Video:Twitter Etiquette Tips

Transcript:Twitter Etiquette Tips

Hi, I’m Havilah Tower with About.com Computing. More and more people are logging onto Twitter, a social networking site in real time. Today I’m going to teach you the rules of the road by teaching you Twitter Etiquette 101.

What Is Twitter?

Twitter is a social media site that helps you stay updated on what is happening in real-time. It also gives you an easy way to share news and updates with your followers. Like any communications tool, there are some general rules about corresponding. Enjoy these seven etiquette tips for helping you navigate on Twitter.

Don't Be a Stranger

1. Create a bio and upload an Avatar pic – people like to know who they are talking to or hearing from. To the best of your ability, be transparent about your role on Twitter so people understand who you are and why you’re there.

Be Nice

2. Real world social rules apply. Even though there is a computer between you and your audience, playing nice goes a long way. Hold the same standards on Twitter as you would in the real world by playing nice.

Learn the Lingo

3. Refer to posts as “tweets”. When referring to your posts, say “I tweeted”, not “I twittered”

Show Your True Colors

4. Be real. The more personalized, authentic and truthful you are, the better you will come off on Twitter. We are moving out of an age where people have been marketed to one too many times so having a semblance of a real personality is key on Twitter.

Don't Automate Everything

5. Don’t auto-tweet your appreciation. If you’re going to thank someone for following you, or anything for that matter, be sincere and truly send them a thank you message but don’t auto-reply a thanks to everyone. It carries little weight and may make you come off as lacking an interest in actively engaging with people on Twitter.

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

6.Give proper credit on retweets. If you retweet, make sure you credit the original Twitter ID. If you shorten the original content to make it fit, don’t change the meaning.

Learn Proper Forms of Communication

7.If @replies go above 3 or 4 tweets, switch to DM (direct messaging). Twitter is great for conversing but it’s not about having an ongoing, long dialogue. If you need to talk directly to someone beyond a few tweets, just do so using the Direct messaging option to correspond one-on-one. One thing to know, you have to be following each other to have access to direct message with one another.

Thanks for watching! I’m Havilah Tower with About.com computing! If you’d like to learn more, visit us on the web at about.com.