OddTwits - How to Twitter

This is a very basic, beginner's guide to using Twitter - see also Twitter tips

Twitter by phone
You can get someone's tweets via SMS (text message) to your cell phone by texting: follow [username you want to follow, without brackets] to 40404 in USA, or 21212 in Canada, 5566511 in India, or +44 7624 801423 in other countries. So for example, to get my tweets to your phone you'd text: follow oddtwits

If it's your first time using Twitter, you'll receive a response asking for a user name, and confirmation after you've selected an available name. Cell phone updates are free but you may be charged by your cell service provider to receive text messages, so check your service plan. To stop receiving updates, text: leave [username, without brackets] to the same number. Twits you follow can't remove you from their follow lists: you must opt out.

Once your phone is registered with Twitter, you can follow anyone else by texting: follow [username you want to follow] to the above number. You can also send updates to everyone on your follow list by texting your message to the same number. Note if you reply to a tweet you receive, everyone on your follow list will receive it.

Twitter by web
You can sign up for an account at the Twitter website by providing a username, password and email address. Your cell phone number is optional, but if you provide it you can send or receive SMS updates.

If you've already signed up to follow someone on your phone, you can complete an account to send or receive alerts online, set individual twits' alerts to come to your phone or not, temporarily turn updates on or off, set sleep times to block phone updates during certain hours, add or delete twits to follow, and search all twits to find people you'd like to follow.

Twitter by widget
There are more & more third party Twitter applications every day. You can find some of these on Twitter's apps page.

Okay, now what?
Log in to Twitter and you'll see several links at the top and right. Home is your own page that will show all tweets sent by you and the twits you follow. Profile is your page as it appears to the public.

Settings has several tabs that let you edit your account, your profile, your options and your password. Devices lets you set options for twittering by phone. Notices lets you set email options and @replies options, meaning you will or won't see messages sent by twits you follow sent to other twits' attention. Picture lets you upload an image to use for your icon. Design lets you set a background and colors for your home and profile pages.

I haven't found the Find People and Help links to be very useful, but that's just me. If you click Sign Out, you'll need to log in to use Twitter again.

On the right you'll see counts for your followees, followers, and updates you've sent, along with another link to your home page, a link to @Replies (public messages sent to your attention), Direct Messages (private messages sent to & from you), Favorites (messages you've saved), and Everyone (all tweets sent in the last few seconds). You'll also see icons of up to 36 twits you follow - I don't know what the criteria is for who's listed here.

Within the list of updates on your home page (your Twitter stream), you'll see a star and an arrow to the right of each one. Clicking the star will save that tweet to your favorites. The arrow will address an @reply to that twit.

If you go to someone else's page, you'll see various links on the right depending on your follow status with them. If you Block someone, they can't follow you and they won't get your updates on their page. If someone's following you, you can click Message to send them a private (direct) message. Note you must be following them in order for them to be able to respond to you privately. If you're following someone, you can click Nudge to remind them they haven't tweeted in a while.

How do @replies work?
If you begin a tweet with @username it will appear in that user's replies whether they follow you or not. You can also include @username in the body of a tweet as a reference. Either way, @username will create a link to that user's profile page. Note that some people set their options so they won't see @replies to other people.

Who should you follow?
Anyone and everyone! There are loads of tech-types who have thousands of followers. People tweet information, humor, useful or funny links, notices of blog or site updates, and chat back & forth with other twits. Many people tweet as they go about their daily activities. Some people and businesses tweet promotional material, and unfortunately, more & more are just tweeting spam.

You probably have friends who are already on Twitter. There's even a whole community of pets who tweet to each other. The most famous is Sockington, a cat who was written up in the New York Times. My dog iTrixie tweets from pappup.

This site was created make it easier to find interesting twits of all types. Browse, follow, and enjoy!

Who's going to follow you?
Some people automatically follow everyone who follows them. Others will find and follow you as you show up in follow lists, keyword searches, and have @replies addressed to you.

If you want a voice and hope to gain followers, a good icon and interesting tweets are your best bets. If you have a blog or website, post your Twitter name and link to your profile page on it. You can also embed your Twitter information and latest tweets on blogs, websites, MySpace, Facebook, etc. You'll find links for these on my Twitter tools page.

Alternately, you can set your tweets to private in your Settings, so only people you approve can receive your tweets.

Have fun, and happy tweeting!




Twitter tools Miscellaneous & Odd Celebrities Characters & Fakes Politicians News - National News - Local Other Major Media Corporations Quotations Museums-Zoos-Aquariums Twitter bots Black cats Tell them you found them on OddTwits.com!	How to use Twitter This is a very basic, beginner's guide to using Twitter - see also Twitter tips Twitter by phone You can get someone's tweets via SMS (text message) to your cell phone by texting: follow [username you want to follow, without brackets] to 40404 in USA, or 21212 in Canada, 5566511 in India, or +44 7624 801423 in other countries. So for example, to get my tweets to your phone you'd text: follow oddtwits If it's your first time using Twitter, you'll receive a response asking for a user name, and confirmation after you've selected an available name. Cell phone updates are free but you may be charged by your cell service provider to receive text messages, so check your service plan. To stop receiving updates, text: leave [username, without brackets] to the same number. Twits you follow can't remove you from their follow lists: you must opt out. Once your phone is registered with Twitter, you can follow anyone else by texting: follow [username you want to follow] to the above number. You can also send updates to everyone on your follow list by texting your message to the same number. Note if you reply to a tweet you receive, everyone on your follow list will receive it. Twitter by web You can sign up for an account at the Twitter website by providing a username, password and email address. Your cell phone number is optional, but if you provide it you can send or receive SMS updates. If you've already signed up to follow someone on your phone, you can complete an account to send or receive alerts online, set individual twits' alerts to come to your phone or not, temporarily turn updates on or off, set sleep times to block phone updates during certain hours, add or delete twits to follow, and search all twits to find people you'd like to follow. Twitter by widget There are more & more third party Twitter applications every day. You can find some of these on Twitter's apps page. Okay, now what? Log in to Twitter and you'll see several links at the top and right. Home is your own page that will show all tweets sent by you and the twits you follow. Profile is your page as it appears to the public. Settings has several tabs that let you edit your account, your profile, your options and your password. Devices lets you set options for twittering by phone. Notices lets you set email options and @replies options, meaning you will or won't see messages sent by twits you follow sent to other twits' attention. Picture lets you upload an image to use for your icon. Design lets you set a background and colors for your home and profile pages. I haven't found the Find People and Help links to be very useful, but that's just me. If you click Sign Out, you'll need to log in to use Twitter again. On the right you'll see counts for your followees, followers, and updates you've sent, along with another link to your home page, a link to @Replies (public messages sent to your attention), Direct Messages (private messages sent to & from you), Favorites (messages you've saved), and Everyone (all tweets sent in the last few seconds). You'll also see icons of up to 36 twits you follow - I don't know what the criteria is for who's listed here. Within the list of updates on your home page (your Twitter stream), you'll see a star and an arrow to the right of each one. Clicking the star will save that tweet to your favorites. The arrow will address an @reply to that twit. If you go to someone else's page, you'll see various links on the right depending on your follow status with them. If you Block someone, they can't follow you and they won't get your updates on their page. If someone's following you, you can click Message to send them a private (direct) message. Note you must be following them in order for them to be able to respond to you privately. If you're following someone, you can click Nudge to remind them they haven't tweeted in a while. How do @replies work? If you begin a tweet with @username it will appear in that user's replies whether they follow you or not. You can also include @username in the body of a tweet as a reference. Either way, @username will create a link to that user's profile page. Note that some people set their options so they won't see @replies to other people. Who should you follow? Anyone and everyone! There are loads of tech-types who have thousands of followers. People tweet information, humor, useful or funny links, notices of blog or site updates, and chat back & forth with other twits. Many people tweet as they go about their daily activities. Some people and businesses tweet promotional material, and unfortunately, more & more are just tweeting spam. You probably have friends who are already on Twitter. There's even a whole community of pets who tweet to each other. The most famous is Sockington, a cat who was written up in the New York Times. My dog iTrixie tweets from pappup. This site was created make it easier to find interesting twits of all types. Browse, follow, and enjoy! Who's going to follow you? Some people automatically follow everyone who follows them. Others will find and follow you as you show up in follow lists, keyword searches, and have @replies addressed to you. If you want a voice and hope to gain followers, a good icon and interesting tweets are your best bets. If you have a blog or website, post your Twitter name and link to your profile page on it. You can also embed your Twitter information and latest tweets on blogs, websites, MySpace, Facebook, etc. You'll find links for these on my Twitter tools page. Alternately, you can set your tweets to private in your Settings, so only people you approve can receive your tweets. Have fun, and happy tweeting! Got more that should be added here? Please send a tweet to @oddtwits Looking for someone or something in particular on OddTwits.com? Custom Search	Follow OddTwits How to Twitter Twitter tips OddTwits home
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