Another increasingly-popular social network service is Twitter. This was intended as a “microblogging” service but some people have been implementing it as another social network.
Like the similar Facebook article that I have written for Facebook novices, this will list who will see which information you post when you use Twitter. Here, I would recommend this as a bookmark or favourite or as something to print out and keep near the computer or have available on the business intranet.
Twitter lexicon
| Tweet | A public Twitter post. Also to leave a public post on Twitter |
| Follow | To subscribe to a Twitter user’s Tweets (public comments) |
| Follower | A person who subscribes to a user’s Tweets. Is also capable of receiving direct messages from the users they follow. |
| Hashtag | A reference tag that is preceded by a # (hash) symbol and is used for filtering Tweets on a topic. Used primarily in front of cities, TV shows, brands, etc. |
| Mention or Reply | A Tweet that features a Twitter user with that user’s name preceded by an @ symbol. |
Who sees what
| What you do | Who sees this | |
| When you post a Tweet | All your Twitter Followers | |
| When you Retweet someone’s else’s Tweet | All your Twitter Followers | Your followers will see the original Tweet suffixed by “Retweeted by <your_user_name>” |
| When you reply to someone else’s Tweet or mention another user in your Tweet | All your Twitter Followers | The Tweet will have the other person’s username preceded by the @ symbol and the user will be able to see the mentions or replies in the “reply / mention” filter |
| When you send a direct message to a Follower | Only that specific Follower that you address | Your Follower has to be following you to be able to be contacted by a Direct Message |
What to do where on Twitter
| General comment or broadcast message | Post a Tweet | Be careful what you write as all followers or potential followers can see what you write. |
| Reply to someone else’s Tweet or mention a Twitter user where confidentiality isn’t required | Post the tweet using the Reply or Mention tools | Again, be careful what you say when you write these posts.
This can be good for congratulating the user or offering some sympathy on an event they Tweeted about. |
| Direct private message to a Follower | Post a Direct Message |
If someone follows you on your Twitter account, it may be a good idea to check that person out when you receive the notification by email. Here, you could then consider following that person and being able to use direct messaging as appropriately.
It is also worth noting that a lot of social Twitter users use “textspeak” (abbreviations and acronyms for common expressions used when sending SMS messages) when they send out Tweets. So you may have to use resources like the Urban Dictionary to help you understand some of this lingo.
