What is Twitter? An Explanation Of Microblogging
There’s a good chance you’ve heard about it, maybe even have been to it, but maybe you just didn’t get to that next step. If so, let Listio guide you through Twitter, one of the most popular microblogging platforms.
So what is microblogging? Glad you asked. Microblogging is the term for social networks such as Twitter that allow users to post short (micro) blogs of less than 140 characters. Unlike conventional blogs, the posts are instantly submitted to a searchable network, making what you say more visible than typical blogs, which have to entice you to read. As part of the Twitter network you can do more than post; you can “follow” people who you are interested in, which lets you get an up-to-the-second update. Let’s say you are addicted to Listio’s reviews of applications. Follow us on Twitter and every time our reviews are published, you get a tweet (the Twitter name for a post) with a link to our stories. As you add more people to your follow list the tweets will come in as they’re posted, all lined up chronologically, like an RSS for everyone you like.
So you may be asking yourself, what can be said in 140 characters? Almost anything that’s immediate, which is most of what the blogosphere is. With microblogging applications, however, your posts are like chats, instant and viewable to the world. Now let’s take a closer look at the platform that has so charmed its users with clean graphics and ease of use.
Twitter begins with a free sign up, and then prompts for contact information from one of the many supported email services. If you’re feeling shy you can skip this step, and if you’re feeling friendly, you can import your contacts or invite by email so that they are automatically entered into your list of friends. The next page is your homepage, where you can post new information or see what other people have to share. Unless you make your page private (through Settings), this will be your public page, your self-introduction to the network. Through the settings you can customize the background, set font colors, or upload an image for your avatar. On the right you’ll see links to the people you like to read and the people that like to read you (”following,” and “followers”), as well as links to your Favorites. In the middle there is a large white box with the question “What are you doing?” Let’s start there.
Beneath the question is a box for your posts. Write whatever you like, including urls into the box and hit enter. As long as the post is less than 140 characters, (you can check the count with the grey number at the top right of the box) it will be posted for any one to see. If you chose to make your posts private, only the people you approve will see your posts. That’s one side of sharing, but finding people is even easier. At the top of the page you’ll see a search field. Enter a topic of your choice… say, Listio, and you’ll see that Listio comes back with a name, location, bio, and recent post. See that grey box that reads “Follow?” Click there and Listio is in your list of users you are Following. Now whenever we update our blog, which is nearly every day, you’ll receive the headline of the item and a link so that you can read the full review.
This brings us to some of the more interesting uses of Twitter. Companies can use Twitter as a tool for public relations, releasing headlines of their latest updates linked to their site. Bloggers can use Twitter, through one of the Twitter tools, to feed their posts to their readers, increasing their visibility. Other companies use Twitter as an informal help desk, fielding questions and comments from the public. All of these uses capitalize on the unique ability of Twitter for speed and response (those quick replies) to make the process an interactive one. Customers and the public don’t simply receive information as they would with an RSS - they reply and forward it, giving the sender feedback as they do.
The disadvantage to Twitter is the same thing that makes everyone love it; it has a simplicity in style and function that makes microblogging uncomplicated, yet does not give you the options to express yourself completely. For example, there are no ways through Twitter to post photographs or group your followers. There is no way to forward tweets, nor can you see a Twitter wide feed to see what’s hot in the network. You can, however, access old posts. Through the Favorites, Archive, and Updates you can see anything you or others have posted.
No matter how you want to use Twitter, be it for keeping up with friends, PR, or as an interactive feed reader, Twitter is an excellent resource for the short, instant blog. You can find Twitter and other microblogging sites with the Listio search microblog.
Next in this series: Spaz: Customizable Twitter Tool
Application: TwitterListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Twitter/
Website: http://www.twitter.com
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Tags: communicate, feeds, microblog, network, social, Twitter
Posted in: Twitter Tools | Respond
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