Understanding how Twitter works is vital for using the platform properly. Many people fail to understand the interactions on Twitter and take the premise of the platform, answering the question "what are you doing now," to be the literal function of Twitter. The platform has radically shifted the way people communicate and is often referred to as a technological communication advance on the scale of the invention of the printing press. Understanding how it works will help you engage with Twitter in a meaningful and prosperous manner, and may expose you to new communities that you might not have discovered otherwise.
Public Conversations And Replies
Twitter is powered by the rapid conversations people engage with 140 characters or less, referred to as tweets. Users post information about their businesses, their life, important current events, breaking news and problem solving for their followers to engage with. You can follow anyone you would like and they have the choice to follow you as well. Everyone you follow shows up in your Twitter stream, also called the timeline. Likewise, your tweets appear in the timelines of everyone who follows you. These interactions are public and available for anyone to read. When replying to a question or individual person, the "@username" is added to the tweet and sends it directly to the persons "mention timeline." This timeline is populated with all the "@username" references with that person's Twitter handle and allows them to respond directly and publicly to questions, references and information. If no "@username" is added to a tweet, it simply enters the main timeline for all your followers and can likely be overlooked by the intended receiver of the tweet.
Community Building Through Interaction
Twitter is powered by networking and connecting with like-minded individuals. While the stream of information is rapid and fluid, people with special interests and areas of expertise can seek each other out on Twitter and build a group of engaged people to interact with on a daily basis. Using the Search.Twitter.com function allows you to type in a keyword and find those people talking about your topic. People use a "hashtag" to categorize and organize tweets by trending topics or specific content. For example, if you are looking for bakers, you would enter the term "bakers" into the Twitter Search page and all the tweets with the "bakers" hashtag would appear in your search findings. You would then find conversations that appeal to you, click on the person's avatar picture or Twitter homepage and see if this person is someone you wish to engage with in conversation. Follow this person and watch their conversations, adding relevant information and personal connections when appropriate.
Retweeting And Curating Information
Another powerful tool in using Twitter is the retweet option, also noted by the "RT" acronym. When you find a tweet filled with valuable information or relevant to your followers, hit the RT option and the tweet will be republished in your timeline for all of your followers to see. This allows information to spread in a rapid fashion, which is particularly important during breaking news events. This also connects you to people, as it is common courtesy on Twitter to thank the person who retweeted your original tweet. This is a great way to connect with people whose content you admire or respect, just be mindful of what you are sending out before retweeting. Be sure to check the URL on any RT before you send it to your community. People are also curating news by sending retweets of relevant news articles to their followers. This allows users to filter the news through people they trust, and follow journalists directly as they gather the news and broadcast it using Twitter.
Direct Messages
Understand the difference between public "@username" replies and direct messages before engaging in Twitter conversations. A DM, or direct message, is sent directly to the user's inbox. But, to send the person a DM, they must be following you back. A public reply means that every person can read the interaction between two people and engage in the conversation. A DM is private and viewable only to the people sending and receiving the message. Bear in mind that not everyone replies to direct messages, particularly people with many hundreds or thousands of followers. Use the DM function sparingly and only when thoughts are to remain completely private. The public reply function should suffice for 95 percent of Twitter interaction.
