Twitter

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= = toc =What is it?= Twitter is a website that has revolutionized the idea of a social networking site. Twitter was created in March 2006 and is used primarily for social networking and micro-blogging. A unique aspect of twitter is that there is a 140 character limit per "tweet" which makes people get to the point quick! Twitter is a great way to get your name out there as gaining a great deal of influence. It is often said that in life it is about "who you know" that gets you ahead. Well, what a great way to expand that "who you know".

=How can it be used?= Twitter is a constantly growing website and has a variety of uses. The common use that it is associated with, which is a misconception, is that the primary use of Twitter is to "follow" your favorite celebrities to keep up with Hollywood. While some people use Twitter primarily for this reason, it is capable of so much more. Twitter is a great tool for expanding your social networking and your influence. If you use Twitter the right way, it can be a great way to create a personal brand for yourself and to create a "web persona". Twitter has also developed it's own organizational system through the use of hastags... or #'s. How hashtags work is that if you are talking about a certain topic, you would simply put the topic as a hashtag at the end of your tweet. For example, say we were all talking about the instructor of Intro to High Technology on Monday nights. We could tweet our 140 characters and then add a #ProfessorTiffin at the end. This hashtag creates a metaphoric folder on twitter that organizes all tweets with this hashtag together. How convenient!

=Video Tutorial for the basics of Twitter= media type="youtube" key="J0xbjIE8cPM" width="339" height="280"

=What do I love about Twitter?= I will even admit, I once was one of those Twitter haters that thought the site was pointless. But I am a changed man. After using it for a couple of weeks I was hooked. Not only is the site great for keeping up with friends that you wouldn't see on a regular basis, it is also a great way to make connections. Sure I have the occasional guilty pleasure and follow a celebrity or two... but I have also used it in many other ways. For example, Twitter has become one of my primary sources of current events. How is this possible? Well when something happens and people are talking about it, they will tweet about it. This tweet can then get "retweeted" and then there you go, the news is spreading like wildfire. Also, if you want to get really fancy, you can go to other sites such as www.tweetygotback.com for custom backgrounds for your twitter to set your page apart from all the rest!

[|Make your own Twitter!] [|History of Twitter] [|How to effectively use Twitter]

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