How to Use Twitter

Twitter is a massive online social network that is right up near the ranks of Facebook. It is a site intended to bring people together through status updates to help them connect and communicate more. Even though you might already know this, you may still not have a clue as to how to use Twitter. At first glance, Twitter seems a little confusing, but after using these tips and practicing, you'll get the hang of it in no time.

Updating Your Status

The most essential feature of Twitter is updating your status so that people who are following you can see what you're up to. There will be more covered on –following” later on. You can say practically anything you want using your status, as long as it is no more than 140 characters long. You can also use your status to –retweet” things that other people have posted, reply to others' tweets, and so on.

Using Hashtags

Learning to use hashtags is another fundamental part of learning how to use Twitter. Hashtags are a way to join your tweets with other similar tweets on one topic. For example, if you're writing a tweet about Britney Spears, you may want to include the Britney Spears hashtag. This would be –#britneyspears” (no quotes). Every day there are even trending hashtags that represent hot topics on Twitter.

Following your Friends and People that Interest You

The other basic part of Twitter is following and being followed by people. Following people causes their tweets to end up in your –news feed” so that you can keep an eye on what is going on in their lives. When someone chooses to follow you, they will begin seeing your tweets in their news feed as well. In some cases, you may have to request to follow a certain tweeter rather than being able to automatically follow them. This is a setting that you can configure in your options.

Twitter's essential feature is updating your status so followers can see what you're up to