HOW TO SPEAK TWITTER TWEET:  A tweet is a short message, under 140 characters.  It’s like a mini-blog.  You can write your own or read the one’s posted by people you FOLLOW.

FOLLOW:  This is sort of like being someone’s friend on Facebook.  Basically it means you want to see their TWEETS.

UNFOLLOW:  What you do if you don’t want to follow someone’s TWEETS anymore.

TWITTER STREAM:  This is the running flow of TWEETS posted by people you follow.

RT: Means “retweet” and indicates that someone thought the original tweet was worth resending out to their own twitter followers. @: This symbol appears in front of a name to form a call sign and a link to the person.  You might see @AleciaHuck if someone RT’d one of my TWEETS.  This symbol can also be used to reply to someone you want to talk to, as in @AleciaHuck I like your profile picture! This would be you telling me directly you like my profile picture.  (Thanks, I have a great photographer.)  You might also reply to several people this way, as in @AleciaHuck I didn’t know you were friends with @MattDollinger (I am, he’s awesome.)

DM:  This stands for “direct message.”  When you send someone a direct message ONLY they can see it so it’s more like a private email.  #: This is a way for everyone to track and speak into a particular conversation.  For example on Fridays, you’ll see a lot of #followfriday with a bunch of @’s behind it.  This is a way of telling other people who you think is cool to follow.  So if you were following me you might see:  #followfriday @RickBakas the inventor of the bacon martini (and you SHOULD follow him by the way.  He also has a bacon smoothie but THAT I cannot vouch for.)

FLITTERING: Flirting via twitter (I made this one up.)

Now that you know some of the basic lingo…

Step 1:  Go to www.twitter.com and sign up for your very own Twitter account. Two tips:  First, use a REAL PICTURE of yourself that isn’t creepy or wierd and hopefully features you smiling.  People like to talk to people they feel they know.  It’s hard to have a conversation with a pink bunny or a logo.  Second, use your real name.  Different people have different ideas about this but your real name makes you easier to find.  Whatever you chose, it’s an astronomically BAD idea to have your name be “FOLLOWME2MAKEMONEY.” 

Step 2:  Follow some people. Twitter has a nifty feature that will search thru your online contacts to find people you know.  When you see someone you want to follow, you just click the follow button below their picture.  Then their tweets will show up in your tweet stream.  You can also go to “Find People” and enter specific names of cool people who might be on Twitter. Great people to follow @JimmyFallon, @unmarketing who always gives a lot of nice tips and things to think about w/out being pushy, @AleciaHuck cuz I’m awesome, @MattDollinger cuz he’s awesome too, @mashable for brilliant stuff, @DarthVader for fun, @ev cuz he’s a big deal, @BryanBrinkman cuz Jimmy Fallon said so on.  There’s no magic formula.  Follow people you like.

Step 3:  Sign up on www.tweetdeck.com This is another super easy to use service that will divid your tweet stream so it’s easier to follow and post tweets.  Don’t freak out, it’s super easy to use and you’ll really like it.  Just sign up and let it rip.

Step 4:  Tweet A Bit, Read A Bit Remember, Twitter is basically like a giant cocktail party.  The same rules of ettiquite apply here as in other places.  Don’t talk about only 1 thing (especially if it’s you.)  Don’t try to sell people stuff when they don’t even know you.  Be polite.  Be generous, RT (retweet) other people’s tweets when they’re good or helpful.  It’s o.k. to bring up your business or offers but don’t bore or annoy people with them.  In all, HAVE FUN, BE YOURSELF, TRY NOT TO SUCK.

Step 5:  Get Yourself a Sweet Background on www.twitbacks.com Twitbacks is one of a whole slew of nifty little sites that can help you enhance your twitter existence.  It’s also easy to use and will make you look like a Twitter Ninja even if you only have 7 followers and one of them is your mom.    Again, this is not an exhaustive list but instead is designed to get you started.  Other people will have other opinions about the best this or that, and that’s cool.  In the beginning, it’s about beginning.  Now it’s time to begin.  Send me a DM when you get on-line, I’ll say hi back.