Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Twitter FAQs


Many of the questions I get about Twitter involve etiquette issues. Today I want to go over some of the basics. If you have a question that doesn’t get addressed be sure to leave a comment and I’ll answer it there.
Which Should I Do, Reply or Retweet?
A REPLY is used when you answer a comment, or thank someone for mentioning you. 
It’s good form to reply to someone who retweets something you said. 
A RETWEET is used when you want to repeat someone else’s Tweet.
It’s poor form to retweet a tweet that mentions you. It’s not an unforgivable error, we’ve all accidentally hit the retweet button instead of reply, just try not to make it a habit.
Is There a Rule about How Often I Should or Shouldn’t Tweet?
Twitter has a 140 character limit for a reason and it’s considered bad form to Tweet 3 or more times right in a row. Doing this is called Hogging the Stream or Hijacking the Stream. When I schedule my tweets I try not to schedule them for closer than ten minute increments.
What’s Up With All Those @ Lists People Tweet?
There are several times you may see this. 
First, it’s polite to thank new followers, and some people group them together in lists. This isn’t a bad thing, if you don’t hog the Twitter stream doing it.
Second, there are certain designations for days of the week. For example, Friday is often designated as #FF. This stand for FOLLOW FRIDAY. It’s a time for people to recommend others as valuable people to follow. I’ve actually found some really cool folks to follow through this. And once again, it’s not a bad thing, if the person doing it doesn’t Hijack the Twitter stream with multiple #FF posts in a row.
Do I have to Follow Everyone Who Follows Me?
No, absolutely not. I try to follow the people I believe have something valuable to say. I DON’T follow those who look like spammers or sketchy accounts. Often times you can tell because they don’t have a picture, only that irritating egg avatar. Another way I check is to look at the description they give for themselves. If they don’t have a description, I’m always skeptical. 
What Does RT, MM, OH, HT Mean?
RT—means RETWEET.
MM—is MUSIC MONDAY, similar to Follow Friday.
OH—is OVERHEARD.
HT—is HEARD THROUGH.
Now it’s your turn. Be sure to post your questions in the comments section. And...
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,

6 comments:

  1. Well Edie, you know my love/hate relationship with Twitter. I guess I'm just enough of a rebel that I don't like the fact that they tell me to shut up so quickly!

    Thanks for helping me grasp the basics...and more. Maybe one day I'll learn to enjoy it. :-)

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  2. OK, I didn't know it was bad form to retweet someone's mention of you. *noted*

    A question: When scheduling your tweets, is it okay to repeat certain tweets? Especially for your own blog? Obviously, you'd want to space them out, but I am just thinking that if you only tweet something once, only a handful of people are seeing it. If you retweet it, though, even at a different time, and people who did see it before see it again, that might not look too good for you.

    Thanks! Love having a trusted resource for these types of questions.

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  3. Vonda, think of their limits as guidelines—for your own good. LOL!
    Lindsay, I think it's fine to schedule multiple tweets about the same thing. It's better if you can reword them, but as long as you're tweeting about someone or something else in between it's a good practice. I have a hard and fast Twitter rule of 5 to 1. For every five tweets about someone else, I get to tweet once about me.
    Thanks for dropping by!
    Blessings, E

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  4. Edie, I love Twitter - even more than Facebook. I have met some amazing people on there and I have found that I can be relational without being consumed. You have taught me much. Thank you.

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  5. Nan, you're so right...and said it so well. "Being relational without being consumed." Thank you!

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  6. How do you know if someone retweets something you posted (so that you can thank them)? I'm really not catching onto Twitter but I do love your info. It helps.

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