Twitter Help

A Brief TWITTER GLOSSARY

2009-04-05T15:57:00.001-05:00

At Reply, or "@reply": A direct tweet sent to another Twitter user.

Dweet: Tweet sent while drunk

Hash Tag: The "#" sign. Allows Twitter users to group tweets by topic, making it easier to search particular conversations using Twitter Search.

Link: Including a URL in your tweet.

MisTweet: A tweet one later regrets.

ReTweet: To repost something that's already in the Twitter stream. Usually preceeded by "RT" and "@[username]," to give credit to the original poster.

SnapTweet: A tweet that includes a photo taken with a cell phone, uploaded to Flickr and posted to Twitter via snaptweet.com.

Twittcrastination: Procrastination brought on by Twitter use.

Twadd: To add someone as a friend or follower.

Twaigslist/Twebay: To sell something on Twitter.

Tweeter/Twitterer: Someone who uses Twitter.

TwinkedIn: Inviting friends made on Twitter to connect on LinkedIn.

Twittectomy: To remove someone from the list of people you follow.

Twitterati: The A-list twitterers everyone follows.

Twitterfly: Twitter's version of a social butterfly, marked by the extreme use of @ signs.

Twitterlooing: Twittering from the bathroom.

Twitterpated: Overwhelmed with Twitter messages.

Twittfeinated, Twigged Out, Twired: To be so hyped up on twittering that you cannot sleep.

Data: Twitter Fan Wiki

Wealth in a real-time world is measured right now!

2009-03-12T08:39:00.001-05:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The world’s billionaires got poor last year. The twittersphere guarantees that this trend will continue forever. Real-time information moving at the speed of light means that change can move faster than time. Its called the future. As a 21st century economy of thousands of producers and unlimited choices unfolds the “old money” will find that the value of their “assets” will decrease rapidly. It’s a sharing and liking economy driven by a need to squeeze out as much of the waste of the past. The Now Web enables rapid change and feedback flows. Innovation is also as rapid because the solutions are developed and designed in real-time so there’s little waste. Its like an open source project. Only the stuff that works matters. Capital like lifestreaming wants to be alive and vibrant. That’s why the current rich are getting poorer. There were farmers who were very rich, factory owners and the information technology moguls who dominated the end of the 20th Century. The new economy is about rapid solutions and fast change, the “richest” people won’t be the folks that amass capital, but the folks that can change capital to solutions rapidly enough to be interesting. Wealth in a real-time world is measured not by what you did yesterday but by what you are doing right now!

World's Billionaires 2009

by Luisa Kroll, Matthew Miller, and Tatiana Serafin
Wednesday, March 11, 2009provided by

It's been a tough year for the richest people in the world. Last year there were 1,125 billionaires. This year there are just 793 people rich enough to make our list.

The world has become a wealth wasteland.

More from Forbes.com:
• Billionaire Bachelors and Bachelorettes
• Women Billionaires
• Celebrity Billionaires

Click here for the full list of the World's Billionaires

Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the World's Billionaires, a 30% decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year's ranking, 373 fell off the list--355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died. There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

The world's richest are also a lot poorer. Their collective net worth is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from a year ago. Their average net worth fell 23% to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Bill Gates lost $18 billion but regained his title as the world's richest man. Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) fell nearly 50% in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helú also lost $25 billion and dropped one spot to No. 3.

It was hard to avoid the carnage, whether you were in stocks, commodities, real estate or technology. Even people running profitable businesses were hammered by frozen credit markets, weak consumer spending or declining currencies.

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year's biggest gainer. India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion--76% of his fortune--as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, all but one of whom are poorer than a year ago. Another 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India's stock market tumbled 44% in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18% against the dollar. It is no longer the top spot in Asia for billionaires, ceding that title to China, which has 28.

Russia became the epicenter of the world's commodities bust, dropping 55 billionaires--two-thirds of its 2008 crop. Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrialist from the resource-rich Ural mountain region, who lost $5 billion as shares of his pipe producer, TMK, sank 84%. Also gone is Vasily Anisimov, father of Moscow's Paris Hilton, Anna Anisimova, who lost $3.2 billion as the value of his Metalloinvest Holding, one of Russia's largest ore mining and processing firms, fell along with his real estate holdings.

Twelve months ago Moscow overtook New York as the billionaire capital of the world, with 74 tycoons to New York's 71. Today there are 27 in Moscow and 55 in New York.

After slipping in recent years, the U.S. is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth. Americans account for 44% of the money and 45% of the list's slots, up seven and three percentage points from last year, respectively. Still, it has 110 fewer billionaires than a year ago.

Those with ties to Wall Street were particularly hard hit. Former head of AIG (AIG) Maurice (Hank) Greenberg saw his $1.9 billion fortune nearly wiped out after the insurance behemoth had to be bailed out by the U.S. government. Today Greenberg is worth less than $100 million. Former Citigroup (C) Chairman Sandy Weill also falls from the ranks.

Last year there were 39 American billionaire hedge fund managers; this year there are 28. Twelve American private equity tycoons dropped out of the billionaire ranks.
Blackstone Group's (BX) Stephen Schwarzman, who lost $4 billion, and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts' Henry Kravis, who lost $2.5 billion, retain their billionaire status despite their weaker fortunes.

Worldwide, 80 of the 355 drop-offs from last year's list had fortunes derived from finance or investments.

While 656 billionaires lost money in the past year, 44 added to their fortunes. Those who made money did so by catering to budget-conscious consumers (discount retailer Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai), predicting the crash (investor John Paulson) or cashing out in the nick of time (Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberte).

So is there anywhere one can still make a fortune these days? The 38 newcomers offer a few clues. Among the more notable new billionaires are Mexican Joaquín Guzmán Loera, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S.; Wang Chuanfu of China, whose BYD Co. began selling electric cars in December, and American John Paul Dejoria, who got the world clean with his Paul Mitchell shampoos and sloppy with his Patrón Tequila.

The Top 20 Richest People in the World

1. William Gates III

Net Worth: $40 billion

Source: Microsoft/U.S.

Age: 53

Marital Status: Married, three children

Software visionary regains title as the world's richest man despite losing $18 billion in the past 12 months.
Stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft last summer to devote his talents and riches to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Organization's assets were $30 billion in January; annual letter lauds endowment manager Michael Larson for limiting last year's losses to 20%.
Gates decided to increase donations in 2009 to $3.8 billion, up 15% from 2008.
Dedicated to fighting hunger in developing countries, improving education in America's high schools and developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.
Appointed Microsoft Office veteran Jeffrey Raikes chief executive of Gates Foundation in September. Gates remains Microsoft chairman.
Sells shares each quarter, redeploys proceeds via investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of fortune invested outside Microsoft.
Stock down 45% in past 12 months.
"Creative capitalist" wants companies to match profit making with doing good.

from tag twitter

Why We Often Write About Twitter And Will Continue To Do So

(more..)

The Hive Mind: Find everything with Twitter

2009-03-07T11:23:00.001-06:00

Chris Allison (@Chris_Allison) CMO of Centsports. just posted an article titled Welcome to the Hive Mind; Learn How to Search Twitter. He discusses searching on Twitter but what’s more interesting is the title. The closest thing we have to a collective consciousness is Twitter. That’s what makes searching Twitter so exciting. You can find things that are happening and those that happened. Because its real time, you can also find people who are near you or who were near you.

Being able to do advanced twitter search’s is required to tap into this Hive mind and Twitter search Operators are the language that you can use to talk to the Hive. Use with Hashtags and the Minus sign to filter, Use Near to find local tweets and connect with people and use Since and Until to watch time.

Here is a question that you can ask on Twitter? Who in NYC just tweeted. The search to use is near:NYC within:1mi

Show tweets near:

Within: 15101525501005001000 miles

:NYC within:1mi

1 more results since you started searching. Refresh to see them.

tweetncoffer: @wcgallego I have too many other shows to watch. I'm just saying it would be a nice alt to Leno. Oh, but Conan is Coming soon...what to do

iPhone: 40.764229,-73.986778

1 minute ago from Tweetie · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation
Roz2010: http://twitpic.com/1wnpe - mommy taking my son to run errands, he scored some new shoes. converse high tops.

iPhone: 40.759254,-73.992653

4 minutes ago from TwitPic · Reply · View Tweet
Roz2010: http://twitpic.com/1wnp1 - mommy taking my son to run errands, he scored some new shoes. converse high tops.

iPhone: 40.759254,-73.992653

4 minutes ago from TwitPic · Reply · View Tweet
ESco09: @NoTTsTheManaGer lmao!

iPhone: 40.757511,-73.976707

5 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation
jadedid: On the train http://twitpic.com/1wnmk

iPhone: 40.753464,-73.998169

6 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet
tweetncoffer: Any deals on Austin street in #foresthillsNY? Tweet back with the deets!

iPhone: 40.764229,-73.986778

6 minutes ago from Tweetie · Reply · View Tweet
tweetncoffer: I didn't even make it 5 minutes watching Fallon before I fell asleep. That show is on too late for me.

iPhone: 40.764229,-73.986778

10 minutes ago from Tweetie · Reply · View Tweet
ACEofthePACK: Listen to Pray For Me - Joe Budden.. He is Definitely one of the best doing it..

iPhone: 40.753952,-73.976837

12 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet
silverph: @ChicMom at least you have a choice. 

iPhone: 40.754971,-73.988190

13 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation
robbmonn: Pizzatown is the best. http://twitpic.com/1wn94

iPhone: 40.758334,-73.988064

16 minutes ago from Tweetie · Reply · View Tweet
mandalatv: It sure knows how to snow out here.

iPhone: 40.753413,-73.990066

19 minutes ago from TwitterFox · Reply · View Tweet
silverph: If I charge for every tech advice I give to friends and other people, I'd be rich by now.

iPhone: 40.754971,-73.988190

26 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet
silverph: @kchohensee somone tweeted that 765t was disappointing. Any problems encountered?

iPhone: 40.754971,-73.988190

29 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet
ESco09: @recession_proof when don't u let the tiger out the cage. That shit been roaming the street since 03 LOL

iPhone: 40.757511,-73.976707

32 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation
silverph: @technical_itch disappointing?? Why? I'm about to buy one today.

iPhone: 40.754971,-73.988190

33 minutes ago from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet

Advanced Search

Some more examples:

twitter search
Finds tweets containing both "twitter" and "search". This is the default operator.

"happy hour"
Finds tweets containing the exact phrase "happy hour".

love OR hate
Finds tweets containing either "love" or "hate" (or both).

beer -root
Finds tweets containing "beer" but not "root".

#haiku
Finds tweets containing the hashtag "haiku".

from:alexiskold
Finds tweets sent from person "alexiskold".

to:techcrunch
Finds tweets sent to person "techcrunch".

@mashable
Finds tweets referencing person "mashable".

"happy hour" near:"san francisco"
Finds tweets containing the exact phrase "happy hour" and sent near "san francisco".

near:NYC within:15mi
Finds tweets sent within 15 miles of "NYC".

superhero since:2009-03-06
Finds tweets containing "superhero" and sent since date "2009-03-06" (year-month-day).

ftw until:2009-03-06
Finds tweets containing "ftw" and sent up to date "2009-03-06".

movie -scary :)
Finds tweets containing "movie", but not "scary", and with a positive attitude.

flight :(
Finds tweets containing "flight" and with a negative attitude.

traffic ?
Finds tweets containing "traffic" and asking a question.

hilarious filter:links
Finds tweets containing "hilarious" and linking to URLs.

news source:twitterfeed
Finds tweets containing "news" and entered via TwitterFeed

As an aside, Google is a hive mind too, but their data is often collected as a side effect of user action, whereas the majority of Twitter’s “thoughts” are genuinely created and intentionally produced- carrying on. ……

Putting It All Together:

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about what you can do with Twitter search. Here is an example of putting it all together using #inauguration, near:collegestation , since:2009-01-20, until:2009-01-20.

You can see the results here.

Note: Twitter’s servers went all crazy eyed when I did this search near Washington DC, my guess is they’re just overloaded. I went ahead and submitted a note via their help form so hopefully they’ll look into it. Either way, the power of the search remains the same; it’s only a matter of Twitter getting their servers more prepared for larger searches; when they do, you’ll be ready.

Happy searching, welcome to the hive mind.

see Welcome to the Hive Mind; Learn How to Search Twitter.

Search Twitter and Google –The Now and then web

2009-03-04T07:26:00.001-06:00

Top 10 Twitter Search Results interlaced with Google search results. Check out my Greasemonkey script that Shows 10 results from Twitter on Google search pages.

The script is located at http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/43553

Top 10 Twitter Search Results with Google search

By Tweet Feeds — Last update a few seconds ago — Installed 2 times.

Search Twitter and Google –The Now and then web

2009-03-04T07:20:00.001-06:00

Top 10 Twitter Search Results interlaced with Google search results. Check out my Greasemonkey script that Shows 10 results from Twitter on Google search pages.

The script is located at http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/43553

Top 10 Twitter Search Results with Google search

By Tweet Feeds — Last update a few seconds ago — Installed 2 times.

A list of Twitter tips

2009-03-03T20:34:00.001-06:00

Another long list of Twitter tips.

twitter tips -

Book Promo 101 - Promotional Articles and Tips: Top 5 Twitter Tips...

Twitter Tips for your MLM Business | MLM SPOT

twitter tips -

TwiTsMAG.COM :: twitter twitter tips :: CouponTweet.com searches ...

twitter tips -

Twitter - Tips For Building Your Customer Base | SMALL BUSINESS CEO

The Utlimate Resource of Twitter Tips, Mashups, Widgets & News ...

Ten Top Twitter Tips from February

14 Advanced Twitter Tips | Start a Non Profit | Ocean Grand

My Top 10 Twitter Tips « justinflitter.com

Twitter Tips: Where to Find Power in the Airport

Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter Tips for Artists

Twitter — The Ultimate ...

The Landlord Law Blog: Twitter Tips

TECHFLOCK: Twitter Tips: Finding a job with Twitter

Omniture: Industry Insights » Blog Archive » A few more ...

Twitter Tips: How to Use Twitter to Job Hunt - Computerworld ...

Twitter Tips: How to Use Twitter to Job Hunt | The Industry Standard

Twitter Tips: How to Use Twitter to Job Hunt - CIO.com - Business ...

GeekPicks: Twitter Tips for Artists

Mashable gives 10 Twitter Tips for Artists | Between 10 and 5

Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter tips for Artists « Natasha’s Art Candy

Book Promo 101 - Promotional Articles and Tips: Top 5 Twitter Tips...

Twitter Tips for your MLM Business | MLM SPOT

TwiTsMAG.COM :: twitter twitter tips :: CouponTweet.com searches ...

Twitter - Tips For Building Your Customer Base | SMALL BUSINESS CEO

TwiTsMAG.COM :: twitter how to twitter tips :: Twitter Primer by ...

Twitter Tips - Want To Improve Your Authority

The Utlimate Resource of Twitter Tips, Mashups, Widgets & News ...

Ten Top Twitter Tips from February

Real Estate Blog - Twitter Tips From Mashable

14 Advanced Twitter Tips | Start a Non Profit | Ocean Grand

Twitter Tips « Milenaregos’s Blog

My Top 10 Twitter Tips « justinflitter.com

Twitter Tips: Where to Find Power in the Airport

Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter Tips for Artists

How to Attract and Influence People on Twitter — The Ultimate ...

The Landlord Law Blog: Twitter Tips

TECHFLOCK: Twitter Tips: Finding a job with Twitter

Omniture: Industry Insights » Blog Archive » A few more ...

Twitter Tips: How to Use Twitter to Job Hunt - Computerworld ...

GeekPicks: Twitter Tips for Artists

Mashable gives 10 Twitter Tips for Artists | Between 10 and 5

Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter tips for Artists « Natasha’s Art Candy

Top Twitter Tools: What Twitter tools do you use?

2009-03-03T18:36:00.001-06:00

What Twitter tools do you use? The Top Twitter Tools according to Twitter are:

Widgets by Twitter
Twhirl by Seesmic
Twitterrific by IconFactory
TweetDeck by Iain Dodsworth
Twitter Widget by WidSets
Opera Widget by Opera
Twitter Gadget by Google
Twitterrific by IconFactory
PocketTweets by PocketTweets
Spaz by Ed Finkler
Blogo by Brainjuice
Digsby by dotSyntax

This are the listed on the official Twitter Downloads page. You can also check out Twitter Fan Wiki for a complete list of all Twitter applications. What Twitter tools do you use?

Desktop apps
1. Windows
2. Mac
3. Linux
4. Multi Platform
5. Second Life
6. Other
Web Apps
Mobile apps

Useful Twitter Tools

2009-03-03T18:17:00.001-06:00

There are lots of great Twitter tools available. What tools do you use?

The article titled Twitter tips - tools for your tweets by Dolores Parker covers the most basic tools that you can use with Twitter.

I also use TweetDeck and Twirl. What Twitter tools do you use?

Twitter Tools

Widgets by Twitter
Twhirl by Seesmic
Twitterrific by IconFactory

Twitter Gadget by Google
Twitterrific by IconFactory
PocketTweets by PocketTweets

TweetDeck by Iain Dodsworth
Twitter Widget by WidSets
Opera Widget by Opera

Spaz by Ed Finkler
Blogo by Brainjuice
Digsby by dotSyntax

EmailTwitter allows you to post Twitter updates and retrieve your Twitter timeline via your cellular phone or other e-mail enabled mobile device

Twittervision A real-time geographic visualization of posts to Twitter. A poetic time waster of sorts.

Twitterholic Lists the top 100 Twitter users based on the number of their followers.

Twitterific - Free desktop application for Mac users

Twitteroo - Desktop application for Windows users
Twitbin An extension in your Firefox browser.

Power Twitter:- Nice Firefox add-in from 30 Boxes, which allows you to add photos from Flickr and your YouTube videos directly in your tweets. It also unwinds the tiny URL's.

Twitter tips - tools for your tweets

by Dolores Parker May 10th 2007

You are reading this post about Twitter. That's what you would answer to Twitter's simple question, "What are you doing?", which is the entire premise of Twitter's existence. Getting people to answer in 140 characters or less, by IM or logging onto Twitter.com, what it is they are doing at that particular moment. Big stuff, right?
Constant stream of consciousness chatter is the lifeforce of Twitter. And this constant feed of the bright and banal is turning a lot of people into Twitter addicts. What makes this so? It could be the sheer ease of use to Twitter. You don't have to construct an entire blog post or for that matter, even a full sentence. Just a thought, a word, an impulse to share and you can Tweet (or post something on Twitter).
To Tweet or not to Tweet
Warning: if you're the compulsive type, you may want to move onto the next post and stop your habit before you even have a chance to start it. (We're not making this up. According to Alexa, Twitter's user reach has increased 526% in the last three months). Now, for those of you who aren't the addictive type or who like to throw all caution to the wind, let's investigate what awaits you in the world of Twitter.

Twitter
Here's where you start by creating an account, user name, password, profile, etc. Add a fun picture and invite some friends to join, or grab some users from the Twitter page as your friends. A popular friend is Darth Vader who is still searching for Luke and posting about life on the dark side. One of his tweets described the inhumanity of a pressure suit after a grande burrito lunch.

You can post tweets by IM, (AIM, Jabber or GTalk), on the Twitter site, or mobile text (SMS) on your phone. Note: If you post by IM, you will not receive phone alerts. To post by mobile, type in 40404 which is a short code to allow you to interact with Twitter.
Twitter is a free service, however, depending on your mobile plan, there may be text charges with your new Twitter activity. You may want to get an unlimited plan or use EmailTwitter (see below), which allows you to avoid those pesky SMS fees.
Commands
There are certain commands, such as, Get - gets recent updates from all your friends, Off or On -turns updates on or off, and Help - which will send a list of commands to get you going. Off will obviously be your friend when you are on deadline and can't afford to procrastinate for much longer.
In Twitter, there is a difference between Friends and Followers. When you add someone as a Friend, you will follow them by default (that is receive all their tweets). However, you can change this situation by clicking leave from their web page (in the actions box) or texting leave + usernamefrom your phone or IM.
Example: Leave Darth Vader - this command would keep Darth Vader as your friend, however, his messages about Luke would not follow you everywhere.
Followers are people who receive their Twitter updates on your phone or IM, as well as the web.
@username - allows you to publicly respond to a tweet and references the conversation so others can follow. Below is Scoble's twitter page. It shows a public response tweet to "spin" with an "in reply to spin" tag so people besides "spin" know what he's referring to.

Twitter Badge
If you have a blog or website you can post a widget that streams your tweets on your site.

The Twitter Fan Wiki has all the news and tools to help you get your Twitter going, as well as, great mash-ups for the most expert Twitterers.

is an easy way for people to send Twitter messages about your blog post or website. When visitors to your website click on the TwitThis button or link, it takes the URL of the webpage and creates a shorter URL using TinyURL. Then visitors can send this shortened URL and a description of the web page to all of their friends on Twitter.
EmailTwitter
allows you to post Twitter updates and retrieve your Twitter timeline via your cellular phone or other e-mail enabled mobile device, without incurring SMS fees. On the downside, you will have to input your username and password for each tweet, however, you can register at the site and do away with this inconvenience.

Twittervision
A real-time geographic visualization of posts to Twitter. A poetic time waster of sorts.

Twitterholic
Lists the top 100 Twitter users based on the number of their followers.

Twitterific
Free desktop application for Mac users - allows you to send and receive tweets without being on the Twitter site and takes up small real estate on the desktop. From the Iconfactory, it has the clean user interface you have come to expect on a Mac. Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later, Twitter account

Twitteroo
Desktop application for Windows users - allows you to send and receive tweets without being on the site. From Rareedge.com, requires Windows 2000/XP/Vista and the .NET Framework 2.0

Twitbin
An extension in your Firefox browser, it allows you to post tweets within the browser and receive tweets as well.
Power Twitter
Nice Firefox add-in from 30 Boxes, which allows you to add photos from Flickr and your YouTube videos directly in your tweets. It also unwinds the tiny URL's.

We've listed lots of tweet tools to get you started on Twitter, or perhaps enhance your Twitter experience, if you've already begun.

Tags: Aim, darth vader, DarthVader, emailtwitter, Gtalk, iconfactory, Jabber, power twitter, PowerTwitter,rareedge.com, scoble, twit this, twitbin, twiterrific, twitter, twitter badge, twitter commands, twitter fan wiki,TwitterBadge, TwitterCommands, TwitterFanWiki, twitterholic, twitteroo, twittervision, TwitThis

Twitter tips updated in real-time.

2009-03-03T17:40:00.001-06:00

Top Twitter Tips

2009-03-03T17:37:00.001-06:00

There are quite a few articles online about Twitter tips. The best that i have come across are the ones that are brief and specific yet memorable. So here are some nice places to find Twitter Tips. The home of Twitter Tips is of course TwiTip. Its interesting and useful but sometimes wordy. PC World’s Twitter Tips: How to Use Twitter to Job Hunt is pretty useless and ProBloggers 35 Twitter Tips from 35 Twitter Users is too long but has a few good tips because there are so many contributors. My favorite is Ten Top Twitter Tips. Below are Twitter tips updated in real-time.

Ten Top Twitter Tips

I’ve been Tweeting (making posts on Twitter) for some time now, both for personal learning/enjoyment and to engage in community conversation on behalf of several clients.

Twitter is a micro-blogging service, allowing global users to send little 140-character messages out to “Followers,” exchanging tidbits of conversation and potentially exposing that conversation to a larger grid.

Here are some hands-on tips to help you get started on Twitter, or add some insights if you’re already there. To really understand this, reg for Twitter and toggle between your profile page and this post…but you’ll get the general idea by just reading it.

1. Play with a friend. To get to know Twitter a bit, encourage a friend or two to sign on when you do. Then play. Post Tweets, poke around, get the feeling for how it works.

2. Meet your neighbors. There are a few ways to do this…

Use the “Search” box (just right of big Twitter logo; top of page) and key in topics/tags that interest you. When names show up, check the profile, and if it feels like an appropriate connection, press “Follow” beneath the profile pic.

If you find a profile you like on Twitter, and you “Follow” them, you have access to a mosaic of the people they follow (the pictures in the column toward the right of the Twitter page). Hover over those pics to see names; click on them to see profiles. Again, if there’s affinity, you can choose to follow.

Increasingly, corporate and individual Tweet-ers are putting their Twitter references up on their blogs and Web pages. Keep an eye out for these “Follow me!” prompts and click through.

Watch your Facebook (and other social network) friend statuses. If if reads “(Name) is twittering:“ then that person is using Twitter. Click through to their name, scan their profile for the Twitter application, and follow. Or just search for them on Twitter (but note: many people use a “handle” on Twitter that differs from their real name—I’m “ chep2m ”—so you don’t always get a direct hit).

Remember that as you “Follow” people the larger Twitter community will have access to you through the “Twit Grid,” so follow where you want to be found. And use discretion. Follow only when there is some sort of click; build slowly and you’ll find the right people.

3. Crack the code. Two simple Twitter tools to start with:

The “at sign” (this guy: “ @ “). Use it when you want to send a public message (called a “reply”) to a specific person. For example, if you sent “@chep2m : testing Twitter” it would reach me (even if I don’t follow you) AND it would show up in my “Replies” tab (near the top of your profile page…see it? Be sure to check this whenever you sign in to Twitter; it’s where people send replies or public messages specifically to you. (Note: if you send a reply message, make sure that you don’t add punctuation right after the name. “ @cheptum “ will reach me. “ @cheptum: “ (note colon) will not.

Direct messages. The letter “ d “ allows you to send a direct, private message to anyone you follow who also follows you. Access these direct messages through the narrow column to the right of your Twitter profile, following the phrase “Direct Messages.” Note that this will only work for mutual followers (when both parties follow each other). Practice this with one of your Twitter friends.

4. Read the Twitter blog. Just book an hour and do it. And check back now and again. It feels like the people at Twitter can’t keep up with all of the noise and growth (love that problem) but they bring some good info together here. It’s worth a wander; enjoy…subscribe if you like it.

5. Keep a list of Twitter enhancements, or bookmark mine (coming soon). The list is growing every day; some of them are quite useful. If you come up with a new one, add it to the list.

6. Make noise beyond the Twittosphere. Only way to build a following is for people to know you’re there. Add your Twitter address to your email sig, your online profiles, even your business cards. Add a Twitter RSS feed to your Web page or Blog (details in my Business Twitter Tips). Here’s how I added a Twitter “friend stream” to my WordPress blog.

7. Tweet early, Tweet often. Show up. Post Tweets. Ask questions. Join conversations about things that interest you. Comment (using the “ @ “, of course) on smart things your Twitter friends say. Say “thanks!” when others share good info. Just engage in the whole Twitter thing and you will figure each other out.

8. Go mobile. Tons of Twitter apps for the iPhone and Blackberry… and beyond. Set your preferences to dial up/down on what actually hits your phone (almost nothing hits mine) but send updates even when you’re remote. I use PocketTweets but Twitter mobile clients abound.

9. Don’t be a stranger. Say hi on the weekends. Tweet in the evening. Bring a bit of your self into your Tweeting, even if you’re using it primarily for business connections and learning. You check in with your colleagues about their outside lives and interests, right? Same applies to Twitter.

10. Enjoy. Twitter delivers a cool world of conversation, chat, social currency, and great information to one fun, active place. Work and play with it. Twitter is a cool landmark in the growing social ecosystem and I believe it has an ongoing part to play in the growing business conversation that all of are a part of. Have fun!

One more thing. Eleven is such a random number, but I had to share one more: useTweetburner if you are posting URLs in Tweets. It shortens them (remember: 140 characters max) and makes them trackable, plus you can post to your Twitter account directly from the Tweetburner window. Be sure to add a bit of (con)text before you post the URL. Try it…easy.

Want more? Read Tara Hunt’s excellent post on Twitter and these good insights from WebGuild.

Stay tuned. I’ll do a Top Ten Twitter Tips for businesses very soon.

Links to Twitter Tips.

Best Twitter Tips from February

2009-03-03T16:48:00.001-06:00

Image via CrunchBase

You have to read DARREN ROWSE’s Twitter tips from Feb. He covers everything from following etiquette to branding.

Ten Top Twitter Tips from February

by DARREN ROWSE on MARCH 1, 2009

in OTHER TWITTER TIPS

It has been another fun month during February here on Twitip with some great contributions from some fantastic contributors.

Here’s a quick wrap up of the top 10 posts of the month as ranked by the amount of times that they were viewed:

Learn how to contribute a Twitter Tip for TwiTip.

from tag twitter

Why We Often Write About Twitter And Will Continue To Do So

from tag Twitter

(more..)

Twitter Following and Update Limits

2009-03-03T10:50:00.001-06:00

Officially the Following and Update Limits for Twitter are:

1,000 total updates per day, on any and all devices (web, mobile web, phone, API, etc. )

1,000 total direct messages per day, on any and all devices

100 API requests per hour

Following limits are different for everyone, and is based on a ratio that changes as the account changes. If you hit a follow limit, you must balance your follower/following ratio in order to follow more people- basically, you can't follow 50,000 people if only 23 people follow you.

Why does Twitter have limits?

Twitter limits alleviate some of the strain on the invisible part of Twitter, which prevents error pages and down time on the visible part. For the sake of reliability (fewer robots and whales) we've placed limits on actions like following, API requests per hour, and number of updates per day. This doesn't restrain reasonable usage, and will not affect most people. Although the limits are a recent addition to Twitter, we've always been about limits, starting with 140 characters per update. We embrace the idea that constraint inspires creativity.

What are the limits?

We're starting with a few limits based on various parameters, and we'll be adding more as time goes on. We reveal some limits only when you reach them, and tell you about others in advance. Twitter currently applies limits to any person who reaches:

1,000 total updates per day, on any and all devices (web, mobile web, phone, API, etc. )
1,000 total direct messages per day, on any and all devices
100 API requests per hour

We've also placed limits on the number of people you can follow. The number is different for everyone, and is based on a ratio that changes as the account changes. If you hit a follow limit, you must balance your follower/following ratio in order to follow more people- basically, you can't follow 50,000 people if only 23 people follow you. Based on current behavior in the Twitter community, we've concluded that this is both fair and reasonable.

What if I hit a limit?

People using multiple API clients at once may see the per hour API request limit, as usual. (You can request whitelisting if your app can't function with limits.) Aside from that, most people will not be affected. If you do reach a limit, we'll let you know with a handy error message letting you know which limit you've hit. With the exception of the follow limit, all limits are time based, so you'll be able to try again in 24 hours. If you have problems with limits, visit our troubleshooting page for more information.

Comments

AllanGoesDMB

Some of it you say here is rubbish - I follow 191, and is followed by 198, and I just met the LIMIT, when I tried to follow one, that just had started following me... Hmmmmmmmmmmm... Could there be a malfunction in your programming?

Feb-09 2009 21:13.

sturg58

I have so many emails of people following me that I can't count the pages; yet when I try to click from email to site and add follow: am lucky if I can add 1 it has been this way for days.... Some these people will be really neat to chat with and want them to know I want to chat or share similiar likes, concerns and such but It is really getting flustrating since I am following the email that have came to me tell me they are following me! So what do I do to make it work or fix what ever is going on! I am confused and fairly new to internet things as this.

I have been with myspace for years and keep adding to them and now am on several others I have just started like facebook, and fanbox... I never had a problem adding someone else on their.... if I found people on a group and wanted to add them to me then it worked... now I have added some and am stunded cause add doesn't work and doesn't tell me anything after following an email.... I have had some come back saying no longer on and such!

I tried to leave a comment or message for someone and when I pushed send it came back to many tweets to try again... That was one on an email following me I wanted to add but couldn't who had information about Vit B6 being made into a drug and not going to have out ..... she had the web site to find the information and wanted to thank her since I use B 6 for muscle spasms.!

So what do I do or can I do???? I am trying to teach other older people how to use the site... looks bad when it don't work for me! I have lots of friends who I have told to come to twitter... we have been on facebook and chatting and wanted to do the same here? but not if you can't add each other... I don't want to make people mad for not getting back to some... the emails have been here for two months and this has been happening... just never took the time to figure out where to go to ask for H E L P !

Thanks for you attention and help....

Linda

Feb-14 2009 11:52.

jonlyles

What is a reasonable ratio of following/followers? I have 1,555 followers, and am following 2,000 so my ratio is 77.75%. Am I really a red flag for Twitter?

Feb-16 2009 09:32.

dmorelandphotog

I have 2001 followers and had 800 people following - now i'm losing followers because i can't follow back and i can't follow some people that i would love to maintain contact with....how is this ratio determined if it's different for everyone and why can't it just be turned off? Isn't the purpose of social networks to allow you to be social? If someone finds someone else uninteresting then allow that person to unfollow the other, but this limit thing is crazy.

Feb-17 2009 18:49.

druiven

i follow only 15 and have 15 followers, but i hit the limit???, are other spamming with my user name? I recieved e-mail of unknow people who want to follow me, and well i do not think i am that interesting. So do others recieve e-mails from some kind of program that i am follwing them without me knowing it? so i hit the Limit.

Feb-19 2009 04:48.

WritingDad

Finding it odd that I'm running up against the follow limit here. I'm following 48 and have only 40 followers. I have several new followers recently and at least one who I *was* following but the system doesn't want to let me follow any of them back. Difficulty here.

Feb-20 2009 11:06.

nathanlindorff

I am having the same problem as WritingDad. I currently follow 15, and have 6 followers, and I have eventually worked out that I have reached the limit. 2 people I followed have also dropped off and cannot refollow. The ticket I initially raised is 33842.

Feb-20 2009 15:09.

BobBabcockNow

The staff running this board really needs to get a life! I got blocked for a week because I found a bunch of listings of people/organizations I'm interested in? I haven't been able to find any specific rule and there was no warning that this could be a problem resulting in the account suspension - until it was suspended. Gimmee a break!

Mar-01 2009 23:43.

Cachceebusiness

Twitter, come on guys! You created a social network, but i cant approve people who want to follow me? I understand if I am just out there clicking oneveryone... but what about those who request to be part of my social network, AND I AGREE>? You need to fix this. Get on the ball, before another company does. Thanks.

Mar-02 2009 07:59.

Questions about and for Twitter?

2009-03-03T10:45:00.001-06:00

Twitter employees and tens of thousands of customers are ready to listen and respond. (see Twitter employees)

What is Get Satisfaction?

Get Satisfaction is a great site that people use to help each other figure out problems on Twitter. They call is "people powered customer service" because people are helping are there, helping each other out. If you're looking for help using Twitter from other Twitter users, this is a great resource.

Is there a place where I can find out if there are problems with Twitter?

Yes. Check the Twitter Status Blog, or follow @twitter. We'll also have a known issues page in the Support home page soon.

People from Twitter11 employees are helping tens of thousands of customers.

Official Reps

EMPLOYEE

Biz Stone

Co-founder

EMPLOYEE

crystal

Twitter Support

EMPLOYEE

Jason Goldman

Official Rep

EMPLOYEE

Mark

Official Rep

EMPLOYEE

Sean

Official Rep

Other Employees

EMPLOYEE

Alex Payne

Engineer

EMPLOYEE

caroline

Employee

EMPLOYEE

Del

Employee

EMPLOYEE

Jack

CEO

EMPLOYEE

John Adams

Twitter Operations

EMPLOYEE

Matt

Employee

@Replies?

2009-03-03T10:39:00.001-06:00

@Replies are public messages sent to anyone.

An @reply is a public message sent from one person to another, distinguished from normal updates by the @username prefix. If a message begins with @username, we collect it as a reply and post it in the replies tab. Reply publicly to any update on Twitter by using the @username format. Following is not necessary to reply to someone, and all of your replies are visible in the replies tab of your home page sidebar.

What are @Replies?

What are Direct Messages?

Direct messages are private messages sent from one Twitter person to another. You can only send a direct message to a person who follows you. When you receive a direct message, we save it in your direct message inbox, accessible from the Direct Message tab in the sidebar in your home page. Set your email preferences to notify you by mail if you have a new message.

What is the difference between an @reply and a direct message?

An @reply is a public message sent regardless of follow-ship that anyone can view. A direct message can only be sent by someone you follow, and is a private message that only the author and recipient can view.

Why wont my feed reader take my @reply RSS feed?

The @replies RSS feed requires authentication; most web-based feed readers don't support authentication. If yours doesn't, you wont be able to see your @replies via rss feed. Try the feed in a desktop feed reader, which usually supports authentication.

from tag twitter

Why We Often Write About Twitter And Will Continue To Do So

from tag Twitter

(more..)

Official Twitter Text Commands

2009-03-03T10:35:00.001-06:00

The Text commands that drive the pulse of a lifestream…

@username + message
directs a twitter at another person, and causes your twitter to save in their "replies" tab.
Example: @meangrape I love that song too!
D username + message
sends a person a private message that goes to their device, and saves in their web archive.
Example: d krissy want to pick a Jamba Juice for me while you're there?
WHOIS username
retrieves the profile information for any public user on Twitter.
Example: whois jack
GET username
retrieves the latest Twitter update posted by the person.
Example: get goldman
NUDGE username
reminds a friend to update by asking what they're doing on your behalf.
Example: nudge biz
FAV username
marks a person's last twitter as a favorite. (hint: reply to any update with FAV to mark it as a favorite if you're receiving it in real time)
Example: fav al3x

STATSthis command returns your number of followers, how many people you're following, and which words you're tracking.
INVITE phone number
will send an SMS invite to a friend's mobile phone.
Example: Invite 415 555 1212

The Official Twitter Text Commands

The Official Twitter Commands

Did you know: you can perform certain actions, like following or marking a friend's update as a favorite, by using the designated Twitter commands? Use the commands listed below from your phone, the web update box, or your favorite third party application.

Turning Twitter off and on: device notifications

ON: turns ALL phone notifications on.
OFF: turns ALL phone notifications off.
STOP, QUIT: stops all messages to your phone immediately

ON username: turns on notifications for a specific person on your phone. For example, ON alissa.
OFF username: turns off notifications for a specific person on your phone. For example, OFF blaine.

FOLLOW username: this command allows you to start receiving notifications for a specific person on your phone. Example: follow jeremy
LEAVE username: this command allows you to stop receiving notifications for a specific person on your phone. Example: leave benfu

Fun Stuff: friends, favorites, and stats!

There's more to Twitter than OFF and ON! Use the commands below to send private messages, mark updates as favorites, or even remind someone to update their Twitter page if you're wondering what they're doing!

@username + message
directs a twitter at another person, and causes your twitter to save in their "replies" tab.
Example: @meangrape I love that song too!
D username + message
sends a person a private message that goes to their device, and saves in their web archive.
Example: d krissy want to pick a Jamba Juice for me while you're there?
WHOIS username
retrieves the profile information for any public user on Twitter.
Example: whois jack
GET username
retrieves the latest Twitter update posted by the person.
Example: get goldman
NUDGE username
reminds a friend to update by asking what they're doing on your behalf.
Example: nudge biz
FAV username
marks a person's last twitter as a favorite. (hint: reply to any update with FAV to mark it as a favorite if you're receiving it in real time)
Example: fav al3x

STATSthis command returns your number of followers, how many people you're following, and which words you're tracking.
INVITE phone number
will send an SMS invite to a friend's mobile phone.
Example: Invite 415 555 1212

Noteworthy Facts

using on/off username from your phone only stops notifications to the place the command comes from; you'll still collect a person's updates on the web.
using follow/leave username from your phone is the same as using on/off username
following someone from a phone for the first time will also cause you to follow them on the web
there is no way to stop following a person on the web without visiting their profile and removing them. The off, leave, stop, and quit commands will only disable updates for the device(s) from which they were sent.
you don't have to use ON/OFF username from the phone, you can also set individual notifcations from a person's profile page, or check your following page and manage all phone notification settings there.

Questions? Ask us!

Using Twitter with your phone

2009-03-03T10:30:00.001-06:00

Its inevitable that you will need to Use Twitter with your phone. See the Twitter Phone FAQ

Using Twitter with your phone

Twitter is a new kind of technology that uses multiple methods of communication to help keep you in touch with people you care about. Using Twitter with your phone will change the feel of Twitter for you. Not only can you receive text messages when people you've specified update, you can also send updates to Twitter while you're on the go, even if you don't receive messages from others. These are some of the most frequently asked questions about using Twitter with your mobile phone.

Do I have to use my phone to use Twitter?

Nope. You can send twitter updates from the Twitter website or from our mobile website, m.twitter.com. You can also check out the apps page to see other popular ways people use Twitter.

Text Messages? Sounds expensive. How much will Twitter cost me?

Twitter charges you nothing, but how much it costs to use Twitter with text messaging depends on your text messaging plan. Standard text messaging rates (such as international text messaging fees) do apply. Consult your service provider to ensure that your text plan covers your Twitter usage. If you're using our international number, give your provider the Twitter phone number you'll be using to see if you'll incur extra charges. If you're using Twitter from outside of the US, please consult your carrier, as every provider has a different policy.

When I give you my number, you wont charge my phone bill?

No. Twitter doesn't charge your phone bill. Sending and receiving messages to Twitter is like sending to a regular number. Usage charges for text messaging are applied by your carrier and depend on your SMS plan. Some people pay a per-message charge of ten cents or more. Some people have an allotted number of text messages monthly. Some (lucky!) people have unlimited text plans. We must caution: Twitter can become highly addictive, so make sure that your texting habits and your text plan are compatible.

How does Twitter use my phone number?

Think of Twitter as a single contact who sends all of the messages from your friends. Twitter uses your number to send web updates to your phone in text message format. Your number is private; Twitter never reveals phone number information.

What are the Twitter phone numbers?

We currently have two short codes and three long codes for those who twitter internationally.

In the US, use 40404.
In Canada, use 21212.
In Sweden, use: +46 737 494222
In Germany, use +49 17 6888 50505
Anywhere else, use +44 7624 801423

For all people using international numbers: once your phone is verified, you'll be able to send your updates to Twitter, but you will not be able to receive text updates from Twitter. Find out more on the Twitter Blog.

What is a short code?

Short codes are numbers made specifically for SMS (text) messages. Twitter uses various short codes to send and receive your updates. Sending a text message to a short code is just like sending a text message to a phone number. Short codes are made specifically for text messaging, so you can't send an email to a short code, or call a short code. Charges for using our short codes are the same as standard text messaging rates to full-length phone numbers. Long codes are also text only, but they're the length of a standard phone number instead of being shortened.

What is Twitter's international number?

If you're not in the US, Canada, Germany, or Sweden use the international long code instead: +44 7624 801423. If you're using this number you will be able to send messages to Twitter, but you will not be able to receive them.

A word of caution for those using the international number: some carriers don't charge an international fee to use the Twitter international number. Others consider it an international number and charge from .15 to .25 per message, even within the UK. Remember to check your phone plan for international rates; be aware that even in the UK, standard messaging rates vary by carrier, and do apply.

How do I add my phone to Twitter?

Add your phone to your account in your Twitter settings. Once you've added your phone to Twitter, just send the verification code in a text message to the Twitter phone number assigned to you in your settings page. Once your phone is verified, send Twitter a text message and we'll post it to your profile page and send it to your followers. (Find out more cool things you can do with your phone here!)

How do I add my international number?

Twitter accesses international numbers from the US. This means that it's important to include '+' and your country code with your complete number in order for us to recognize it properly. Our international number is a good example; it's formatted like this: +44 7624 801423. Note: when adding a country code to your number in some countries, you must drop the leading zero.

Can I use the same phone number on multiple accounts?

No. You can only use one phone number for one account.

If I change my phone number, can I change it on Twitter?

Yes. To add a new number, just delete your current number from the settings page, and add your new number. (You'll need to verify your new phone number before using it.)

How long can my updates be?

We have a 140 character limit on Twitter updates. If your update is longer than that, the full update will post to the web where it can be viewed in its entirety. We'll still send the truncated version: only the first 140 characters will go to phones.

How do I send direct messages from my phone?

Send a direct message to anyone on Twitter using the direct message comman, d + username, like this: d krissymessage goes here

Make sure to use the user name (found in the profile URL) and not the real name, or it will post to the public timeline, or go to someone else!

Can I update Twitter from my phone but not receive other people's updates?

Yes. As long as you've verified your phone, you can send updates to Twitter even if all notifications are off. Make sure to set your updates to OFF on the web, or send OFF from your phone. People using +44 7624 801423 will always be able to send messages, but will not be able to receive them.

Can I turn updates on for some people and off for others?

Yes. Set up text preferences for people you follow from the drop down 'following' box on the profile page.

How do I turn a specific person's updates on or off from my phone?

To get a person's updates on your phone, use the commands FOLLOW or ON + username, like this: follow caroline, on caroline

To turn updates off again, send LEAVE or OFF + username, like this. leave crystal, off crystal

You can change notification preferences from the profile pages of everyone you follow.

How do I know if my friends are getting my updates on their phones?

You don't. But, if they are on your followers list, they will always receive your updates on the web.

How do I turn ALL twitter messages off or on from my phone?

To stop getting Twitter updates, send OFF, STOP, or QUIT from your phone at anytime. We will send you a final message confirming that your phone notifications are off. Sending ON will turn them back on.

Is there a setting for receiving only @replies on my phone?

Nope. But if we get enough feature requests, we may just add it for you. Send us one!

Is there a setting for receiving only direct messages on my phone?

Yep! You can set this up in your device settings page. When you send OFF once, Twitter messages will turn off but direct messages will be on. When you send OFF twice, everything will be off. You can also set up email preferences for direct message notifications.

If I turn Twitter off, will I still get Direct Messages?

Yes. You will receive direct messages if you send OFF only once; to disable direct messages, send OFF twice or change the settings in the device settings page. You will always receive a copy of your message on your web archive, and in your email if you set it up in your preferences.

What's a Nudge?

A nudge is a friendly reminder to update Twitter. Friends can nudge you (and you them) by sending nudge + username to Twitter, like this: nudge mhegge

Can I favorite updates from my phone?

Yes. if you receive an update that you'd like to mark as favorite, reply to the update with FAV + username, like this:fav delbius

I'm getting a lot of updates. How can I get fewer?

Stop getting updates from some friends without stopping all updates from all friends. The easiest way to do this is to change text preferences on the web from the person's profile page. You can also use the leave or OFF command. Text OFF + username or LEAVE + username to stop getting messages from a specific person, like this:leave bs

Make sure you're using the username, and not just the screen name. (Find the user name by going to the person's profile and looking in the URL at top.)

Why is my account suspended?

2009-03-03T10:27:00.001-06:00

If your Twitter account is suspended, check the Help page to see what you can do.

Why is my account suspended?

Submitted Nov 13, 2008 in Trouble Shooting

Twitter suspends account for suspicious activity. Suspended accounts are researched by our Spam/Abuse or Support team. One or more of these things may cause an account to be suspended:

Technical abuse of the Twitter Service

unauthorized scripting of the site
unauthorized serial account creation
unauthorized mass account creation

Spam investigation

Publishing, posting or sending unsolicited email, junk mail, “spam”, chain letters, promotions, or advertisements for products or services (except where expressly permitted) is against the Terms of Service. Commercial or promotional use of Twitter is allowed, and we do welcome feed-based accounts. Many companies create valuable, opt-in relationships with people on Twitter. It's important to us, however, that the Twitter community receives only the content they'd like to receive. The following behaviors may cause an account to get flagged for spam investigation and/or suspension:

user name squatting
account contains links pointing to phishing sites, malware, or other harmful material
an account is identified as belonging to a group of spam accounts

a large number of people block the profile in question
a large number of people write in with spam complaints for a specific profile
aggressive following (a large number of people are followed in a short amount of time)
extremely imbalanced follower/following ratio

updates consist of duplicate or repeating links and/or text
updates consist mainly of links and not personal updates
links in updates disguise the real content of a link given in a misleading or deceptive way.
unauthorized "re-tweets" (poaching and posting other users' updates) passed off as original content*

If one or more the items listed above is true for any Twitter profile, we may suspend the account for abuse investigation and hide the contents from the public view in order to remove the cause of complaint. If you think you've been wrongly suspended, please send an email to suspended@twitter.com with the user name and reason why the account shouldn't be suspended.

Terms of Service violations

As stated in the Terms of Service, Twitter reserves the right to immediately terminate accounts without further notice if the account is in violation of the Terms of Service. If your account is suspended however, we're most likely researching an issue with the account. If this is the case, you'll most likely have heard from our Support team. The following problems fall under Terms of Service violations:

Copyright Infringement (To file a complaint, see our copyright infringement procedure here.)
Impersonation
Violence and/or specific threats
Unlawful use
Privacy infringement
Trademark Infringement

Send all non-copyright Terms of Service complaints to terms@twitter.com.

Contact terms@twitter.com for questions or complaints regarding the Terms of Service. Contactsuspended@twitter.com if your account has been suspended.

The Official Twitter Help and Support Page

2009-03-03T10:24:00.001-06:00

Twitters Official Help Resources

Twitter's help resources are always accessible in the sidebar of your Support home page. We've got the basics but we're adding more! If there is something you'd like to see that's not here yet, log in and submit a feature request! We'd love to hear your feedback about making help as helpful as possible.

Getting Started New to Twitter? Check out our Getting Started articles to get a feel for the basics.
How-To Information If you're not sure how to do something, find it here! If you can't find it, try using the search box.
Known Issues Find out what problems or bugs affect Twitter people today
Trouble Shooting Check out common problems, and how to resolve them
Terms of Service and Rules and Policies Use our Rules and Policies section to learn about what Twitter does about Spam, Impersonation, Trademark, Copyright and other Terms of Service or Rules violations, and find out what you need to do to resolve a violation.
Get Satisfaction: to get help from other people who use Twitter, use the Get Satisfaction widget in the sidebar to get help from other people who use Twitter. (Note: Twitter does not officially support Get Satisfaction. If you need help from Twitter, you can find it here.)

What's New?

Important Announcements: When you click Help from the Twitter website, you'll be taken to your Twitter Support home page. The home page will always have the latest announcements and updates from the Support team.

Ticket Accessibility and History: Twitter's new Support home gives you access to your requests in one place. You can submit a new request, check on existing requests, and even see closed requests. All of your support requests are linked to your Twitter account, so we have a working account history for every person who has submitted a request for help. This means we always know what's going on with your account, and you only need to submit one request for help.

Support Groups: Twitter Support is divided into groups to resolve requests as quickly as possible. Our Terms of Service, Spam group, and Support groups provide specialized support for each category of requests to give you fast answers when you need them.

Twitter Terms of Service and Rules Policies: To clear up confusion about what's ok and not ok on Twitter, we've introduced the Twitter Rules. Finding out what to do in cases of Terms of Service or Spam violations just got easier. Check it out!

from http://help.twitter.com/portal

The Essential Twitter Tools

2009-03-03T10:20:00.001-06:00

Based on jowyang’ My Essential Twitter Tools. What are your essential Twitter Tools?

Do you use a Twitter Client.I mainly use the browser to see what’s going .Is Twhirl the most popular client?
For Search I use Summize
For Conversations: I also use Quotably
For Aggregation: I also use Friendfeed
For Tagging Content: I use the hashag “#” to add metadata around any tweet, this becomes more important as we rate and tag content. Here’s a helpful primer.
For Location Based:I use Twitterlocal filter finds tweets based upon a users profile location. If you’ve a local business, this could become useful.

For Alerts: I also use Google Alerts

which ones do you use, or are there others you recommend?

jowyang on Twitter -- see My Essential Twitter Tools

Many conversations are shifting to Twitter, this post proves it (network with others, by adding those in the comments). Twitter is extensible, and many third-party developers are creating tools around the simple data being exported for a variety of unique applications.

If you’re using Twitter for personal, corporate use, or to manage the brand of a client, you’ll need the right tools to find and engage the discussions.

Here are the tools that I’m using to improve my Twitter experience, note that all of these are using my profile, but you can change to fit your needs.

1) Client: Although I mainly use the browser to see what’s going on (I click on profiles to see what people have said) Twhirl is the most popular client, using adobe air technology. Leave this on your desktop, instead of going to browser, also these clients may be more accurate in seeing who’s replying to you, unlike the browser version.

2) Search: Use Tweetscan (Update: I now use Summize as it can track conversations) to see who’s talking about you, your brand, or a topic you’re interested in. For example, I may not just search on “jowyang” but also on “owyang” as some don’t use the full name.

3) Conversations: Quotably is the top ‘conversation’ tracker, it threads together the discussions that members are having by looking at the replies, interesting to see how conversations spiral into different threads.

4) Aggregation: Friendfeed puts all of our RSS content onto one page, making it easy to see from one glance (rather than going to different properties) and you can even reply from friendfeed to different tools. It’s smarter to organize around people, rather than tools.

5) Tagging Content: For advanced users, you can start to use the hashag “#” to add metadata around any tweet, this becomes more important as we rate and tag content. Here’s a helpful primer. I’m not making much use of this feature –yet.

6) Location Based: If you live in a particular area, and want to parse out a specific location, this Twitterlocal filter finds tweets based upon a users profile location. If you’ve a local business, this could become useful.

7) Alerts: (update) Often, people will blog about the conversations that happen in twitter, the conversation shifts back to blogs. As a result, I setup Google Alerts for the phrase @jowyang, I see it appear 3-5 times a week on blogs. Thanks Andrew for the reminder in the comments.

I should add that I check to see who is replying to me from my mobile phone, and sometimes update from mobile phone.

Out of the 6, now 7 tools I listed above, which ones do you use, or are there others you recommend?

What Twitter tools do you use?

2009-03-03T09:03:00.001-06:00

Image via CrunchBase

Twitter is getting mainstream and more people are tweeting. This means more information and a need for great tools to manage the additional information.What Twitter tools do you use? Leave us a comment about What Twitter tools you use?

what are the most popular Twitter tools and utilities.? What Twitter tools do you use?

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About this blog

2009-02-10T03:07:00.001-06:00

This blog covers Twitter tips.

Twitter Help

A Brief TWITTER GLOSSARY

Wealth in a real-time world is measured right now!

World's Billionaires 2009

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Putting It All Together:

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Top 10 Twitter Search Results with Google search

Search Twitter and Google –The Now and then web

Top 10 Twitter Search Results with Google search

A list of Twitter tips

Top Twitter Tools: What Twitter tools do you use?

Useful Twitter Tools

There are lots of great Twitter tools available. What tools do you use?

Twitter tips updated in real-time.

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Best Twitter Tips from February

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Officially the Following and Update Limits for Twitter are:

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Comments

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Is there a place where I can find out if there are problems with Twitter?

People from Twitter11 employees are helping tens of thousands of customers.

Official Reps

Other Employees

@Replies?

@Replies are public messages sent to anyone.

What are @Replies?

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What is the difference between an @reply and a direct message?

Why wont my feed reader take my @reply RSS feed?

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The Text commands that drive the pulse of a lifestream…

Did you know: you can perform certain actions, like following or marking a friend's update as a favorite, by using the designated Twitter commands? Use the commands listed below from your phone, the web update box, or your favorite third party application.

Turning Twitter off and on: device notifications

Fun Stuff: friends, favorites, and stats!

Noteworthy Facts

Using Twitter with your phone

Do I have to use my phone to use Twitter?

Text Messages? Sounds expensive. How much will Twitter cost me?

When I give you my number, you wont charge my phone bill?

How does Twitter use my phone number?

What are the Twitter phone numbers?

What is a short code?

What is Twitter's international number?

How do I add my phone to Twitter?

How do I add my international number?

Can I use the same phone number on multiple accounts?

If I change my phone number, can I change it on Twitter?

How long can my updates be?

How do I send direct messages from my phone?

Can I update Twitter from my phone but not receive other people's updates?

Can I turn updates on for some people and off for others?

How do I turn a specific person's updates on or off from my phone?

How do I know if my friends are getting my updates on their phones?

How do I turn ALL twitter messages off or on from my phone?

Is there a setting for receiving only @replies on my phone?

Nope. But if we get enough feature requests, we may just add it for you. Send us one!

Is there a setting for receiving only direct messages on my phone?

If I turn Twitter off, will I still get Direct Messages?

What's a Nudge?

Can I favorite updates from my phone?

I'm getting a lot of updates. How can I get fewer?

Why is my account suspended?

Technical abuse of the Twitter Service

Spam investigation

Terms of Service violations

The Official Twitter Help and Support Page

Twitters Official Help Resources

What's New?

The Essential Twitter Tools

For Location Based:I use Twitterlocal filter finds tweets based upon a users profile location. If you’ve a local business, this could become useful.

For Alerts: I also use Google Alerts