From the Digital Gunslingers presentation, the slide deck for $1 101 - Twitter. The bare-bones basics, made specially to get you started Tweeting.

1. Twitter Basics
140 characters of pure awesomeness
By N ic k A rmst ro ng :: @ImN ic kArmst ro ng
h tt p://w w w.IAmN ic kArmst ro ng.com

2. What is Twitter?
One-to-Many instant messaging
140 character messages or less - called a Tweet
Each user has a username and avatar (picture)
“Follow” users to see their Tweets
Messages appear in the Main Feed (AKA Stream,
Timeline)

3. 5 Reasons Twitter is Useful
1 - Potential for huge Word of Mouth promotion
2 - Potentially improved customer service
3 - Incredibly fast information gathering
4 - Easier Online Reputation Management
5 - Improved Google Rankings
... but - it depends on how you use it!

4. No More Excuses...
Social media is a
participation-based culture.
You have to participate to get
the most value.
But, how much, how often,
and how long you participate
is entirely up to you.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furiousgeorge81/177926979/

5. Only Have 5 Minutes?
Yes, you can have a useful exchange using social
media tools if you only have 5 minutes.
Nobody cares what you had for breakfast.
They care about VALUE you contribute.
Value is subjective.

6. Setting Up Your Account

7. Setting Up Your Account
Go to www.Twitter.com
Click on “Sign up now”
Enter your full name
Enter a descriptive
username
Enter a strong password
Enter your common email
address
Answer the captcha, click
on “Create my account”

8. Sweet!
Okay, now what?

9. Your avatar and username
How many characters you have left (140 is the limit!)
# of people you are following
New tweets since
Your last tweet # of people following you
the page loaded
# of lists you’re featured on The home feed
Mentions
Username and avatar feed
Someone’s username
Click on either to go (this is a mention)
to this person’s profile
Where the Tweet came from The retweet feed
How long ago something was tweeted
Favorite this tweet
(publicly visible!)
“New”
Reply to this tweet (creates a link) retweet
Tweet, of course!
But about what?

10. What’s in a Tweet?
@ signifies the next
word is a username
@’s are used in @
Replies and ReTweets
# signifies the next word
is a hashtag
d and a space, then a
user name sends a
direct message

11. @ Replies
@ Replies
If a Tweet starts with @ - it is an “at reply”.
You can click on an @UserName to go to that
person’s profile.
Whenever your name appears in an @ reply, it
appears in your mentions feed (the menu
option that has @YourUserName)
Example: “@LeoLaporte Hey Leo - caught your
show - it rocks!”
Only my followers (people who follow
@ImNickArmstrong) who also follow
@LeoLaporte will see the tweet.
If you put more than one username, they will
see the tweet too. Example: “@LeoLaporte
@AmberMac - Rock on.

12. Direct Messages
Direct Messages sent to you
are only seen by you.
Direct Messages sent by you
are only seen by the person
you sent it to.
You can send a direct message
to only one person at a time.
You can’t send a direct
message to someone who isn’t
following you.

13. Old-Style ReTweets
ReTweeting is sharing someone
else’s Tweets with your network.
It’s a cool way to show respect
on Twitter!
“RT” and “via” are synonymous
Copy and Paste the text you
want to share, and type RT
@UserName at the beginning or
the end of the Tweet - where
username is the name of the
original author (@TheVanguard
here)

14. Click here
Ron retweeted this to his followers
(even if they’re not following me)
“New” ReTweets
Exposure to Tweeps you don’t know!

15. Hashtags and Searches
When you add # before a word, it
becomes a Hashtag.
Any tweet with that Hashtag in it
appears in the results when you
search for that tag.
Hashtags (and terms) are
searchable on Twitter. If a LOT of
people tweet that hashtag (or
term), it becomes a trending topic
and is listed on Twitter.com and
your sidebar.
You can Google search to see what
a hashtag means.

16. Enter search term here
Searches
Like the CIA, only less scary...

17. Your Home Feed
The Tweets from
everyone you follow
appear here. Your
Tweets will appear
here, too!

18. Your Mentions Feed
This is the
“@YourUserName”
menu item.
Any tweet that has
your @UserName in it
will appear here.

19. When you mouse over
a Tweet, three icons appear.
One is for replying,
one is for “new” RTs
the other is for Favoriting.
Click on the star to favorite.
Your favorites appear
in their own feed.
These are visible to anyone.
You can Favorite Tweets.
Come back to them later, share them, make a
highlight reel - whatever feels right.

20. Lists
Creates a custom
stream of just the
users on the list.
You can be added to a
list without your
permission or
knowledge.
People can follow
your public lists.

21. Create a New List
Click on “New List” on the
sidebar
Give the list a name
Describe the list (helpful for
SEO)
Determine if the list is public or
private
Private lists are only seen by you

22. Follow a List
Find by clicking
on “Lists” from
a person’s
profile.
Follow just like
you’d follow a
person.
Click here to follow

23. Lists you’re on Lists you’ve made or follow
Click here
See Where You’re Listed
Street Cred++

24. What list feeds look like
Click on the list you want to see from your sidebar

25. Basic Info
Use your real name -
you’re easier to find!
Don’t change
usernames often.
People will search for
you using your e-mail
address, so use your
most common one.

26. Basic Info - Part 2
Put your website into the
More Info URL
The One Line Bio should
have specific keywords
you want associated with
you - web designer, for
example.
Use a SPECIFIC location!
City and state. You’ll be
easier to find.

27. Add a Profile Picture
Your smiling face works best!
Try to use the same avatar across all your social media accounts

28. Be Sure To Change
Your Background/Theme!
Try http://tweetygotback.com/

29. Protecting Your Account
Only people you
approve will be able
to see your tweets
Not valuable for SEO
Harder to gain a
following

30. Finding People to Follow
If you know their username, go
right to their page and click on
the “Follow” button.
You can use your existing
networks (Gmail, Yahoo!, and
AOL) to find Twitter friends.
You can also use the Search
function by clicking on “Find
People”.
WeFollow.com, MrTweet.com,
Twitter.Grader.com

31. Managing your Followers
It’s okay to unfollow if you get tired of
someone.
It’s okay to block people you don’t want to
follow you.
Find a spammer? Click “Report @SoAndSo
for spam”!
No notifications are sent when you block,
unfollow or report for spam.
Don’t feel compelled to follow back
everyone who follows you.
Look for the “Verified Account” logo on
celebrities’ profiles. Not there? It’s probably
a fake.

32. Twitter Soft ware
Desktop: TweetDeck and Seesmic
Phone: Tweetie, TwitterBerry
Allows you to organize multiple accounts, see your Home Stream,
Mentions Stream, Favorites, and Direct Messages - and any searches you
create, all in one screen.

33. Twitter Websites
WeFollow.com
People-powered Twitter Yellow Pages
Mr. Tweet (MrTweet.com)
Recommends relevant people
FriendOrFollow.com
Easily see who you’re following that
isn’t following you back.
Twitter.Grader.com
Compare your Twitter account with
others in your area.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carrotcreative/2511539541/

34. Staying Safe
Use a strong password - at least one
upper-case letter, one lower-case letter,
one number, and one symbol.
Don’t click on DM links from people
you don’t know (or that look
suspicious!)
Do not enter your username and
password anywhere but the official
Twitter site. Any 3rd party sites worth
using will use OAUTH. OAUTH is a
safe way to use 3rd party sites without
giving away your username and
password Usually there’s a link on
those sites for “OAUTH” - click this
pop-up will appear:

35. Thank You!
Tweet me @ImNickArmstrong
N ic k Arm st ro ng - @ImN ic kArmst ro ng
h tt p://w w w.IAmN ic kArmst ro ng.com