How to use Twitter

These days it seems that you can't escape stories about Twitter.  With all the hype and celebrity endorsements, lots of people are asking “how do I use Twitter?”.   

There are plenty of sites out there that will tell you how to use Twitter, but not so many to warn you of the pitfalls.If you take a moment to learn from this list of useful Twitter tips then you'll be Twittering away with the best of them.

DO watch what you say.Unless your updates are protected, anyone can see what you are currently Tweeting.Bear in mind the story of the girl who managed to Tweet her way out of a job because a hiring manager read her thoughts on the position she interviewed for.

DON'T use Twitter for a chat client.No one wants to their screen full of irrelevant Tweets from a conversation that they're forced to eavesdrop on.

DO retweet.  This can be a good way to build up a following of likeminded Twitterers.

DON'T endlessly self promote.Okay, we get it - you have your own blog.  Twitter isn't one way traffic - interact!

DO follow users back, but….

DON'T be offended if people don't always follow you back.  Users with thousands of followers are unlikely to see your Tweet through the noise anyway.

DO be funny, entertaining, informative and creative.

DON’T automatically DM new followers.This is the Twitter equivalent of spam and a faceless “hi – thanks for following” is impersonal and can be off-putting.

Do use it to get help from other people.When you have built up a reasonable following you’ll find it easy to find answers to your questions quickly.

DON’T twit if your message is going to exceed 140 characters.Spreading messages over multiple tweets is just going to confuse and annoy the users following you.

These handy hints should be enough to get you started.  If you are likely to spend a significant proportion of your online time on Twitter then there are plenty of guides on the net telling you how to use Twitter effectively.

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