Twitter is a form of social media however it is commonly referred to as a microblogging platform. It was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Noah Glass.
Users of Twitter can post tweets (of under 280 characters) to their profiles and these tweets are publicised to the followers of the user. However, through the use of hashtags, users can reach more audiences and amass more followers. This can also be achieved through your followers retweeting your tweets, allowing their followers to view your tweets and follow you from there. In addition, your tweets can be viewed through the search function when other users search words or phrases within your tweet. Tweets can be just text or tweets can feature both videos and photos, as well as gifs provided by GIPHY and Tenor.
Tweeting is easy. To compose a tweet, find the compose box at the top of your home page and simply write your tweet (you are also able to use up to 4 photos with a tweet or a video/gif) and press the button that says “tweet” or if you’re using the app through a mobile device simply click the tweet button and follow the same steps as before.
In order to access Twitter, users will need an internet connection. Twitter can be accessed through the use of a laptop or PC through a web browser or mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet through an app store – the Twitter app is available on the Apple app store, the Google Play store or the Microsoft app store.
Following somebody on Twitter is simply subscribing to see all of their tweets, retweets and likes and if someone follows you, they are subscribing to view all of your tweets, retweets and likes. Retweeting someone else’s tweet is actively forwarding their tweet to your timeline, allowing your followers to view the tweet. In order to see who you are following, you can click on the button labelled “Following” on your profile. To see who is following you, you can click on the button labelled “Followers” and you can set up push notifications on the app version of Twitter or you can allow for notifications to be sent to your email if you are using the web browser version.
On Twitter, you can also reply to people’s tweets using the button that looks like a speech bubble. This will tag the tweeter in your tweet. This will be a public reply meaning that anyone can see your tweet reply or even reply to your reply. This is different to a direct message as a direct message is not a public message.
You can send a direct message to someone using the envelope icon on both the web browser version as well as the app version of Twitter. Simply just type in the name of the person who you wish to privately message and conduct your message. You can also visit the person’s account and press the message button and directly message them from there.
All in all, Twitter has a very simple user interface and can be a powerful promotional tool when used effectively.
