "friend" someone to connect with them. On Twitter, you "follow" someone. Those who follow you are your "followers."

RT: RT is short for "re-tweet." This is a way of sharing someone else's tweet with your own followers. A re-tweet is simply giving credit to the original tweet when you want to share the information you learned from it.

DM: DM is short for "direct message." If you want to send a message to one of your followers without every single one of your followers seeing it, you simply send them a direct message. A DM also can only be 140 characters.

@ reply: An "at reply" is simply replying to a specific follower instead of creating a brand new tweet.

•A "hashtag" is a keyword or tag that ties tweets together from many users

•Hashtags are very popular during conferences and seminars

•Hashtags are a great way to find people to follow or to gain your own followers

•Find them via searches, by following others in your field, going to or following conferences & news, looking at trending topics, or just start your own trend.

#healthcare #tarp

#AlternativeEnergy #NI09

#FML

Hashtags #Examples

How to Access Twitter

Traditional: twitter.com

For beginners

Desktop Applications

If you want to get serious

Mobile Applications

Because you’re on the go…

Syncing your Social Media

You on the

Web

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Blogs, Other

Content

You will be Googled. Manage your online presence proactively.

How to use Twitter to find a Job• Become a follower of journalists who cover your field

• Get alerts when news breaks

• No need for an article: your news is now 140 characters

Industry Trends / Breaking News

• Follow gossipers!Insider “Gossip”

• Be sure to follow companies that you are applying to -you might pick-up important tidbits for your interview

• Learn about their values and cultureCompany Info

• Many companies are tweeting their job openings – don’t be the last one to find out…Job Postings

• Is your interviewer a tweeter? You might just find a conversation starter by following them on Twitter!“Ice Breakers”

How to get a job… Make your Twitter presence “employer-friendly”

Put your job pitch in your Twitter bio (which is 160 characters)

Use a professional looking avatar

Tweet about your job search

Include a link to an online CV or resume in your bio.

Establish yourself as an expert in your field on Twitter. As those on Twitter become interested in your content, when employers are looking at you, you’ll have more than just your resume to back up your knowledge and experience.

Job Search Accounts There are a variety of Twitter accounts dedicated to providing job listings by

field, company, region, and more. By company

@attjobs – Jobs at AT&T @mtvnetworksjobs – Jobs at MTV @TRCareers – Jobs from Thomson Reuters

By field @juicyjobs – Green jobs @mediabistrojobs – Media job listings from mediabistro.com @media_pros – Jobs for media professionals @narmsjobs – Retail marketing jobs @PRSAjobcenter – Jobs in public relations, communications and marketing

By region @ChicagoTechJobs – Technology jobs in the greater Chicago area @JobsBoston – Jobs in the greater Boston area @NewYorkTechJobs – Technology jobs in the greater New York area @sfmobilejobs – Mobile Web and Digital Media jobs in Silicon Valley

General @StartUpHire – Jobs at VC backed companies

Become a Thought LeaderDefine “why” people should

follow you

Create Content

Become a Hub

Follow other thought leaders

Retweet selectively

Give credit where credit

is due

If you build it, they will come.

How to get help Mashable How To Guides

Help.twitter.com

Twitter Fan Wiki

Me?

Questions?