How to use Twitter

If you’re like me you would have only recently heard about Twitter. Twitter is a global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing? Answer on your phone, instant messaging service or on the internet.

Twitter first came into my inbox in early August via a press release about filming of the Sony Bravia Play-Doh TV ad in New York. By the time I worked out what it was the shoot was finished along with twittering about it. I finally decided to join up to take part in a Twitter experiment associated with the Australian Blogging Conference on Friday last week.

So here’s how it works. You sign up at www.twitter.com. You have the option of using instant messaging services (like GTalk) and your mobile phone to receive and send messages. Then you add people to your ‘follow’ list using email addresses.

Little did I know that Twitter had been online since July 2006, the creation of co-founder Evan Williams of Obvious. Evan of course is known for his development of Blogger along with Meg Hourihan.

Politics and Press

Twitter is likely to become a standard tool for politicians and journalists. Senator John Edwards has used Twitter to update people on his presidential campaign trail. Someone thought it would be a good idea for Kevin Rudd and John Howard.

BBC is using Twitter to post micro bulletins, as is ABC News.

Ways to Use Twitter

Chris Brogan at LifeHack suggests six ways to use Twitter

1. Get quick human answers
2. Share briefings on conferences and news
3. Friendsourcing – accessing a network of friends and acquaintances
4. Micro Attention Sharing – small mini blog entries
5. Direct people to good causes
6. Stay in touch with what friends are doing without being intrusive

Craig Childs at Lifehack has another list:

1. Use Twitter as a To-Do list
2. Personal or professional messaging service
3. Provide a newsletter

Postkiwi Twitter

I’ve managed to connect Twitter up with my Facebook profile and as a special feature in the Pacific Highlander sidebar. The Facebook application doesn’t appear to be updating instantly but I’m sure that problem will be ironed out. If you’re interested in following my evolving stream of consciousness visit my Postkiwi Twitter profile. I imagine it could be useful to have a number of Twitter profiles to be used with different networks or for different purposes. But I’m not in a hurry to head down that track quite yet.