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Understand and use Twitter

1) Definition of "Real Time Web"

The services' Web Real Time "in 2009 were the U.S. a wave so strong that social networks had been before with the iconic Facebook .

» ( discours du président Barack Obama, le 16/11/09 en Chine ). Today is service Twitter (and soon Google Wave ) which is on everyone's lips including U.S. President Barack Obama said during his visit to China: "So I'ma big supporter of not restricting Internet use, Internet access, technologies like Twitter Other Information. "( Speech of President Barack Obama, 11/16/2009 in China ).

You can find a definition of "Real Time Web" in the Article 3 of the "Chronicles of Real Time Web" .

2) Twitter: service emblematic of "Real-time web»

The first public service of "Real Time Web" was FriendFeed today bought by Facebook.

Twitter is a service that popularized the services' Web Real Time "and created this (r) evolution. The service is the ability to send free web-based short messages of 140 characters ( tweets in English: chirping).

). Initially, this was the answer to the question "What are you doing?" But in fact you can send the message you want from your Twitter account (or via a mobile or via a compatible player) to those subscribing to your Twitter account (your followers ). Your messages are also posted on the Twitter site, so on the Web. By default, they are viewable by all.

Similarly, you can subscribe to the Twitter accounts of other people (your followings ) and then their messages will be displayed on your page. It should be noted that Twitter is a social network asymmetric unlike Facebook , since there is no obligation to subscribe to Twitter accounts that have subscribed to yours.

The possibility exists to block public view of your messages but this is not the spirit of Twitter, nor a widely used feature.

Twitter authorizing (free so far) all services to connect its functionality and its database via the Twitter API , that spawned the creation of a multitude of Web services based on Twitter and analysis services trends.

So, Twitter is not just a new form of communication and service platform is also a source of instant knowledge of social trends.

3) History Twitter

[Source: Wikipedia History on Twitter ]

Twitter was founded in San Francisco in the start-up Odeo Inc.. founded by Noah Glass and Evan Williams.

The original idea was to allow users to describe what they were doing via SMS. Open to the public July 13, 2006, the first version was called stat.us twittr then, referring to the photo sharing site Flickr and Twitter, its current name.

On 25 October 2006, the assets of the company were acquired by Odeo, Obvious Corp. Then in April 2007, an independent entity is created with the name Twitter, Inc.. Jack Dorsey at its head until October 2008 when Evan Williams will succeed him. The company has 29 employees in February 2009.

4) Subscribe to Twitter

Registration is free to Twitter. Just go to the website Twitter , and complete the registration form. Unlike most sites with registration, the form has very few fields.

Here are some videos that show you how to register at Twitter:

• How to use Twitter
  
• How to register on Twitter
  

5) How to customize his Twitter account

• How to customize your Twitter account (information text)
  
• How to customize your Twitter account (graphic layout)
  
• How to customize your Twitter account (greeting)
  

6) Why use Twitter?

Without entering the debate "waste of time" versus "revolutionary service, here are 3 possible uses of Twitter:

• Contact: send Twitter messages relaying an article you published on your blog (use the service twitterfeed to automate the sending) and increase your chances of being read to create a buzz, get feedback and better to have your item listed on Google.
• Inform: Inform your friends in real time and in general all your followers on what you are about to drive or to think, relaying information which you are a witness or share a resource online. Conversely, read the news of your "friends" on Twitter (your followings ) in real time.
• Search or sure: with tools like Twitter Search you can search for information in all tweets sent to Twitter. It is possible to trace a thought leader, a thread of information (according to a keyword or hashtag ) or be informed in real time of an event or the existence of a crisis.

7) The galaxy of Twitter services

With its open design, Twitter has fostered the creation of a galaxy of online services. Certainly much of the existence of these services that make Twitter a Web service extraordinary.

Read the article 5 of the "Chronicles of Real Time Web": "The services, tools and applications Twitter" .

Twitter Glossary

• ) vous pouvez préciser un ou plusieurs comptes Twitter en écrivant @ suivi du nom du compte Twitter. @: In the body of your messages ( tweets ) you can specify one or more accounts Twitter @ followed by writing the name of the Twitter account. Your message will be sent to all your followers but with special attention given to (x) account (s) that are listed twitter (s). This setting also affects the pre popularity score Twitters accounts listed.
  
  
• DM: You can send direct messages to people you follow and who follow you. These messages are not read by other Twitter accounts, or posted on the Web.
  
  
• Follower person enrolled on Twitter and who subscribes to your account. All messages sent from your account will be addressed and displayed it on his Twitter page.
  
  
• Following: persons on Twitter and you've subscribed to his Twitter account. All messages sent from his account then displayed on your Twitter page.
  
  
• Hashtag: by entering a hashtag (a # followed by a series of letters without spaces) you create a thread from a given subject. In fact, if your hashtag is reflected in various tweets on the same subject, it is possible to find all these messages via the search engine Search Twitter for example.
  
  
• List Twitter: Twitter to your account, you can create lists of topics and allow you to categorize your followings based on the themes of the messages they send on Twitter. By default, your lists are public and can be followed by all.
  
  
• , la règle (non écrite) est de recopier le message et de le faire précéder de RT et du nom de l'émetteur d'origine ( @ suivi du nom du compte Twitter). RT (re-tweet): if you want to send a message to your followers , the rule (unwritten) is to copy the message and be preceded by RT and the name of the original sender ( @ name followed Twitter account).
  
  
• Tweets: Message 140 characters maximum sent to Twitter ("chirp" in French).
  
  
• Twitter: free microblogging service allows you to send short messages of 140 characters ( tweets in English: chirping). Your messages are sent from your Twitter account (or via a mobile or via a compatible player) to those who are registered to your Twitter account (your followers ), but they are also posted on the Twitter site, so on the web. By default, they are viewable by all.
  
  

9) Online Resources on Twitter

To learn more about Twitter, you can read the following documents:

• Twitter on Wikipedia
• Twitter for beginners
• Understanding Twitter
• Making the best part of Twitter (eBook)
Twitter for Dummies
• How to get started with Twitter
• Common Craft video on Twitter (English but you can also choose a version in French) [the same video with subtitles in French is available below]
  
• Search Twitter in Plain Français (YouTube video)
  
• Twitter: How does it work?