Many of you reading this blog will note a small section on the right with recent “tweets”; you may have seen emails from me telling you that updates will be on Twitter. This blog entry is to tell you about Twitter, how to use it and some of the terms.
What it is
Twitter is simply a “micro-blogging” site – allowing you to enter short, simple statements about yourself and what you’re doing. You could use those small blogs (called Tweets) to reply to someone else, or to link to somewhere else. The only limitation is that you have 160 characters to do it in (and that includes spaces)
How to use it
You can either just read individuals tweets (by going to the person’s specific area – e.g. www.twitter.com/leftwelly) or you can create your own account and then “follow” people. You will then see all your friends tweets in the order that they posted them – this is known as the timeline.
Create the Login
When you sign up, especially for younger people, I would not recommend using your own name (or your friends name either). You may also want to consider how that name may be interpreted as people can search for your account name. “MightyStallion” may sound good now – but will it in 5 days? However you may find that your own preferred online name has been taken (which is why some people also use numbers such as Frog101)
There are options for personal details – you don’t need to set these up unless you really want to (and frankly aren’t that important).
Once set up, you’re ready to Tweet!
Followers, Following, Blocking, Protecting
So in order to get to the magic that is Twitter, you need to follow someone. As a starter, could I recommend “LeftWelly”? Click “Find People” and type the name into the search engine. Then click “Follow”
A more fun way is to find someone (again, I have a recommendation!) then look to the right of the screen. That’s the list of people that they are following. Click one of the links and if you like what you read, follow them too! Then see who they are following, check them out… very quickly you can build up quite an interesting follow list!
But what happens when someone “follows” you? It sounds scary, but all it means is that they can see your tweets when you post them. When you set up Twitter for the first time, all your posts can be read by everybody. If you’re really worried about who could be reading your stuff, go into the Settings and “Protect your Tweets”. Then anyone who wants to follow you has to ask and you have to allow them – and only then will they see what you’ve written.
Blocking will stop people from being able to read or comment on what you have written. I’m sure that there are circumstances when this would be useful, but I’ve yet to use it.
I would suggest that with any open access network, there is a need to be careful what you write – even if you make your posts private. Posting that your teacher, Mr Brown, is rubbish isn’t such a good idea when everyone knows that your Twitter name is “IHaveABanana”. There have been circumstances when comments on Facebook and Twitter have lead to people losing their jobs…
Other Twitter Stuff
Because Twitter is becoming so popular, other applications are starting to pop up. TwitPic for example, allows you to upload a picture you have taken and show it in your Twitter Account (readers have to click the link to see it)
Because more mobile phones have internet access, this is becoming a really easy tool to use. Additionally, people are making applications that can be run from your phones (you need internet access) so you can access Twitter on the move!
Mobile Tweeting
A quick word on mobile tweeting. It is possible to set up Twitter so that you can send a text to Twitter and it will publish it. HOWEVER be aware that this will be chargeable as it is not a UK phone number (and it doesn’t matter how many free texts you are allowed). Costs aren’t super high, but if you’re budgeting your phone and you’re not aware it can be a shock.
More information
Some celebrities – Philip Schofied (Schofe), Jonathan Ross (Wossy) and Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) are very big Twitter users; Philip Schofield has put a lot of useful information on his website about using Twitter and I would recommend checking that out.
Twitter and LeftWelly
In this report I have made mention of two Twitter accounts – LeftWelly and Frog101. LeftWelly is the “official” 8th/12th/19th Harrow Twitter account – I use it to tweet Scouty things such as progress and high points at camp, evening activities and notes when I upload new blogs (like this one)
Frog101 is my own personal tweet space. Whilst there may be comments on there that may reference Scouting, it is my own site where I can follow those people who interest me personally. Consequently, some of the people I follow may not always be suitable for young people.
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