After one particularly fruitful Google Talk conversation with Lorraine, who was getting ready to start promoting her local AIGA chapter on Twitter (@AIGAKC) but who had no idea how to use Twitter and even less time to play around with it, I realized that there is no really good beginner’s guide to using Twitter (Lorraine now tweets at @LorraR). Sarah (@SarahJoAustin), who is the web development guru at her church, LifePoint in Ozark, Missouri, and who has recently discovered the vast applications of Twitter in the church, also knew that she would need to find or create a useful, easy-to-swallow beginner’s guide to share with her church body.
Sarah and I (@xgravity23) turn into complete tech nerd heads when we get together (physically or over the Internet), so naturally we tossed this idea around. And it became bigger and bigger each time we discussed it in 140-character messages. We started a shared Google Doc and just poured all of our ideas into it. We even gave our project a code name, Hawk, so we could more easily discuss it within Twitter’s limits. And If you’d like all of our guides and tips in one place, download (and share!) our free eBook (huge thanks to Chris/@typografika!)
Today, this very fun collaborative project has come to fruition. We’ve broken it into four sections, which will be posted on both Sarah‘s and my blog. Here’s a preview of what is to come in the series.
- Basic Twitter Functions (tweeting, following, spammers, @ replies, direct messages, and favorites) on SarahJoAustin.com
- Advanced Twitter Functions (retweets, hashtags, shortened URLs, Twitter search, and auto-tweeting RSS feeds) on Linden’s Pensieve
- How to use Twitter on the Web, at your Desk, and on the Go (Twitter.com, SMS and mobile platforms, dedicated web and desktop applications) on SarahJoAustin.com
- Recommended Twitter Tools and Resources (there are all sorts of goodies in this post!) on Linden’s Pensieve
We hope you enjoy learning about how to use Twitter, and even if you’ve already been using Twitter for a while, that you will pick up a few tricks along the way!
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by Fips
29 May 2009 at 12:08
No questions, you covered just about everything in that series I think. The PDF version was just charming, congratulations to all of you for working on that!
Nevertheless, Twitter isn’t for me. Where people compare it to writing a public SMS, I’m still stumped as one of those people who doesn’t have a mobile. And as far as I’m aware it’s not something anyone I really know has an account for (yourselves excluded!) nor something I would get much use out of apart from a little more procrastinating, and I do plenty enough of that. But kudos on the written guide!
by xgravity23
29 May 2009 at 16:58
@Fips: Isn’t the PDF great? Sarah’s very talented husband, Chris, gets all the credit for that!
And I understand if Twitter isn’t for you–it isn’t for everyone. Although if you are wanting to improve your online presence, you can barely ignore the networking power of Twitter. It is a great source of procrastination! Ugh… I have pretty much stopped reading tweets during working time–I only tweet. I do my reading and replying in the evening when I have time. I just get to distracted!
P.S. I have not forgotten the tattoo post… It’s been drafted, but I will probably be getting my second one in the coming months, so I figure I might have more inspiration to finalize it as I get closer to the new ink. :)
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by Twitter Q&A: Hashtags | Linden's Pensieve
28 May 2009 at 14:39
[...] since Sarah (@sarahjoaustin) and I (@xgravity23) published our series on the True Beginner’s Guide to Twitter and the corresponding free eBook, I have been getting [...]
by Fips
02 Apr 2009 at 11:34
Think I’ll be reading these when I get the chance. Twitter is something I apparently have yet to ‘get’!
Brilliant idea for a collaborative project, though.
by xgravity23
23 May 2009 at 21:12
@Fips: Do you have any questions? I think the best way to “get” Twitter is to use it. Just dive in! And it was a very fun collaborative project!
by Lorraine
31 Mar 2009 at 22:45
Ha! Do it! ;-)
by Lorraine
31 Mar 2009 at 19:39
I find it funny that I posted my post about this series before reading your’s. Then when I did read it, I noticed we had posted essentially the same thing. Ha!
by xgravity23
31 Mar 2009 at 22:41
@Lorraine: I know! Not too surprising, I guess: shared experience. :)
I’m going to link to that post, I think. This post doesn’t have quite enough links yet… ;)