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Understanding and using Twitter

1) Definition of "Real Time Web"

Services' Web Real Time "in 2009 were the United States 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 the service Twitter (and soon Google Wave ) that is on everyone's lips including U.S. President Barack Obama said during his trip in China: "So I'ma big supporter of not restricting Internet use, Internet access, Other information technologies like Twitter. "( speech by President Barack Obama, China on 16/11/09 ).

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

2) Twitter: the service is emblematic of "Real Time Web"

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

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

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

Similarly, you can subscribe to 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.

Opportunities exist to block the public display of your messages but not the spirit of Twitter, a feature not widely used.

Twitter allows (free date) services to connect all its features and its database via the Twitter API , it has generated the creation of a multitude of Web services based on Twitter and analysis services of 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 of Twitter

[Source: History of Twitter on Wikipedia ]

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 present name.

On 25 October 2006, the company's assets were acquired by Odeo Obvious Corp. 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. The company has 29 employees in February 2009.

4) Join Twitter

Registration for Twitter is free. Just visit the site Twitter and fill out the registration form. Unlike most sites with registration, the form has few required fields.

Here are some videos that show you how to sign up for Twitter:

• How to use Twitter
  
• How to register on Twitter
  

5) How to customize your Twitter account

• How to customize your Twitter account (textual information)
  
• How to customize your Twitter account (graphic layout)
  
• How to customize your Twitter account (welcome message)
  

6) Why use Twitter?

Without going into the debate "waste of time" versus "revolutionary service", here are 3 potential uses of Twitter:

• Contact: send Twitter messages relaying an article you just post to 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 article 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 witness or share an online resource. Conversely, read the news of your "friends" on Twitter (your followings ) in real time.
• Search and sure: with tools like Twitter Search you can search for information in all the tweets sent on Twitter. It is then possible to follow an opinion leader, a thread of information (using a keyword or hashtag ) or to be informed in real time of an event or the existence of a crisis.

7) The galaxy Service Twitter

With its open model, Twitter has fostered the creation of a galaxy of online services. This is certainly the most part the existence of these services makes Twitter a Web service extraordinary.

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

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 Twitter accounts @ followed by writing the name of the Twitter account. Your message will be sent to your followers but with special attention given to (x) account (s) that are listed Twitter (s). This focus also affects the score of popularity 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: someone on Twitter who subscribes to your account. All messages sent from your account it will be sent and displayed on his Twitter page.
  
  
• Following: person on Twitter and you are subscribed to his Twitter account. All messages sent from his account are displayed on your Twitter page.
  
  
• Hashtag: by placing a hashtag (a # and a set of letters without spaces) you create a thread from a given subject. Indeed, if your hashtag is repeated in various tweets on the same subject, it is possible to find all these messages from the search engine Search Twitter for example.
  
  
• List of Twitter: Twitter to your account, you can create thematic lists allow you to categorize and your followings according to the themes they send messages 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 ( @ followed by the name Twitter account).
  
  
• Tweets: posts 140 characters sent to Twitter ("tweets" in French).
  
  
• Twitter: Free microblogging service to send free 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 published on the website Twitter, so on the Web. By default, they are available to all.
  
  

9) Online Resources on Twitter

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

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