This isn’t a complete textbook on Twitter, nor was it meant to be.  It’s merely some information to get you started.  Whether you’re just learning, or you’re a social networking pro, please be sure to follow me on Twitter, at @stevemullen!

A Primer on Twitter

While Twitter and Facebook have some similarities in what they’re used FOR (at least when it comes to business), the atmosphere at each is very different.  Using Facebook privacy settings, you can control who sees your posts.  On Twitter, everything is out in the open for all to see.  Additionally, there’s the 140-character limit to deal with on Twitter, which means posts are usually limited to a sentence or two and a link.

There is really only one type of Twitter account.  When you sign up, you have the ability to post a short bio about yourself and a link to a web site.  People tend to make the mistake of not filling these out.  They’re missing an opportunity to promote themselves that no one will begrudge them.  Advertising yourself in Twitter posts on a regular basis is generally a no-no, so plug away in the bio!

When you follow someone on Twitter, their updates show up in your “stream”, which is the list of your posts seen on the Twitter site when you click on “profile” at the top of the page.  When someone follows you, your posts show up in their stream.  There is NO obligation to follow someone back if they’re following you, but the fact that you don’t follow them back doesn’t stop them from being allowed to follow YOU.

There IS a way to protect your Twitter posts so that they’re not seen by everyone, but I don’t recommend using it unless you’re a minor (in which case you really shouldn’t be on Twitter anyhow).  The way it works is that new followers have to request to follow you, and you have the opportunity to approve or deny them.  I don’t understand why you’d want to do this on Twitter, and I never ask permission to follow anyone.  It seems very anti-Twitter.  If someone is particularly bothersome, you can unfollow them, and they probably won’t bother you.  If they’re REALLY bothersome, you can “block” them, and they won’t be able to see any of your posts or message you in any way.  If someone gets blocked by enough people, their account will be deleted from Twitter.

When considering Twitter, think of it as a giant all-inclusive networking meeting.  People are having all kinds of conversations, ranging from sports, to business, to industry news, to simple goofing off.  Whatever you want to talk about can surely be found on Twitter.  Joining in is simple.  On the Twitter website, hover your mouse pointer over the post you want to respond to, and then click on “reply”.  This will populate the form at the top of the page with @username.  Then, just type your message in 140 characters or less.  Putting an @ symbol in front of someone’s name on Twitter indicates that you’re talking to them.

Twitter has developed its own terms … some would say its own language.  Here is some Twitter terminology:

• Tweet: One post on Twitter.  If you say, “I just tweeted that”, you’re saying “I just posted on Twitter about that.”
• Retweet: Copying a tweet from someone else, and posting it on your account.  This has the affect of alerting your followers about the post.  It’s a way of rewarding a person who tweets something useful, witty, or simply interesting.  To retweet something, type “RT”, then the original poster’s username with an “@” in front of it (i.e. @sleep_better), and then their original post.
• Tweeps or Tweeple: Your friends on Twitter.
• Hashtag: A way of categorizing posts on Twitter.  To utilize hashtags, simply put the “#” symbol in front of a word. For instance, in every post I write about my area, Richmond, Virginia, I include the hashtag #rva.  Anyone who knows this hashtag will then be able to easily search for posts about Richmond.

Finding followers in Twitter is different than Facebook, mainly due to the lack of stranger anxiety and the fact that everyone can see your posts.  The first thing I always recommend to people is to write a handful posts.  When you start following people, they’ll check out your posts.  If there aren’t any, then they won’t be likely to follow back.  Also, if you write about your favorite topics, this alone is likely to gain you a few followers.  People out there have searches set up to automatically follow people who talk about certain subjects.  You’ll be amazed how one post on something like real estate can lead to a bunch of real estate agents following you.

The next thing to do after writing a few posts is to have Twitter search your email address book, just like Facebook does.  Then, do some searches for people in your area.  Try to figure out if your area has an established hashtag, and do some searches for that word.  You can also do some simple keyword searches (with or without the hashtag) that indicate your interests.  If you like golf … search for “golf”.  You’ll find golf enthusiasts, people giving information on how to play better, as well as some golf courses.

A note about spam: You will find significantly more on Twitter than on Facebook.  This is largely due to Twitter being more open than Facebook.  Remember that you’re under no obligation to follow someone back if they follow you.  If it smells like spam and looks like spam … then it probably is.  Either that, or it’s a legitimate business person who has no idea that he or she shouldn’t post a mess of advertisements on Twitter.

After doing some hunting and following people in your area … keep posting.  Followers will find you … I promise.

Regardless of whether the product makes sense or anyone will buy it, I think it’s an interesting statement on how much Twitter is weaving itself into our lives.  Have you ever seen a Facebook-only device?  Yeah … me neither.

I’m surprised at the number of people who have 1,000+ followers, but haven’t filled out the basic information that Twitter allows.  In fact, when I see an account with a mess of followers but no details, I automatically assume they’re playing the Twitter Numbers Game, and don’t follow the person.

Below are a list of five tasks that I feel are required for a successful Twitter account:

1. Upload a profile picture: If I see a brown square with two circles and a line, I know that’s not you and I wonder what you’re hiding.
2. Fill out your bio: How am I going to learn about you if you don’t tell me?
3. Provide a link: This is a chance to market your website.  Why pass that up?
4. Start posting BEFORE you start following: When I get a follow notification, I actually check out the new follower’s profile.  This gets time consuming, but I feel like it’s good courtesy.  It also keeps me from following people wholesale, which leads to having to unfollow people later.  When I check out a profile and it only has a couple of posts (or worse, doesn’t have ANY posts), I don’t follow back.  I suspect a lot of people are like this.  Before you start following people, write at least 5-10 posts so people know that type of Tweeter you are.
5. Get a custom twitter background: Anyone who has been on Twitter for a while can spot a generic Twitter background.  If you don’t have the graphic skills necessary to make one yourself, go to Twitbacks and get a free one.

Happy Tweeting!

PS – Once you’ve completed these tasks, follow me!

Somewhere in June [...] Twitter stopped growing, at least according to Compete. The same thing happened to Facebook (Facebook) at the exact same time; at first we’ve attributed the traffic numbers to the summer slumber, but now that Compete’s numbers for September are out, there’s no doubt that both Facebook and Twitter are no longer growing, at least in the eyes of the (admittedly US-centric) Compete.

Be sure to click over to the article, and check out the charts.  They paint the picture pretty well.

So, what does this mean exactly?  That’s unknown at this point, but there are several possibilities.  One is that it’s a blip on the growth chart.  That’s unlikely, as it’s a three month slowdown.  Another possibility is that it’s due to summer and vacations.  Unlikely also, since the slowdown (or even reversal) extends into September.

The final (and I think most likely) possible explanation is that we’re reaching the saturation point (at least in the U.S.) for social networking.  Most of the people who were going to join … have joined.

When you think about it, the saturation theory makes sense.  I frequently teach classes and lead workshops on how business owners can use social media and social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter.  I always ask how many in the room use each site, to get an idea of how much explanation will be needed.  Generally, about 75-95% in the room use Facebook.  How many more are really going to sign up?  No product is ever going to have 100% penetration, even within its target demographic.  For example, there are plenty of people who don’t use email much or at all, even though it’s been an accepted business tool for more than 10 years.

My informal polls usually show 25-50% of the room using Twitter.  There’s obviously a lot of room for expansion, but will Twitter ever get significantly larger?  The site concept isn’t as easy to “get” as Facebook, and many people don’t like condensing their thoughts into 140 characters or less.  Many people will never be comfortable on Twitter.

So, if the saturation theory is correct … what’s next for these sites?  For Facebook, there aren’t many worries.  The company is profitable and 300-million users is nothing to scoff at.  For Twitter, the news isn’t as good.  The company is not making a single dime of its own money, despite their recent move to start posting ads on the site and recent infusions of venture funding.

While Twitter’s user base (estimated at 13 to 15-million) is quite healthy, if it stops growing, bad things could happen.  The most damaging scenario could be that a new competitor seeps in, starts growing, and becomes the “next big thing”.  Remember FriendFeed?  It was a big dog on the block once upon a time.  Then, Facebook came along.  Now, Facebook owns FriendFeed.

If you want to do it the easy way, Neville Hobson created a list on TweepML.  You can follow each of the 100 on Valeria’s list by clicking one button!  Follow this link: http://tweepml.org/PR-100/

I’ve become increasingly frustrated with Twitter.  I’m not going to stop using it.  It’s not THAT bad.  However, my frustration level is definitely rising.  There are two reasons for this.  The first is auto-direct messages from people who are thanking me for following them and at the same time trying to promote their website.  That’s a gripe for a different day.

The reason for the frustration I’m talking about in this post is the number of people who seem to think there are shortcuts to using Twitter.  These are the people who blindly follow thousands of people, or pay one of these “get thousands of followers in just a few days” services to do it for them.

These people just don’t get it, and it seems like there are more of them than ever.

They don’t get that I can choose not to follow someone who obviously isn’t following me for my content or conversation.  It’s obvious that someone who is pushing alternative medicine from India (for example) and has five Twitter updates and 5,000 followers doesn’t really care who I am or what I’m posting.  I generally post on Twitter about PR, social media, and occasionally sports or some random stuff about my life.  This alternative medicine salesman in India is just using me in a numbers game, and I’m not participating in the game.

They don’t get that having 100 Twitter followers who actually read your Tweets is MUCH more valuable than 1,000 who are completely ignoring you.

I’m taking a pledge:

I do not auto-follow. I will not sign up for opt-in Twitter advertising. If you follow me, I will follow you back if your Tweets are relevant to me, you are posting interesting links, you seem like an interesting person, or you are local to me.

Who’s with me???

I must admit that while I’m a Twitterjunkie, I didn’t notice it too much.  I was producing a podcast and working on a client website, so I wouldn’t have been Tweeting anyhow.  I do know at least one colleague (jokingly) said that without Twitter, she’d lost her will to live.

More on the outage from the Associated Press:
Hackers attack Twitter, Facebook also slows down

How did you handle your lack of Twitter?  Were you more productive?  Were you less productive due to the cold sweats and nausea?