140 characters Because sometimes, 140 characters aren’t enough

I have a few friends at work who’ve started using twitter, but it seems that no-one’s really “getting it”, by which I think they mean that they’re not enjoying their experience.
The only reason I can think of is that twitter is true social media. There’s no distractions, no way to interact with people outside of the 140 characters. You actually have to sit and read what other people are saying and you have to react!
It might seem simple but if twitter is going to be any use to you then you need to be prepared to tweet and be tweeted. Be prepared to start your own update but also to RT (retweet). Use general sweeping statements and @replies. Use photos, blogs and other pages to explain in more detail. But remember, above all else, interact with people.
I think that there are a couple of things that I’ve noticed my friends doing that I don’t think help them. I did the same at first but then realised that this wasn’t helping me with what I wanted from twitter.

• They’re Following mostly celebrities. This isn’t a bad thing if all you’re interested in is what @xxandip (Andi Peters) had for breakfast (in case you’re interested – it’s ALWAYS pineapple) or where @stephenfry’s heading next (as he’s spent the last month or so jetting around for various programmes). I’m a follower of Stephen’s as I like his updates, I like to see some of the photos that he sends and I am a fan of his in general. But I found that most of the stars are either more bothered about what they can say to the world, or in giving one-word answers to as many of their followers as possible.
• There are people out there who are spamming stars with “follow me” requests, personally – if I’m going to be followed by someone famous – I’d rather that it was because I actually post interesting updates than because I typed #followmestephen. And if I come across someone who’s every other post is “Pleeeeaase follow me random star” then I’m afraid I’ll not be interacting with them, I don’t want to be seeing that taking over my twitterstream thanks.
• They approach updates as they would Facebook and so their posts usually start “is…” and follow that literally with what they are doing. Yes it’s a purist’s way of tweeting, but it’s not fun! I always worry when I look down a twitterstream for someone and don’t see a single update that starts @, RT, via or with a picture in it.

So my advice to people who are looking for a fun time on twitter – don’t rely on celebrities – look around and find fun people that you like. Look at their recent tweets and take advice from other people. Ask others that you’re following, or that are following you, if they have any recommendations, use #followfriday suggestions – and most of all – INTERACT with people!
—- Update —-
Thanks to @tonyisme’s great linkage – here’s a great YouTube video about twitter to explain what it’s all about!

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