Twitter - Microblogging at Its Finest

Chances are that you have heard someone saying something about Twitter, Twittering this, or Twittering that. Well, what exactly is this Twitter that everyone seems to be talking about? Twitter is a micro-blogging website that has quickly grown from becoming a nothing to becoming one of the most popular social networking sites on the web. Twitter allows you to keep in touch with those that are important to you by posting 140 character updates on whatever it is that you are doing. Although many people choose to use Twitter to post about what they are doing; for example, going out to see a new movie, Twitter is unique in the sense that you can also post micro-blog sized posts, or whatever is it that you want. Twitter is one of the best ways of getting information quickly across the web, from one side of the world to the other.

How's Twitter Different from Facebook?

Although many people are confused as to what the difference between Twitter and Facebook is, you may be surprised to discover all the differences. Facebook is generally used to reconnect with those who are important to you. You can add new applications, play games, and chat with friends. Although Twitter can also be used to reconnect with old friends, it is a micro-blogging site, which Facebook is not. Twitter does not have friend requests. You can see someone's updates they make by simply viewing their profile, or if you choose to see all of their updates, you can choose to "Follow" the person, and the person's tweets (Twitter posts) will then show up on your newsfeed each time you log in. It can be difficult to keep up with everyone's posts when you begin to follow a lot of people, so you may choose to only follow people that you really truly care about if you want to see all their updates.

Twitter for Networking

Twitter can be a great source for networking, providing that you do it right. When you begin to apply for jobs, you have probably heard that employers will check your Facebook and MySpace accounts, so do not keep content there you would not want an employer to see. Along with the changing times, social networking has begun to evolve, and employers are now beginning to also check your Twitter account, so be sure to that your represent yourself professionally. Although you will not want to substitute Twitter for other professional networking websites, such as LinkedIn, it can be a great complement to improve the number of connections you have already developed through your networking efforts.

Do You Get Spam on Twitter?

Unfortunately spam cannot really be avoided anywhere on the web nowadays, so you may encounter the occasional spammer on Twitter. Thankfully Twitter does not share your email address or other personal information with anyone, so you do not need to worry about receiving more junk email. The spam you may find on Twitter comes in the form of tweets that contain advertising. People will post tweets such as "Cheap medications here XYZ.com". There was no real easy way to go about reporting a spammer on Twitter until just recently. Twitter has now incorporated a "Report for spam" button which blocks all posts from the person so that you will not see them. In addition, Twitter then looks into the history of the account, and if it truly turns out the person is a spammer, their account may be suspended, and they will no longer have an outlet for posting their spam.

How Can Twitter Help Me on Associated Content?

Twitter is a great way to help promote your Associated Content material, and share it in a non-forceful manner with a potentially unlimited audience. If you have an article that you want to share on Twitter, you can simply create a new post or tweet, and include some summary, as well as a link to the article, and then send out your post. So who exactly is going to see your post? This is a good question, and it does not have a definite answer. It is certain that everyone who is "Following" you - meaning they chose to subscribe to your posts or tweets - is going to have the tweet come through their newsfeed. In addition to those that are following you, your post will also show up to anyone in the world that searches for a keyword you used in your post. For example, if someone searched "AssociatedContent.com" in the Twitter search box, it is going to pull up all the most recent tweets that had the phrase "AssociatedContent.com" in the message. This is a great way to share your information with people who may not otherwise get a chance to see it.

What If I Want Some Privacy?

Privacy is a great concern of many people, and it's not an uncommon question that people may have. Perhaps you only have a small group of people that you want to be able to view your posts. Twitter makes it easy to protect your privacy. All that you need to do to activate this protection feature is to log into Twitter. After logging in, you will want to click the "Settings" link found in the upper-right corner of your screen. Then scroll down to where it says "Protect my tweets", tick the check box, and click "Save". Now your tweets will not show up when someone does a search, or even if someone browses to your Twitter profile.

How is Twitter Growing So Fast?

This is a great question, and again, there is no definite answer to this question. Some suggest that it's the ease of use that makes Twitter so popular. For example, there was recently a survey of Facebook users that found nearly 70% of people that made a new account couldn't even figure out how to post a message to someone. These people then become frustrated and look for another outlet to connect with people. Twitter has an incredibly easy user-interface, and it makes it very simple to post your thoughts. Other suggestions include the fact that Twitter does not bombard you with advertisements as nearly every other website on the web does. In fact, nowhere on Twitter will you find any advertisements.

How Do I Talk To Someone?

There are a couple of different ways that you can communicate with people on Twitter. One way is to send an "@reply" to someone. For example, I am @EricWester on Twitter. If you wanted to send me a message, you could post a tweet that said "@EricWester I was just reading your article on Associated Content." Then, when I log into Twitter and check for any new replies I may have received, I would see your reply to me, and I could respond back to you. However, you should keep in mind that these messages are public, and everyone can see them. Twitter does not have any sort of direct email service, although you can send what is called a "Direct Message" or "DM". A direct message is similar to an email, although it is sent and received through Twitter, not your email service. Unfortunately direct messages are another method that spammers may choose to send you things, although this does not happen all too often. If you want to send someone a Direct Message, simply log into Twitter. Once logged in, you will want to click on the words "Direct Message", which is found in the navigation links on the right-hand side of the screen, directly under your "@replies".

Summary

Twitter has quickly grown to become one of the largest social networking websites online. QuantCast even rates Twitter as the number 28 most popular website online right now. Whether you are a business owner, teenager in high school, graduating college student, or just your average Joe, there's a spot for you on Twitter. There are unlimited networking opportunities on Twitter, and it's a great way to share information with the world that you are passionate about.