twitter

toc media type="custom" key="2676499" The following information has been adapted from the [|Twitter support page] For further information visit [|wikipedia]

What is it?
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, 140 characters or less, messages related to what you are doing and thinking.

How can I send updates?
at present **in Australia** it is not possible to utilise mobile SMS options
 * from the Twitter website
 * from desktop applications such as [|twirl] [|tweetdeck], or [|twitterfox]
 * mobile phone web connections tot he above

Following others
//**What does it mean to follow someone on Twitter?**// Following someone simply means receiving their Twitter updates. How you receive the updates (on your phone, IM, or just on the web) is up to you. You can set your following preferences based on device, and then set notification preferences for each person you follow. Your followers are those who have elected to receive your twitters. //**How do I know who I'm following?**// Check the profile page of the person in question to be sure, or click the Following link from your logged in home page. You can change following preferences from the profile page, or by using phone/IM commands.

Who is following me?
You can set up your email preferences to notify you when you have a new follower, or click the Followers link in your sidebar.

Spammers and unwanted followers
At the bottom of the right hand sidebar on every profile page, there is a block link.

Who reads my updates?
It's up to you. If you're hesitant to have strangers read your updates, in your settings page you can protect your updates so that only your friends will receive them. When you sign up online, your updates will automatically go to both your friends and the public timeline, which is where all of the twitters go. Don't be shy!

Restricting updates
//**Can I turn updates on for some people and off for others?**// Yes. use the follow and off commands. FOLLOW + user name (follow krissy, for example) tells Twitter that you want a specific person's updates. You can also click the follow link from their profile page on the web, or type the command into your chat window. Conversely, OFF + user name (off krissy) will disable updates from that person.

Editing updates
//**Can I edit my updates once they've posted to the web?**// No. Once it goes, it goes! You can delete the message by clicking the small trash can, but no changing text, context, spelling errors, etc.

**Adding Twitter friends**
Each person's profile page has a follow button. When you click it, you'll be following them, which means you can receive their Twitter updates.

Private messages
Send a Twitter friend a Direct Text, which will go to their individual phone or web page. From the web, click Message from the profile page or use the drop down box on your Direct Messages page.

My Direct Messages
From your logged in homepage, click Direct Messages in the side bar to see all of the messages you've received from Twitter friends. To see the messages you've sent to others, click the Sent tab.

What are @replies?
@replies are twitters directed at a specific user in response to one of their updates. When someone replies to your Twitter update by using @username, we collect their reply and catalog it the replies tab on your logged-in home page. You can reply publicly to any update on Twitter by using the @username format. //**What is the difference between @username and Direct Message?**// Messages sent via Direct Message (D + username +update) are private, and readable only by the person you send it to. Messages sent in the@username format are public.

Why does Twitter use tiny URL?
Tiny is tidy! [|Tiny URL] takes long, ugly, 30+ characters links with an obscene amount of punctuation, such as ? or &, and converts them to slim, trim, tidy, pretty, Twitter links that mesh well with our 140 character limit.

Can I put Twitter on my blog?
Yes! You can put a Twitter badge on your blog, website, MySpace... anything that accepts Javascript or HTML. You can even customize your Twitter badge to match!