Twitter 101

By: Nana Darkoa SekyiamahCommunications Specialist

AWDF@nas009

Sign up to Twitter

First steps - recommendations

• Keep your user name as short and as simple as possible. It contributes to your 140 character allocation in a tweet

• Use your actual picture, unless you have security concerns. In any case don’t leave the egg picture profile intact

Your Timeline

To paraphrase my friend @kobbygraham

“My timeline is a garden. I cultivate it”

Your TL is as interesting or boring as the people you follow

A snapshot of my TL

Deciding who to follow

• I look at people tagged in interesting tweets and check out their TL

• I look at who my friends RTs

• I always check out a person’s TL before deciding whether to follow them or not

Twitter Don’ts

• Don’t ask for a #FF or #FollowForFollow or #Follow back – it smacks too much of desperation.

• See @kobbygraham’s post on the subjecthttp://kobigraham.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/life-sorry-no-followbacks/

• Don’t RT blindly. Read links before you RT

Twitter Do’s

• Engage. Comment. Share.

• Know that every tweet is public whether you reply to one individual or tweet generally

• Use hashtags appropriately. #There #Is #No #Need #To #Hashtag #Every #Word

Managing multiple accounts

Making Twitter easier to use

• Use a third party application like Hoot Suite to make it easier to manage third party applications

• Download a twitter application for your phone – E.g.s include Twitter, Hoot Suite, Uber Social

Interesting examples of how Twitter is being used

• To facilitate conversations e.g.http://www.awdf.org/lets-talk-about-african-philanthropy-a-round-up-of-our-tweet-convo-with-theo-sowa/

• To live tweet an event

• To network across boundaries

Amplifying voices

14 African women to follow

• @kenyanpundit• @SorayaSpeaks• @KinnaReads• @bettymurungi• @saratu• @sheroxlox• @HakimaAbbas

14 African women to follow

• @GeeBrunswick• @ophiona• @khanyisile• @stillSHErises• @MsAfropolitan• @TheoSowa• @SpectraSpeaks

Final tips

• Avoid ‘sms’ speak if tweeting in a professional capacity

• Edit tweets to fit 140 characters or send out multiple tweets

• @anindividual on a tweet if necessary• Have fun tweeting