MystyrMystyry
10-11-2011, 08:24 AM
Okay, so you may think I'm being really boring about this - but it had me baffled because I didn't really understand what it was or quite how it worked, nor even how to make it work for you, the aspring novelist, journalist, blogger, critic etc
But now I do! And here are a few tips:
Firstly, what Twitter is is a rather advanced instant messaging service, similar to Skype messaging, but with more options. You can have multiple accounts for example, and easily switch between them at the click of a button. (One for family, one for work, one for close friends, one for acqaintences, one for following famous people, one for following ezines, one for following radio programmes etc etc. Or alternately you can have just one or two and have all this come at you in a big streaming mess)
It has a few limitations in the same way traditional messaging has - only 140 characters including spaces, but no expense per tweet, so multiple flow-ons can be achieved cost-free. And by breaking up a longer text into smaller bite-size chunks quite large tweets can be easily accomplished.
But the thing is it helps if you start with an few actual friends in your contact list, and adding more people as they come your way (more on this in a moment)
If you want to be famous on Twitter it is best if you have something to spruik rather than just yourself (which can quickly grow tedious), or latch on to already famous people and pay them compliments and retweet their tweets as to say that you found their tedious self-spruiking fascinating enough that other people may enjoy them. Do this and they will soon be following you, and their sycophantic fans will also be following you as a gesture of how fanatic they really are.
What this means is that ANY article, poem, book, website, etc that you wish to draw attention to will possibly also gain a following. So for example if you start talking glowingly about Litnet say (and why wouldn't you?) and supply a link the traffic will increase along with membership as tweeters do actually become weary of reading and writing tweets, and long for reading a cohesive piece that doesn't require multiple clicks to get the gist of, and probably be considerably more articulate into the bargain.
So there you have it. You've always had a crush on Kylie Minogue or Kevin Bacon (or at least wanted to be within six degrees of them) or whoever, you can now become cyber pals and tweet at each other.
And it doesn't just stop with people, as news organisations, science journals and medical ezines are vying for your attention - whichever and how many you freely sign up for in fact (you can always opt to sign out by the click of a button and you'll stop receiving their tweets if your interests change - but either way it doesn't come at price to be in or out, and there are literally thousand to choose from.
Happy Tweetering
But now I do! And here are a few tips:
Firstly, what Twitter is is a rather advanced instant messaging service, similar to Skype messaging, but with more options. You can have multiple accounts for example, and easily switch between them at the click of a button. (One for family, one for work, one for close friends, one for acqaintences, one for following famous people, one for following ezines, one for following radio programmes etc etc. Or alternately you can have just one or two and have all this come at you in a big streaming mess)
It has a few limitations in the same way traditional messaging has - only 140 characters including spaces, but no expense per tweet, so multiple flow-ons can be achieved cost-free. And by breaking up a longer text into smaller bite-size chunks quite large tweets can be easily accomplished.
But the thing is it helps if you start with an few actual friends in your contact list, and adding more people as they come your way (more on this in a moment)
If you want to be famous on Twitter it is best if you have something to spruik rather than just yourself (which can quickly grow tedious), or latch on to already famous people and pay them compliments and retweet their tweets as to say that you found their tedious self-spruiking fascinating enough that other people may enjoy them. Do this and they will soon be following you, and their sycophantic fans will also be following you as a gesture of how fanatic they really are.
What this means is that ANY article, poem, book, website, etc that you wish to draw attention to will possibly also gain a following. So for example if you start talking glowingly about Litnet say (and why wouldn't you?) and supply a link the traffic will increase along with membership as tweeters do actually become weary of reading and writing tweets, and long for reading a cohesive piece that doesn't require multiple clicks to get the gist of, and probably be considerably more articulate into the bargain.
So there you have it. You've always had a crush on Kylie Minogue or Kevin Bacon (or at least wanted to be within six degrees of them) or whoever, you can now become cyber pals and tweet at each other.
And it doesn't just stop with people, as news organisations, science journals and medical ezines are vying for your attention - whichever and how many you freely sign up for in fact (you can always opt to sign out by the click of a button and you'll stop receiving their tweets if your interests change - but either way it doesn't come at price to be in or out, and there are literally thousand to choose from.
Happy Tweetering