Over the past four days, we have discussed the following topics: Twitter – What is it?, How to Get Started and Use it, Definitions and Best Practices, and txt Messages and Twitter.

This post is about a few useful tools to better use twitter.

So, after all this discussion of twitter and how to use it, what is the best way to keep informed of people you follow? Let’s take a look at a few tools.

Twitter.com

The twitter.com website is a great place to update status, but I prefer a few other tools.

Twirl

This application can be downloaded for free at http://www.twhirl.org. It can be  run on Windows and Mac. (I think Linux as well). It has all the features built in like replies, direct messages, managing users, and lookups.

TweetDeck

This application has all the functionality displayed a little different. I like the simplistic design of Twirl, but I like the grouping feature of TweetDeck. It breaks out columns for all tweets, replies, direct messages, and any groups you create. This app can be downloaded free at http://www.tweetdeck.com

What about on Phones or other devices??? Glad you asked… Yesterday I shared about using txt Messaging from phones, but there are a few other nice applications available.

iPhone & iTouch

I use a free application called Twitterrific. It works really well including a feature for using twitpic. I will share about twitpic tomorrow.

Blackberry

My good friend Chris Elrod mentioned that he uses Twitterberry for his Crackberry. Can’t really say if it is good or not, just have to take his word for it!

Windows Mobile

I use to have a Windows Mobile phone but retired it when I got my iPhone. I asked good friend Chris Craft what application he uses on his phone. He recommended Tiny Twitter. Though he did say that there was really not any good ones. Maybe he should write one.

As with any of these apps, you will have to decide which application(s) you like and will use. You can find a few others at http://twitter.com/downloads and a TON OF THEM at http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps.

If you have any applications/tools that you use, I would love to hear about them. Please leave a comment for all to see, so they can try them out too.

Tomorrow’s post will be the final installment of this series (serious this time). Stay tuned…

Over the past three days, we have discuss the following topics: Twitter – What is it?, How to Get Started and Use it, and Definitions and Best Practices.

So, the question of the day is… Can I use txt messaging on my phone to send and receive tweets?

Yes you can!

Twitter allows its users to tweet by using txt messages; both sending & receiving tweets, replies and direct messages.

So, how do I set it up?

1. Login to twitter.com using your credentials.
2. Click Settings link, and then select the Devices tab. (see picture to right)
3. Enter your cell phone number in the box preceded with a “+” and country code. (example: +12125551212)
4. Select the check box to allow twitter to send txt messages to your phone and then click Save.
5. This will send a verification code in a txt message to your phone.
6. When the code arrives on your phone, txt the verification code to 40404 (Twitter).
7. All done.

What other options do I need to be aware of?

After your phone is setup, the device tab will look like the one to the right (my cell number blacked out for obvious reasons).

To use txt messaging to update twitter, send your text messages to 40404. Don’t forget that twitter has a 140 character limit.

Using this screen, you can turn the device updates on and off. ONE BIG SETTING is located on this screen. Notice the check box to turn off updates during these hours. This will automatically turn off the txt updates during the time of the day (or night) you select. This will prevent being awakened by a txt message in the middle of the night because someone tweets at 2:30 AM. (right Dean?)

Twitter allows more than an all or nothing setting for receiving txt messages. It allows filtering by individual followings (is that a word?).

It allows the ability to turn txt messages on and off at a person level. You can find & control this information by clicking on the link to see the people you follow.

Then simply turn device updates “On” for the people you desire to receive txt message updates on.

Don’t forget, standard txt message charges apply through your cell phone carrier. Twitter sending the txt messages does not cost anything. Be careful, if you follow a lot of people and they twitter a lot… the quantity of txt messages can add up quick.

Tomorrow’s post will be the final installment of this series (maybe). Stay tuned…

“Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter…” – Isaiah 38:14a (save your emails, I already know this is not referring to twitter.com)

Over the past two days, we have learned what twitter is and how to use it.

Today, we are going to look at a few best practices. I think it is best to start with a few definitions.

Tweet

A tweet is a post or status update on Twitter

Reply

A reply is when you respond a tweet in reference to another tweet

Example: chrisreeder tweets
http://StupidProgrammer.com is the greatest blog on the web!

Your reply would be:
@chrisreeder, no it’s not: http://ChrisReeder.com is!

Notice the @ to reference the username you are replying to on twitter.

Direct Message

You can send messages private so only you and the recipient can see them. The way you do this is to start the tweet with a “d” followed by the username of the person you are sending the private message.

Example:
d jayson_r Hey man, you got lunch plans?

Notice that on direct messages, the @ sign is not used.

RULE: In order to send a direct message, the person you send the direct message must be following you. If you are following them but they are not following you, it will not work. FYI: You can Reply to anyone.

ReTweet

This is simply tweeting something that someone else tweeted and giving them credit for it.

Examples:
Retweeting @lukefine: at Athens with it dept birthday crew.
or
rt @DanielDulaney: NEW BLOG POST/// Urgent Prayer Request    www.danieldulaney.wordpress.com

Favorites

Favorites allow the ability to mark a tweet with a yellow star so you can find it easy in the future. You can click the favorites link on the right side of twitter to display them.

Following & Followers

Yes… You guess it! This is list of people that you are following and a list of those that are following you.

Let’s say that someone starts following you and you don’t want them to do that. You can block them from being able to follow you. To do this, click on the followers link to see all your followers. Scroll until you find the person.

Then simply click the block button. Then that person will be blocked from following you.

Security

Don’t tweet your phone numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc that you wouldn’t want just anyone in the world to have.

The data on twitter makes up a part of a public timeline. Check it out at http://twitter.com/public_timeline

You can setup your account to not be listed in the public timeline. Will cover in next section.

The Settings section of your account is often overlooked. Let’s take a look at each setting.

Settings: Account Tab

Name: This is important so people can find you on twitter and shows on your twitter profile.

Username: This is how you are known on twitter. This is how people will access your profile, reply to your tweets, etc. Your profile location is also determined by you username (http://twitter.com/yourusername). You can also change your username if you are not happy with your current one. You will not loose any followers; twitter will keep them for ya.

Email: To allow people to find you by searching on email addresses. This address is also used for alerts from twitter.

Time Zone: duh…

More Info URL: Put your blog or website address in this box. It will display on public profile and create a link back to your blog.

One Line Bio: Brief description of you. This will also display on you public profile and be used to allow people to find you on twitter.

Location: It is important to set this to allow people to find you by searching. This piece of information also displays on your profile.

Language: hum… wonder what that does.

Protect my updates: This is the setting I mentioned up in the security section. If you check this box, you will have to approve anyone that desires to follow you. Or another way to look at it; Only people you approve will be able to follow you. If this is checked, you WILL NOT be on the public timeline.

Settings: Password Tab: is used to change your password. BTW: Always use good passwords. Never use stuff like kids names or wife’s birthday. Apply this rule to any online account you own.

Settings: Devices Tab: We will cover this tomorrow.

Settings: Notices Tab

Auto Nudge: This will txt your phone if you have not written a tweet in the past 24 hours.

@ Replies:

• all @replies: see all of the @replies made by people you follow, whether or not you follow the person to whom the reply is directed. 
• @replies to the people I’m following: see @replies from people you follow directed toward other people that you also follow. This is the default setting.
• no @replies: never see any @replies in your timeline, ever

My personal preference is all @replies. If someone mentions me on twitter, regardless if I follow them… I want to know about it.

The next three are very self explanatory.

New Follower Emails: Email when someone starts following me

Direct Text Emails: Email when I receive a new direct message

Email Newsletter: Email with new twitter news.

Settings: Picture

PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!

Update your picture to something other than the one twitter puts by default (see picture to the right). It does not have to be a picture of you. Put a college mascot, church logo, or something else… just not the default one

Settings: Design

A way to make your public twitter profile more attractive. There are a few themes available. You can also change the background image or change your design colors.

Ok, this has turned into a lengthy post!

I know this is not an exhaustive list of best practices but I hope it helps with understanding. For a more complete list of Q&A and commands, visit http://help.twitter.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=26 and http://help.twitter.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=75

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Tomorrow’s post will be the next installment of this series. Stay tuned…

Yesterday we learned about: Twitter – What is it?

Today, we learn how to get started and a little how to use it.

How to sign up in 3 Easy Steps:

1. Browse to http://twitter.com
2. Look for the Get Started—Join! button and click it.

   

3. Fill out the information requested and click the “I accept. Create my account” button. Be sure to pick a good username. This will be how you are known on twitter. You may not be able to get your preferred name, but keep trying.

    

Ok… not what?

It’s simple… Let the world know what you are doing.

1. If not already logged in, visit http://twitter.com and login using the user name and password you entered while signing up. 

    

2. Type what you are doing, thinking, experiencing, etc… in the box under “What are you doing?” and click Update.

   

Now that you know how easy it is to update twitter, let’s see how to follow others. (assuming you are already logged in)

1. At the top of you Twitter page is a link “Find People”. Click it, and it will load a new page with a couple of options.

   

2. As you can see from the picture above, you can search for people using twitter by searching your contacts from Hotmail, Yahoo, GMail, AOL, or MSN. Simply enter your credentials and you will get a list if any of your contacts are already on twitter.
3. Another option is by searching for the name of a friend or location such as Florence, SC. (This feature is temporarily disabled, but hopefully be back soon)

   

Ok, so now what… You found someone on twitter. Now, the hard work is done.

When the profile loads, you will see the word “follow”.

Now, simply click on the Follow button.

From this point on, you will receive updates from that person.

You can see all the updates of those you follow after you login on twitter.com.

I would like to know if use twitter; whether you were already using twitter before this series or because you signed up because of the series. Please leave me a comment on this post with your twitter username (example: http://Twitter.com/chrisreeder)

Tomorrow’s post will be the next installment of this series. Stay tuned…

Well, those who follow this blog have probably seen me mention Twitter a time or two. Well, I wanted to take some time to try my best to explain it.

So… What is Twitter? I thought I would let the twitter world tell us… I posed the question and here are a few of their responses.

@JonathanMoore_ explained it this way

Public Instant messenger chat for the Web through the use of mini-blogging that can be accessed across multiple mediums.

@hydeparkorama said…

Twitter is the sharing of facets of my life real time with those who actually care

@moviepastor well…

This is a PG rated blog so I can’t share what he said.

@davidwike looks at it this way

Twitter keeps me in touch with what is going on in the life of my peeps & allows me to keep them informed via SMS messaging

@michaelharrison states it as…

Sharing life and ideas across the miles via the www.

@kbriankelley says it probably the best…

Blogging meets IM in 140 chars or less for a engaging community experience.

And this video explains it better than I could ever do it…

Can I see an example of the type of information shared on twitter… sure you can:

Visit http://Twitter.com/chrisreeder to see the past couple of days in the life of Chris Reeder.

Tune in tomorrow for the 2nd post in the Twitter series.