3. YES YOU CAN: IT’S A CONVERSATION. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CAN BE SHORT BUT MEANINGFUL. I’M NEW TO THIS – IS THERE A GUIDE FOR PEOPLE NEW TO TWITTER? [61 characters] TRY THIS ONE FROM @theREALwikiman: http://bit.ly/i0uz8w[55 characters]
4. “IT IS JUST PEOPLE SAYING WHAT THEY HAD FOR LUNCH”
5. NO IT ISN’T: IT’S A CONVERSATION. THE PEOPLE WHOSE TWEETS YOU HEAR ABOUT IN THE NEWS (CHARLIE SHEEN, STEPHEN FRY, ASHTON KUCHER, WHOEVER) ARE CELEBRITIES WITH MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS. THEY HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS AND REPLIES TO ENGAGE WITH, SO THEY JUST USE TWITTER TO BROADCAST. FOR THE REST OF US, IT’S MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE. WE USE IT TO TALK TO PEOPLE. CONVERSE, INTERACT, SHARE STUFF.
7. YES YOU DO: IT’S A CONVERSATION. WHO DOESN’T HAVE TIME TO CONVERSE? MAKE TIME FOR IT – IT IS INCREDIBLY USEFUL, YOU GET ACCESS TO IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU WOULDN’T OTHERWISE. PLUS YOU HAVE TIME TO GOOGLE A ZILLION THINGS A DAY – WHY NOT ASK TWITTER THE SAME QUESTIONS, AND GET AN INFORMED RESPONSE FROM A TRUSTED NETWORK OF PEERS?
9. YES THERE IS: IT’S A CONVERSATION. TO MAKE TWITTER WORK FOR YOU, YOU REALLY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT WORKS BEST AS A COMMUNICATION MEDIUM, NOT A BROADCAST MEDIUM. YOU NEED TO FIND A NETWORK OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN TO THE SAME THINGS AS YOU, AND THEN CONVERSE WITH THEM ABOUT THOSE THINGS. IF PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE SAME FIELD AS YOU DO ARE USING TWITTER, YOU NEED TO BE THERE.
11. DOESN’T MATTER: IT’S A CONVERSATION. TWITTER IS THE GREAT LEVELLER – IT PROVIDES A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE AND SHARE IDEAS WITH PEOPLE THEY DON’T KNOW. YOU CAN TEXT YOUR FRIENDS; USE TWITTER TO ENGAGE WITH LEADERS IN YOUR FIELD. SOMEONE ONCE SAID: ON FACEBOOK YOU LIE TO YOUR FRIENDS, ON TWITTER YOU TELL THE TRUTH TO STRANGERS…
13. YES YOU DO: IT’S A CONVERSATION. YOU SAY STUFF. YOUR FOLLOWERS READ IT. SOMETIMES THEY REPLY. YOU READ WHAT YOUR FOLLOWERS WRITE. SOMETIMES YOU REPLY. SOMEONE TWEETS SOMETHING REALLY USEFUL. YOU RETWEET IT SO OTHERS CAN SEE IT. IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE.
14. “TWITTER’S EARLY SUCCESS WAS BORN OF ITS STRONG API AND OPEN APPROACH, ALLOWING DEVELOPERS TO TAKE THE PLATFORM AND CREATE NEW, INNOVATIVE TOOLS – BUT NOW THEY’RE LOCKING IT DOWN”
15. OKAY, YOU HAVE ME THERE. OTHERWISE, THOUGH, ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT TWITTER IS INTERACTIVE, THEN ALL THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE VANITY OF TWEETING, LACK OF VALUE, LACK OF TIME, LACK OF UNDERSTANDING – THEY ALL SLIP AWAY. SO: SIGN UP. http://twitter.com/
16. FOR MORE IDEAS ABOUT INFORMATION, CLICK TO GO TO THEWIKIMAN.ORG. BACKGROUND TEXTURE BY PAREEERICA, CLICK TO GO TO THE CC ORIGINAL ON FLICKR. ALL TWITTER ICONS ARE VIA ICONFINDER, CLICK TO GO THERE NOW. AND OF COURSE I AM ON TWITTER TOO, CLICK TO GO TO MY PROFILE, @theREALwikiman.