I will enlighten you on how Twitter can do a lot more for you. Think of it as a quick way of sharing bits of your life in just words and a click on the update button every time you tweet. Well, you might be thinking, “Why should I use Twitter? I’m not an attention-seeker”, “What is it that makes Twitter really appealing?” So just read on, and I might be able to answer these questions for you.

It is amazing how Twitter simply makes you answer the question, “What’s happening?”, and with that simple question, you get an infinite number of responses in just a few moments’ time. Let us take note that Twitter has a 140 character limit enough for the little you have to say. It is not like most blogging sites that have much higher character limits or maybe even no character limits at all. Twitter was made to be SMS-friendly and is the reason for this unique blogging character limit.

If for example, you need answers or help for certain things, then ask questions or help from your followers through tweeting, and I bet that after a few minutes, more people than you expect would have replied to your tweet. With Twitter, you get instant support and news, feedback, and solutions quicker than you could have hoped for. If you are following news channels or important people, then you would get news faster on Twitter than you would anywhere else.

There are so many things you can do on Twitter that you probably have not thought of doing yet. You can find jobs, do some marketing or advertising, and other things that your creative mind can think of doing. You could think of it as a large forum for a group or groups of people with similar interests carrying on conversations about things they could relate with. With this, you create connections and get to know more people. And, along the way, you learn so much. You might choose to engage in new activities because of the suggestions of those who you follow, or maybe, get some tips on doing more than what you can with what you already know. You get ideas on all types of things!

Why the 140-character limit?

From the Twitter Blog: “The Twitter message limit of 140 characters was based on the limit of 160 characters imposed by SMS in general—we just needed some room to include your name in front of the message. It’s this simple constraint that allows Twitter to work well in so many places.”

Twitter has built its reputation on this popular 140 character limit. What would be the use of making it longer now? Honestly, do you need to say that much? I mean, it could take some kind of ‘special’ way of expressing oneself to be able to say what you want with this kind of limit, but it is quite simple when you get used to it. Besides, the simpler and the more valuable the content of your tweets are, the more it would attract people. This Twitter for Beginners article is intended to have enlighten you and I hope that it somehow has.

It was created with the idea of giving any individual with an SMS service, the ability to communicate with a small group of their making. This would mean you could update your Twitter from anywhere and receive from anywhere. That is why there is a 140-character limit for tweets, because of this SMS aspect of Twitter. Since you are reading this article, it would most likely mean that you are Twitter newbie and are looking for Twitter Tips for Beginners. Outlined below are a number of helpful tips for you to learn and hopefully apply so you would better understand ‘Tweetiquette’.

1. It is common practice to make use of URL-shortening services to make the most out of the 140-character limit in tweets.com and bit.ly so you wouldn’t have to waste a number of characters on those long URLs you share in your tweets. Shrink your URL.

2. There is a Direct Messaging function in Twitter that allows you to send a private 140-character message to a ‘follower’. Followers are users that have subscribed to your profile page and are able to ‘follow’ you on Twitter. They would be the people that would be receiving your tweets.

3. Retweet, baby! If you copy someone else’s tweet, it is only proper that you give credit to the original tweeter. You do this by simply putting “RT @name” in front of the tweet you copied and go ahead and retweet.

4. If you want to create a reply to a specific user on Twitter, place an @ sign in front of their Twitter name. This would mean that the first character of your tweet would be the @ sign. Clicking on @Replies from your profile page would show you replies to your own tweets.

5. When tweeting about a popular subject, make sure to place a # sign in front of the subject name. This makes it easy for other users to actually find your tweet on this popular topic.

6. Intending to search for certain people, groups or topics on Twitter? Search.twitter.com is just what you need to easily pull this off. Save or bookmark this link.

7. Did I mention that Twitter was created with SMS in mind? Well, Twitter’s creators have definitely done that since Twitter allows you to update your status and receive update via SMS. To enable this feature, go to the ‘Devices’ tab under ‘Settings’ and enter your phone number so you would begin receiving and sending mobile tweets.

8. It is ideal to follow Twitter on a smartphone, if you so happen to have one. Mobile clients make it easy for you to use Twitter on your phone since tweeting through the typical SMS interface could be greatly inconvenient.

It is my hope that these Twitter Tips for Beginners be of much help to your Twitter experience!

Twitter can also be a time waster, but it’s also become a valuable marketing tool. Why? Because you can basically communicate with people in shorthand without having to plow through lots of words to get your message across. Instead, you can instantly tell someone who’s following you what they want to know.

· Use “micro-blogging” to advertise your business

Most of us know what blogging is by now, but you might not know what “micro-blogging” is. Basically, it’s what Twitter does, with its 140-character limit. Again, being limited to 140 characters with a message requires you to cut to the chase and get your message out. No laboring over perfect sentence structure, no using hyped up text to try to get people to go to your website. Instead, it’s really just a basic, bare-bones communication method that lets those who are interested in you and what you do find out more. And of course, you can use Twitter to help drive people to your blog or website, where they can find out more information about what you sell.

· Network with other like-minded people

In many cases, Twitter can remove some of the heavy-handed formality that comes with so-called “business” meetings. By having a “meeting” in this sort of informal, quick as lightning exchange, people not only get down to business right away, but they also are less constrained by social “niceties,” if you want to put it that way, and can have a little fun, too. In a lot of ways, it’s a good icebreaker that gets business partnerships or a hook up with a potential client off on a really good foot. You might call Twitter the “backyard get-together” version of a business meeting, and it lets people relax and have fun right away, which is really only good for business relationships or for getting your products or services sold.

· Got a niche that you need to keep up on, instantaneously?

Twitter is actually a great way to find out about your particular niche in the marketing or business industry; with Twitter, you can find out from friends of a like mind that something’s happening before any other news sources find out about it. This can give you a leg up on your competition, or at least make you tops with your customers.

· It can save time

Twitter can save you time because keeping up with people this way might mean that you have to use your e-mail, instant messaging, RSS feeds, etc., less often. It’s quicker than any of these methods to send or receive something, and takes less time to use, too.

· It’s just plain fun

Keep up with friends this way, too. It’s as great for casual conversation as it is for business. In fact, it really was meant originally for casual use and has only recently been evolving into a means of actual business communication.

Some caveats:

When you first begin to use Twitter, you’ll likely find yourself overwhelmed by the plethora of pure chatter you encounter that doesn’t mean anything to you. That’s okay; you can learn to ignore these people and screen it out so that you only get what you want to see.

Finally, Twitter can be addicting in a bad way. Make sure you turn it off and reengage with real-life on a regular basis. It’s fun to use, sure, but only if you use it as an asset, not as an addiction.

With that said, why not try Twitter? It can be a blast (both professionally and personally) if you use it right.

Andrew Green is part of the team behind A-Z Proxies, an attempt to list from A to Z every active web proxy. Andy has been actively working in the web proxy field since 2005 and has built up a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

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