It’s a fantastic site – it explains everything including what Twitter is, how to set up an account, how to get followers, the site’s history, a Twitter glossary, links to Twitter in the news, cool Twitter-related sites, most popular users and much more.
But if that’s a bit much for you – check out these other lists of Twitter tools:
Ever since I signed up for Qwitter it hasn’t worked for me (I’ve already chatted with someone over there and he was delightful, so now I’m being patient) – but I just found a site I may use in the meantime.
I don’t know if I entirely trust it, but I like the idea of it. Tweeteffect is essentially Qwitter in that it shows you how many friends you lost or gained during your past 200 Tweets. It has a great color code that simply shows you if you had an increase or decrease in followers after a Tweet. It also bolds certain Tweets if the increase or decrease in followers happened in less than five minutes.
The only thing I don’t like about it is that there seems be a 5-hour delay (for me at least). But I guess that’s not a huge problem.
While I don’t want this to impact my Tweets, I do think it shows me which ones work best in the community. For example, I’ve now learned that people don’t like hearing about local weather. Done. People love knowing quirky stories. Good to know.
One of the best — and worst — aspects of a URL shortener is that it hides the identity of the original link. Because of this, it was nearly impossible to find out who was Tweeting a Chicago Tribune (or any site) link unless “Chicago Tribune” was mentioned in the Tweet.
Well, that’s no longer an issue.
Backtweets provides a simple, but brilliant function: It allows you to search users who have Tweeted your URL on Twitter — even if it was transformed into a shortened URL. I don’t know if it can search ALL shortened links, but I have seen it list is.gd, tinyurl.com, bit.ly, ff.im, tr.im and others.
Has a Twitterati mentioned you lately? If you have no idea, there’s one quick way to find out. Visit Twithority when you have a chance. Type in a keyword or username and search results will reveal which Twitter users, of highest rank, have recently mentioned the term.
The top 7 mistakes new Twitter users make – If I wrote a “top mistakes new Twitter users make” post, it would be exactly like this one. It covers the important basics like #2 Protecting updates, #3 No updates and #7 No avatar. While I can understand joining a social network can be overwhelming, these are several actions you should take in order to have the best experience possible.
If I could add anything to this post, I’d add #8 No interaction. So often I see new Twitter users Tweet often, but not to anyone. Kudos if they have a link, but it’s essential to interact with the community, instead of assuming the community will interact with you. I know it can be awkward at first, but it really becomes second nature after a while.
Twitter cracking down on refollowers – Looks like Twitter’s taking action on those who are using scripts, but so far it looks like it’s handling the issue case-by-case. I’ve had the same issue with @politicalupdate and several others, so I’m glad some of those accounts have been suspended. Author Louis Gray also links to one of his posts in which he exposed @politicalupdate and @twtr.us and made the valid points that 1) they’re simply following other users for marketing reasons (so you see their username and follow) and 2) they’re not contributing to the community.
Thinking of throwing a Tweetup? Before you start asking your friends to start retweeting an impromptu invite, remember some work goes into each event. I’ve found this is especially true with every Tweetup I’ve helped organize with the Tribune. If you want to establish real, valuable relationships with your Twitter friends, you have to show them that you care about the details.
That’s why I love the post: How To: Organize a Successful Tweetup. Before even thinking about inviting every person in your Twitter network out, check over these 17 suggestions. I can’t stress this enough as I’ve seen too many people try to host Tweetups without communicating basic information like addresses and start and end times.
So give it a look, grab some name tags and have a great time.
Why your number of Diggs is important – A new algo at Digg shows the site now limits the number of stories users can Digg a day to about 90.
Twitters suspended – The full story – Suspended and you don’t know why? You may be experiencing a similar problem as these folks. They were caught up in a spam cloud and were consequently banned – by accident.
50 Best Web sites of 2008 – I get photogalleries – meaning, I understand they’re a great way to convey information – and they bring in the page views. But when you have a gallery that loads awkwardly – at least on my browser and screen – it’s difficult to get past #9. I’ll have to try this on a larger screen.
10 Essential sites – A good group of sites in theory, but it’s too easily to criticize this gallery. It’s not a bad group, but I think the description of Facebook is odd: If MySpace is a PC, then Facebook is a Mac.
The Social Media Starter Kit: LinkedIn – Now this is something I don’t see often on social news sites, but I can appreciate. Good, solid information about how to make the most of, and be smart on LinkedIn. Definitely worth a read.
1. Sign up and fill out your profile.
- Add your location, Web site, and a short bio about yourself. Be transparent about your relationship with the company, unless it’s a strictly personal profile.
2. Follow a few people
- Start with those you know: Friends, family, coworkers, media
- When you’re comfortable, start adding friends of friends
- Friend those who are following you
3. Searching for friends
- At the top of the page, click “Find People,” “Find on Twitter”
- Go to search.twitter.com, “Advanced Search” and find people based on location, etc.
4. Start Tweeting
- Chat about anything: Your interests, news; you can pose questions to the community
- Add in a links if you’d like. Twitter automatically shortens most URLs automatically, but if not, try one of the URL shorteners below.
5. Sending messages
- Public messages: Begin a Tweet with @username followed by the message
- Private messages: Begin a Tweet with: D username
- Retweets: If you like what someone else has to say, you can send out that exact message. Format it this way: RT @username Original message…
5. Community
- Remember, Twitter is a two-way street. If you expect participation, you have to participate in others’ lives too!
TIPS:
- If you associate yourself with your company, be mindful of the people you friend. For example, before the election, if you had followed Obama, it would have been a good idea to follow McCain too. (Same on all social networking sites.)
- Each Tweet you send out represents you and your company. Be mindful to be accurate; take a second glance at your Tweet for errors before sending it out.
TERMS:
- Tweet – The 140 character or less message you send out to your community
- @ Reply – A public message sent to you by anyone in the Twitter community
- Direct Message (DM) – A private message sent between mutual friends
- #Hashtag – Want to participate and follow a conversation of a specific topic? Add a hashtag term, ex. #vday Then search it on search.twitter.com, and see what everyone else is saying.
OTHER GOOD RESOURCES: Twitip – A great blog constantly updated with Twitter tips and news Twitturly – What URLs are people talking about on Twitter? Keep track of them here Tr.im – A great URL shortener that shows you how many clicks each URL receives, as well as where those clicks are coming from Twitter improves service, base; next revenue – Good piece on the history and purpose of Twitter
The past year has brought about many changes -- one, I'm no longer at the Chicago Tribune. After a great two years there, I've moved on to Creative Director at Consumer Media Network. I'm also no longer "acmaurer" technically, since I married my best friend in June '11. I'm now Amanda Woodhead, but between you, me and the Internet, I'll always be acmaurer. So thanks again for stopping by, and here's to some great conversations.
Want to find me on the Web? I'm acmaurer on most social news and networking sites.
PS, I doubt I have to say this, but this is my personal blog and doesn't reflect the opinion of my employer.
