When I first started blogging I heard a lot about Twitter, but had no clue what it’s purpose served. I’ve done some investigating…allow me to educate:
Twitter is like a mini blog. It is set up kind of like an on line chat room. You can log in and just write a quick blip…like a sentence or two, about what you’re doing, where you’re going, what’s on your mind, a funny thing your kid just said, a random thought…that kind of stuff. It’s also a great way to introduce people to your blog and kind of network. Some people talk about giveaways they’re having or post informational links. It’s different.
Following people means you’re subscribing to their blurbs. Every time they have something to say their little blurb shows up on your screen and you can respond back if you so choose. The more people who follow you, the more popular it is perceived you are and I believe you get some kind of higher Twitter ranking of some sort?? I don’t know.
When you start up an account you sign in with an email address and Twitter slurps that email and tells you which of your contacts also has a Twitter account. When I registered (which took all of 32 seconds) I found there were like 30 people from my email that were on Twitter. Who knew? So I could immediately start interacting with them.
The concept is kind of ridiculous…just a bunch of us out there relaying our every little move or thought to a bunch of other people out there for no apparent reason. Some people are super boring and say things like “I’m eating lasagna…” or “dang. I left my door unlocked and I don’t want to go down and unlock it”. But some people are really funny and it’s a neat way to connect directly to bloggy friends. It’s also a great way to get even MORE updates from a blog you might already be obsessed with. ahem.
Another misconception is that Twitter is for texting…and by “common misconception” I mean that’s what I thought it was about when I didn’t know anything about it. The truth is you CAN do it from your phone, but I am text deficient so I just do it from my computer. Not to mention I’m home all day and it would be pretty silly of me to spend all my time texting from my cell.
I think what I like most about Twitter is that even though it’s a lot like blogging, it feels a little more intimate. I can respond to comments and say my piece way faster with Twitter. I mean, I definitely like blogging MORE, it’s not a replacement…but Twitter is fun. It’s cute. It’s like bloggings little baby. Little babies are cute.
I don’t know. I’m gonna give it a whirl and see what Twitter how I like it…if you happen to check it out we can “follow” each other and be friends.
If you want to catch up with me on Twitter go here or click the little Twitter button in the sidebar!!
Here’s a funny video of LisaNova’s Twitter spoof (caution, some profanity ahead…):
Do you Twitter? Do we hate that word? Twitter.
*ETA*
And Shanna wants to know how to get a little Twitter buttong…If you want a little Twitter button in your sidebar here’s how I got it. I Google Searched “Twitter Icons” on the image setting and scrolled through the pages until I found one I liked. Then I clicked on it to make it bigger…then I right clicked on it and saved it to my computer. Then I went to the “layout” tab of my blog and clicked “add new element” then I clicked the “from my computer” options and went to the file that had the button. After downloading the picture you can add a URL, so I just copied and pasted the URL from the profile of my Twitter page.
Pretty easy actually…you should try it!
Oh and Literal Dan, I’m finding that I’m not nearly as addicted to Twittering as I am to Blogging. Every once in awhile I’ll think of something funny and then put it in, but I’m not just sitting there waiting for updates.
Not yet anyways. I would say my Twitter use is currently at a healthy level. Twitter me Dan.
