VYRALUNIVERSITY

Twitter Basics

WHAT IS TWITTER AND HOW WHAT IS THE LINGO INVOLVED HOW DO I SET UP AN
DOES IT WORK? WITH TWITTER? ACCOUNT?
We will define We will explain the We will explain in
Twitter, including how vocabulary one will detail how to create
it got started, how it encounter when using and customize a new
operates, and how it twitter or referring Twitter account.
is manipulated by its to things on twitter.
users.

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 Vyral University: Twitter Basics

VYRAL MUSIC
Twitter Basics

MICROBLOGGING ON A WHOLE NEW LEVEL...

Twitter has changed the entire landscape of social networking as we know it today. Let’s take a look at the new
social revolution known as “Twitter”.

Twitter is a social networking platform that allows users to

share what they are doing with others in the form of a short
“status update” known as a “tweet”. In a nutshell, Twitter has
made it basically effortless for it’s users to exchange information
in a short message known as a micro-blog. The power of this
platform has been used to increase exposure for musicians and
businesses by connecting with fans on a more personal, intimate A “Tweet”
level. A tweet is a user-created micro-
blog more commonly referred to as a
This platform has been one that is commonly misused, status update. It is a message (up
to 140 characters) that is created
misunderstood, and has become increasingly confusing for the by a Twitter user that can be used
to update the whereabouts of the
average internet user to comprehend. In this article, we will user, news about the user, or other
information that the user wishes to
attempt to explain the basics of twitter, including setting up and share with the Twitter community.

personalizing your own account, and learning the foundations of

the Twitter experience.

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How Microblogging Works...
Microblogging is a new way for people to express ideas, share
content and information, and update their fans/friends about their
MICROBLOGS
current activities and whereabouts. This is accomplished through
the use of a microblogging platform (i.e Twitter).
To give an example of how this translates to real life, imagine
that you are coming home from college for the first time. Before
platforms like Twitter and Facebook were available., you would
simply call all of your friends and let them know that you were
going to be in town for the weekend. With the invention of social
networks such as twitter, you could simply type in a message that
read, “Going to be home for the weekend, anyone who’s in town
should give me a shout so we can catch up.”
Obviously there are many more ways to utilize the powers of
microblogging, but this small example shows how a simple
message could have a large impact without the hassle of a large
amount of time spent notifying everyone about your trip home.
In another example, say you are an artist who just got his first
number 1 single. In the past, you would probably have to
purchase some sort of advertising to let everyone know about
your recent success. Now, you can notify everyone of your fans
and colleagues by simply updating them via Twitter.
Microblogging is in essence a way for you to quickly share
information with people. There are a number of different platforms
in which microblogging has been used, (many times without the
user even aware that they are, in fact, microblogging). Examples
of these include updating your status on Facebook or another
social network, Sending out a mass text message notifying your
fans about a new tour date in their area, and even updating your
Microblogs:
voice mail with a message that lets everyone know you are out of
Microblogs are
the country for the next few days. commonly seen in
The true power of microblogging lies in it’s ability to share forms such as
content rapidly in a format that is widely accepted, and in turn status updates on
Facebook and
widely read. Twitter has brought this power to a mainstream
Myspace, as well as
audience by giving its users a platform to deliver and discover Tumblr and of
content, and by allowing them to share that content with a single course, Twitter.
click of a button.

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TWITTER
ABBREVIATIONS
RT - Retweet or a re-
posting of a message.
DM - Direct Message to a
specific individual(s) from a
user’s followers list.
# - Referred to as a
hashtag, it designates a
particular topic.
@ - Points to a specific
twitter username.
Twitter Bird:
The Twitter bird is
a commonly used
logo to designate
anything related to
Twitter.
Twitter Lingo: Commonly Used Terms
Tweet - A “tweet” is the term used for a message posed
through twitter. Tweets can be up to 140 characters in length.
Following - following refers to the act of “subscribing” to a
particular twitter user so that you can receive their posts.
Followers - followers are the people who have subscribed to
your posts. (it is important to note that you do not have to be
following someone in order to allow them to follow you).
@username - Using the @ symbol followed by the username
of a twitter user allows the person posting to tag certain
messages with specific users. This can be used for many reasons,
such as sharing information to a specific user through a public
message, or in order to credit or refer to another user through your
“tweet”.
DM (Direct Message) - A “DM” is a an acronym for a direct
message. Twitter allows users who wish to send private messages
to do so by choosing to post as a DM to a specific user. (This user
must be following you in order for this to work)
RT (Retweet) - Twitter allows you to re-post anything that you
read from other users by “retweeting” (which we will cover in more
detail later in this article). This is one of the foundations of viral
marketing through Twitter.
Hashtag (#) - Since Twitter does not have a system for
categorizing messages, users have created a way of doing this by
using what is known as a hashtag. By placing a # sign in front of a
topic (ex: #vyralmusic) allowing users to search for messages
related to this topic. Twitter also uses the hashtag system when
determining it’s “Trending Topics”.
Trending Topics - These are a list of the most-mentioned
terms on Twitter at the current time. (This is displayed as a list on
the right sidebar of your Twitter dashboard as well).
Tweetup - a virtual meeting organized on twitter where users
meet up to discuss a particular subject, (many times this is used
when launching a new product, or in our case a new tour or album
release)
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 Twitter Basics: Home Screen

Home Screen: Let’s take a brief look at the Twitter home screen. This will be the first screen you
will encounter when you navigate to the Twitter website.

You can quickly

sign-in to your
twitter account
using the link here.
SEE FIGURE 1 BELOW.

You can use the

search box to find
tweets on any topic.

Twitter If you are wanting to

Displays create a new account,
Popular use the big “sign Up
Topics here: Now” button.
These are
displayed (in
order) by
minute, day,
and week.

The bottom nav bar displays

links to company info,
business related info, and
other corporate pages.

Figure 1:
If you already have an account, you can use the sign-in tab
located in the top right of the homepage. A form will drop
down allowing you to quickly sign-in to your account, as well
as locate a lost username or password.

The “remember me” feature is used if you are planning on

visiting your twitter account frequently, and wish to bypass the
sign-in process by giving Twitter permission to save your log-
in credentials. (this is done by using “cookies” with your
browser).

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 Twitter Basics: Create an account

Step 1: Clicking on the “Sign-Up Now” button on the home screen will take you to this short
form. Filling out this form will create a new account.

Enter your Full name

here.

Choose a username
and enter it here.
Twitter will
automatically check
availability.
This option allows
you to choose
Choose a password whether or not to
and enter it here. allow your account
to be found through
your email.
Enter the email you
wish to associate
with this Twitter
account here.

Once you have read through

the Terms and Conditions, you
can confirm the creation of
your account by clicking the
“Create My Account” button.
This box will allow you
to choose whether or
not to receive email
updates from Twitter.

Step 2: Fill in the Captcha information to confirm that you are human. Once you hit finish your
account will be successfully created.

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 Your Account Dashboard: Overview

Dashboard: Now that we have successfully created a new account, lets take a look at the
dashboard. Here you will be able to post new tweets, view a live feed of the users you are following,
and also update and customize your account settings.

Sections of the Dashboard: Your dashboard is divided into three main sections. The top nav
bar, the sidebar, and what i like to refer to as the action screen (where you can view a feed of the
users you are following and also create a new post).
The top nav bar provides links to
your profile, home page, settings, as
As you are posting, a well as a quick sign-out link.
counter displays the
number of characters
you have left for The top of the
your tweet. sidebar contains
your username
You can and user logo,
post a along with the
new tweet number of
by followers you
entering have and the
it in number of people
this box you are
Once you have finished following. The
typing, click “tweet” to lists you are
post. involved with
are also
Twitter displayed here.
displays a
“feed” of
all the You can use
latest these links
tweets to go to your
from users A search box is provided for home
you are you to quickly search dashboard, as
following twitter posts. well as see
here. any direct
messages,
favorites, or
retweets.
Lists are groups of users
you can create to categorize
your followers/following.

You can view a list of the

latest Trending Topics here.

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Your Account Dashboard: LISTS

Lists: Twitter has created a neat way for you to group users into categories. Lists are used to
aggregate certain users so that you only see the posts of people on that certain list. They can also
be used to share a group of users with other people. For example, you create a list of people you
are following who discuss music marketing. Other people can choose to follow this list so that they
can quickly see all of the marketing users you have collected.

HOW TO CREATE A LIST: Creating a list is simple.....

Step 1: Locate the list section of your

dashboard sidebar. Click on the link “New
List”

Step 2: Name your list, give it a short

description, and choose whether to make it
publicly available, or your own private list.
Once you are finished, click “create list”

note: Your list name cannot start with a

number or symbol.

Step 3: Now that your list is created,

you can view, edit or delete the list by going
back to the List section of your sidebar. You
will notice the list “friends” i created is now
shown in the list section.

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 Your Account Dashboard: LISTS

List Page: Once you create a list, your new list will be given a home page. The URL for your list
is http://www.twitter.com/(yourusername)/(listname)/ . Here is a brief overview of a list page.

The list creator is

displayed here. If this is
You list name your list, options to
and description edit/delete the list will
are shown here. be shown as well.

You can use this search

box to find users you
wish to add to your list.

You can view the

followers/following of
this list here.

Add User to List: Adding a user to your list is simple. Once you have found the person you wish
to add, locate the list button on the right next to the user. A drop-down box will display your lists, as
well as an option to create a new list. Just click on the check-box next to the list you wish to add this
user to, and a green checkmark will signal that you have successfully added this user to the list.

Use the “Add To List”

button next to the user
you wish to add.

Mention a List in a Tweet: You can mention a list in a post in the same way you mention a user.
Using the @username technique, you would refer to a list by typing @(username)/(listname) to refer to a

[9]
 Your Account Dashboard: Account settings
Settings: There are a few ways in which you can alter your account settings, which we will go
through next. You will notice that a box displays at the top of the screen reminding you to confirm
your account. You can do this by checking the email inbox associated with this account, and
clicking the confirmation link provided in the email.

Account Section: The First section in the settings page is the “Account Section” Here is a brief
overview of the different areas of this section.

This is the name associated

with your account. To change
the name, you can click this
link, or use the Profile Tab.

You can adjust your username

here, (which will also change
your profile URL)

You can change the email

associated with your account
here, and also toggle the
option allowing users to search
for you by your email address.

You may change the language

using this drop-down box.

You can adjust the time-zone

associated with your location.

With the wave of new location-

based social networking, Twitter
has added a function allowing
you to add location info to your
tweets, and store that info in
your location history. You can
toggle this option on and off
using the box here.

You can choose to select which

users are allowed to follow you
by choosing this option. If
this is selected, you will be
required to approve each user
who follows you before they
will be granted access to your
tweets.

When you are finished with your

changes, click “Save” to
confirm and save your changes.

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 Your Account Dashboard: Account settings

Password Section: The First section in the settings page is the “Account Section” Here is a
brief overview of the different areas of this section.

You must enter your current

password in order to change
your password from this screen.

Create a new password by typing

it here, and then typing again
to confirm.

Once you are finished, click

“Change” to confirm and save.

Notices Section: This section allows you to choose which email notifications you wish to receive
from Twitter.

You can choose to receive an

email notifying you when you
have an new follower.

You can choose to receive an

email notifying you when you
have a new direct message.

You can subscribe/unsubscribe

to Twitter’s newsletter.

Once you are finished, click

“Save” to confirm changes.

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 Your Account Dashboard: Account settings

Mobile Section: You can use the mobile section to link your phone with your Twitter account.

STEP 1: Enter your Number

The First Step in the process is to enter in

your mobile number and country. Once you
Choose the country have done this, click start to continue.
where your phone
number is located.

Enter your
Mobile number.

Click “Start” STEP 2: Verify Your Phone

to continue.

Your Mobile
Number will
be displayed
here.
The Second Step is to text the code
Twitter provides a
provided to the number provided so that Twitter number for you to text.
can link your phone with your account.
Text the code shown to
the number provided.

STEP 3: Choose Your Settings

The Final Step is to choose your mobile

You can choose to receive updates
from Twitter on your phone
If you choose to turn updates on, you
can designate “quiet hours” here.
settings for receiving updates. Most users
prefer to leave this option off, especially if you
are using a third-party client to access and
update twitter.

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Your Account Dashboard: Account settings

Profile Section: This section allows you to edit your profile information.

Use this box to upload

a custom picture.

You can change the

name associated with
your account here.

You may enter the

location associated
with this account here.

You can provide a link

to the website/blog
associated with your
account here.

You may enter a short

bio about yourself or
your company here.

Once you are finished,

click “Save” to
confirm changes.

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 Your Account Dashboard: Account settings

Design Section: This section allows you to modify the look and design of your twitter profile
page.

Twitter provides a few

premade themes you can
select here.

You can provide your

own background image
by clicking this link.
SEE BELOW.

You can customize your

design colors by
clicking this link.
SEE BELOW.

Change Background Image

You may upload your
own background
image here.
Change Design Colors

Click the box under

the part of your page
You can tile
you wish to modify.
the image by
checking this
box.

Once you are finished, A color selector will

click save changes to appear, allowing you
confirm, or click to choose your color.
cancel to exit without
saving.

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 Your Account Dashboard: Find People
Find People Page: This link can be found in your top right nav bar. This will allow you to
browse people on twitter by searching for them. There are many third-party tools for searching
twitter users, but this is the most basic way to search from your Twitter dashboard. You will notice 4
different sections in the find people page. The first three were covered during the “Create a New
Account” section of this tutorial. The 4th way you can search for people is by using the “Find On
Twitter” feature. Just type in the name of a person/company you wish to locate and hit search to
continue.

Type in your search

term(s) here.

Click “Search”
to start.

Search Results Page:

You may search again by
typing another term.

Twitter allows you to

invite people to join
You can change between twitter by typing in
list and expanded views their email address here.
for your results here.

SEE NEXT PAGE

A list of results
will display here. This will take you
to the “Find
Friends” section of
the “Find People”
page above.

Figure 1:
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Your Account Dashboard: Find People
Find People Page Continued....

Action Buttons:
There are three main buttons provided to you for each user. These are located to the right of
each search result.

1: Follow This User

The first button allows you to choose to follow this user by simply clicking the follow button.

2: List Button
This button allows you to add this person to an existing list, or create a new list.

3: Sharing Tools
This button allows you to mention this person in a post, follow them, block them, or report as
spam.

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TWITTER BASICS
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