What is a tweet, anyway?

By Jessica Cook, Director of Internet Marketing, ADCO

 Part Four in a Series of Five Articles on the Impact and Use of Social Media

I've heard Twitter described in many ways. Many users call it micro-blogging—sharing brief, blog-like messages (text and multimedia) with an online community. Others think of it as a kind of online cocktail party that allows users to drop in and out of conversations freely. Still more users compare it to instant messaging—without the pressure of responding immediately since no one knows when you're online. 

While users think of Twitter in many different ways, non-users seem to rally around one opinion: Twitter is a publishing tool for people who like to hear themselves talk. Of course, that's a misconception.
 

So what is Twitter really?
Twitter centers around a simple concept—users answer one question, "What are you doing?" in 140 characters or less, as often as they want. Answers are called tweets.

Twitter calls itself a "real-time short messaging service," but it's more than that. It's a social network. Although there are few actual social networking features within Twitter (unlike Facebook, which is, arguably, the king of features), users connect, interact, and communicate within the Twittersphere—just like they do on Facebook and LinkedIn.

While LinkedIn focuses on its niche (professional networking), Twitter focuses  on the simplicity of giving people the opportunity to connect with one another and share information in real-time. Users can send messages and see the messages of others through mobile texting, the Web, or third-party applications.

How do people use Twitter?
Unlike Facebook, which is about creating and connecting with a community of friends, Twitter is about information exchange. All day, every day, people are sharing and receiving information. This is how users interact with Twitter—they receive content, and they create content.

The content a user consumes is entirely dependent on whose tweets they choose to receive. Many users choose to receive information from news sources, and with publications like the Wall Street Journal and USA Today sending out their news headlines in tweets, it's easy for users to stay abreast of what's going on in the world by making Twitter their "one-stop-shop" for news.

Other users want to receive information that will help them stay up-to-date with changes in their industry. These users follow the tweets of industry leaders so that they can learn from them. They use Twitter to know what people in their field are reading, watching, and doing.

The content that users create also comes in a wide variety. Because Twitter users are very likely to have blogs, many tweet their posts in an attempt to drive traffic to their sites. Still others use their tweets simply to share links to articles, photos, or videos that they've found (but not necessarily created).

Many users use Twitter like they use any other social networking platform—for life-sharing. Because Twitter centers around short, regular updates that can be made through a mobile device, individuals tweet what they're working on, where they're traveling, and what they're having for lunch.

If you're wondering why people care what others are having for lunch, you aren't alone. Plenty of people think of Twitter as simply a waste of time—since they don't care to know quite so much about other people. But remember, not everyone shares their favorite lunch dish. In fact, plenty of people use Twitter primarily to share and receive useful, relevant information. Since Twitter puts you in control by allowing you to choose whose tweets you want to see, you decide what information you want to consume.

How do businesses and organizations use Twitter?
Businesses and organizations use Twitter primarily in three ways.

First, businesses use Twitter as a public relations or branding tool to increase general awareness of their products and services. Like other social networks, Twitter gives organizations a platform to communicate with customers, and many companies use it to communicate their brand messages, share company news, and drive traffic to their Websites.

Second, businesses use Twitter as a customer service tool. By employing search services, companies can monitor what people are saying about their brands in the Twittersphere, Thus, when a complaint is tweeted, a customer service representative from the company contacts the Twitter user and offers to help resolve the issue in real time. Service-oriented companies like Comcast and GoDaddy are using Twitter in this way to successfully resolve complaints and effectively build customer loyalty.

Third, organizations that are in the business of information-delivery (media outlets, for example) use Twitter to share information. They tweet news headlines and other news they think their followers will find relevant and interesting with the goal of becoming a trusted information source.

Should I join Twitter?
Although I could tell you more, the only way to really know what Twitter is all about is to use it. And I don't mean join for a day and forget about it. To really understand Twitter (and why people think it's so powerful), be prepared to commit to actively engaging with it for 15 to 30 days. That's what it takes to truly get it.

It's incredibly simple to join Twitter. There are no long forms or profiles to fill out, and little information is required to get started. Once you join, you'll have access to explore the Twittersphere.  The majority of users allow the public to see their tweets so look around and see what kind of information is being exchanged.

Once you've joined Twitter, engage with it. Throw yourself into it to determine if it's a useful tool for you. Search for industry leaders you can learn from or community stakeholders you'd like to keep up with. Find and follow people who are sharing information about topics that you care about. Think about the types of content you can share and begin contributing to the knowledge base that is the Twitter community.

Before you start tweeting, you may want to learn the following terms:

  • Follow:  Twitter users follow one another. When you follow someone, you're basically asking to have their tweets fed onto your home page (or mobile phone) for reading.
  • Tweet:  A tweet is the standard message you send out; unless you set privacy restrictions, it is visible to everyone, even people who are not Twitter users. So tweet carefully.
  • @Message:  An "at message" is a message that you send to a specific person but that is visible to people who are following both you and the person you sent it to. This kind of message is used for non-private conversation.
  • Direct Message:  A direct message is a  private message sent another Twitter user. It is only visible to that user.
  • Retweet:  When you come across a tweet you like, you can retweet it to your followers with the letters "RT" before the original users' name, followed by the tweet.
  • Twirl / TweetDeck / Twitteriffic:  These are desktop applications that help some users interact with Twitter more effectively.

Twitter users are typically all over the Internet so consider joining Facebook and LinkedIn as well.

To learn more about Facebook, click here.

More information on using LinkedIn is available here.