It’s the buzzword of the moment -- Twitter.
But unlike other Web sites of the moment, this one has some staying power and if you use it right, it can save you time and keep you informed.
A Pew Internet & American Life Project survey released Feb. 12, 2009 shows that about 11 percent of online adults have used Twitter or a similar "micro-blogging" service, which allow users to post quick, brief messages to each other via a computer or mobile phone.
In May, only 6 percent said they were using Twitter and in November, that number jumped to 9 percent. If you’re one of those who still haven’t jumped on board, here’s a lesson in Twitter 101.
Follow us on Twitter!
News 13 Twitters: http://twitter.com/cfnews13
News 13 Twitter Weather: http://twitter.com/cfnews13_wx
News 13 Twitter Updates On Casey Anthony: http://twitter.com/cfnews13_casey
News 13 Twitter Updates On Space:http://twitter.com/cfnews13_space
News 13 Twitter Updates On Traffic: http://twitter.com/cfnews13traffic
What is twitter?
Twitter is a free, online service that allows you to send and receive short messages.
These messages or “tweets” can come from friends, family, companies, news organizations or community groups -- anyone that you want to “follow.”
All Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters.
How to get started
What you first need to do is go to Twitter.com and set up an account.
Then, go to the “find people” tab. Do a search for things you are interested in.
For example, search for CFNews13 and click follow. Now you can see our news updates we send out.
If you are interested in space news, look for NASA and Spaceflightnow.com -- they are both twittering.
Other news organizations are also on there such as CNN, AP and more.
You can follow all of these organizations -- which means you can see the updates they post.
You might also notice that they may follow you back.
Those are called Followers -- the people who follow you.
If you want to start sending out your own messages, then only the people following you would see them.
However, if you only want to follow others, and don’t want to write anything, that’s up to you. You also have the option to block people so you could have no followers at all.
You can have multiple twitter accounts. For example, you might have a twitter account for your company or business, and another one for personal use.
How to make Twitter work for you
You’ve signed up for the groups you want to follow -- now what?
I couldn’t get into twitter’ing from the twitter.com Web site.
The great thing about Twitter is that there are many FREE applications that let you use it how you like.
Some favorites:
Twhirl:
Twhirl is a desktop widget-like client that uses Adobe Air. This lets you log into multiple twitter accounts at the same time. You can keep up with tweets throughout the day without interrupting what you are working on.
TweetDeck:
TweetDeck is also an Adobe Air desktop application. It also uses features similar to Twhirl, but lets you break down feeds into groups based on interest.
TwitterFox:
TwitterFox is an application for the FireFox browser. Again, you can log into multiple accounts at the same time, and easily send out twitters. It has a helpful popup box that will appear when new tweets arrive. They are small and don’t interfere with what you are doing. The only negative- you have to be in Firefox to see the updates come in- so you might miss something if you are working on something else.
There are also a number of ways to connect twitter to your mobile devices. People can use their cell phones, mobile devices and instant messenger accounts to connect, but that is information for advanced users.
What Do You Want To Know About?
Head over to Search.Twitter.com
This site is a great way to see what people are talking about and find other people who are talking about topics you are interested in.
Pick a search phrase, type it in, and see who’s talking about that.
You’ll also notice something called “Trending Topics.” This is a list of the most popular things people on Twitter are talking about. You can start following those people to keep the conversation going.
Follow us on Twitter!
News 13 Twitters: http://twitter.com/cfnews13
News 13 Twitter Weather:http://twitter.com/cfnews13_wx
News 13 Twitter Updates On Casey Anthony:http://twitter.com/cfnews13_casey