Time to Twitter?
Posted By Ann Charles on June 15, 2009
Ann Charles, Author
All this talk about Twitter has me scratching my head. I’m the kind of person who catches up on one “new” technology just in time to be behind on two others. Life was easier when social networking meant going to the grocery store to buy some milk, maybe saying “Hi” to the cute guy in Aisle 5, and, if I was feeling chatty, even asking the cashier if she had big weekend plans. Now, there are so many ways to reach out to others that it makes my head spin.
I was just feeling proud of myself for learning all about Facebook, building up a ‘friend’ base, playing games, and more, when people started talking about Twitter. “Twitter?” I asked. “That’s what you do when you’re excited about something, right?” Yeah. Right. And that’s the truth of the matter. People are excited about Twitter. Not all people, mind you, but lots of potential fans are, especially if you write Young Adult.
So, it was time to dig into Twitter. But where to begin? Keep in mind, I have lots of plates spinning over here. I don’t have much time to learn new things, with edits waiting, website engineering to be done, a full-time job, and a family.
First, I visited Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter). Here’s what I found:
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others’ updates, known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to other users-known as followers-who have subscribed to them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications.
A February 2009 Compete.com blog entry ranked Twitter as the third most used social network, which puts the number of unique monthly visitors at roughly 6 million and the number of monthly visits at 55 million; however, only 40% of users are retained. In March 2009, a Nielsen.com blog ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009. Twitter had a monthly growth of 1382%, Zimbio of 240%, followed by Facebook with an increase of 228%.
Next, I contacted one of my new Facebook friends, who I’d come to think of as the Twitter King based on his posts, Solomon Sanoria. He agreed to an interview.
AC: For all of us newbies, what is Twitter?
SS: A free social messaging service for staying connected in real-time.
AC: From what devices can I access/use Twitter?
SS: Computer, Phone
AC: You are a Twitter Search Engine Optimization Specialist (TSEOS). What exactly do you do to help people with their Twitter site or website?
SS: Optimize their account/Twitter messages for top search engine placement.
AC: What services can you (a TSEOS) offer to authors?
SS: Same as everyone else, with emphasis on followers who have an interest in authors and reading books in general.
AC: To use Twitter, can an author have a blog or use Wordpress instead of having a website? Or do they have to have a more traditional html webpage?
SS: A traditional page always helps, but now days with Wordpress being so advanced, it is very common to have a Wordpress page…I have a couple. But you can integrate Twitter with any site.
AC: Can you use Twitter with a forum site? Facebook page?
SS: Yes.
AC: What are retweets?
SS: Retweeting is best described as taking a Twitter message someone else has posted, and rebroadcasting that same message to people who are following you. You should give credit to the original poster as well. While retweeting sounds great for the original tweeter (since there is usually a link to their website or something their promoting involved), retweeting can actually benefit you just as much, if not more.
AC: A little more advanced question from a fellow author—There are topics in Twitter with a number (#) sign. What does the number sign mean next to a topic?
SS: Hashtags are what they are called. They are a community-driven method for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets. They’re like tags on Flickr, only added inline to your post. You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag.
Hashtags were developed as a means to create “groupings” on Twitter, without having to change the basic service. The hash symbol is a convention borrowed primarily from IRC channels, and later from Jaiku’s channels.
AC: How can a person promote themself/their business using Twitter?
SS: That’s where I come in as a specialist. It means getting fully involved in every aspect of social networking. 99% of people do not have the time to do it properly.
AC: Everyone is short on time these days, and authors are no exception. They are juggling writing and promoting and life. There are so many social networking sites out there to join and interact within. Why should an author take the time to develop a Twitter site and following over any of the other social networking sites (like MySpace or Facebook or LinkedIn). Or should they try work on multiple networking sites and have everything interlink and work together?
SS: Yes to all. The rewards definitely outweigh the risks.
Thank you, Solomon, for answering my questions and helping me wade into the Twitter social networking pool. (If anyone has more information to help get me started in Twitter, please feel free to share them as a comment.)
Now if I can just find some time to be more social. Anyone need any milk?
To learn more about Solomon Sanoria and the services he has to offer, visit him at: http:/www.financiallyindependentblog.com
About the author
Good info in the post. How amazing that there is even a job to maximize Twitter use! (I think that is Solomon’s job isn’t it?!)
Since I’m not an author I guess I feel no great need to Twitter! Heck - I haven’t even done My Space or Facebook yet! I have enough time loss keeping up with chat groups, blogs and commenting! My DH finally broke down to do Facebook… he says if you are not careful you can go from one friend to another and before you know it its two hours later!
I know what your DH means. I want to play the Farm Town game on Facebook. I keep hearing from friends and family (and our own Jacquie Rogers) how much fun it is, but I know as soon as I start, I’ll be burning hours there that really need to be used elsewhere. My husband, in the meantime, is online having a blast. So jealous!
I have learned a couple things on the Tweeting road that may be helpful. There are third party applications that will link to FaceBook, Blogs, MySpace, etc, so at one time, you’ve hit them all through Twitter. Not all apps are created equal, though, so read reviews (says someone who learned that lesson the hard way)!
Also, signing up doesn’t mean people will follow right away. I got my feet wet while no one was watching and only dove in when I felt more comfortable. Now, I’m having a blast!
April, I’m sorry to hear you had to learn that lesson the hard way. Thanks for sharing that, so we don’t have to go through what you did. Glad you’re enjoying it now, though.
Maybe I’ll have to sign up, sit back, and observe for awhile. Just dip my toe in the pool.
If you have any more tidbits to share, please post them. I appreciate it!
Thanks, Ann
Thanks for the post, Ann, but I’m really still at a loss. Yes, I’m on Twitter, and yes, I have followers. But I see NO benefit to it whatsoever. For instance, I can make an announcement, but who has time to sit here and see if anyone acknowledges it? I have other things to do. By the time I get back to Twitter, I can’t find my original tweet anywhere and folks are already talking about what they bought at Wal-mart!!
Sorry, I am simply Twitter-less!
MM
I found a great resource for non-tweeters. This video explains Twitter very well. Although it is a commercial for their online Twitter class, Tweet Camp, it also does an excellent job of explaining why we shouldn’t miss out on this marketing tool. If you have 6 minutes, this is well worth the time.
http://blog.booksquareuniversity.com/twitter/the-truth-about-twitter/
As a follow-up, and a bit ironic, I got this link from a Jenny Gardiner tweet. She’s a great one to follow!
Hey April–Thanks for posting that link! I just finished watching it and can see how this tool could really help build a fan base. Heck, you could even keep readers entertained between books by sending out short stories in little bits at a time. Could be fun! Maybe I could build a 1st Turning Point Twitter site with short promo tips and ideas here and there. I don’t know.
I really need an assistant. Too bad my kids are so young or I’d put them to work.
ha!
Miss Mae–You mention you have followers. I’m curious, what do you talk about to your followers? Books? Life? Both? Do you use your phone to keep up? Or your computer? I’m so in the dark here.
Ann C.
Great article, Ann! I am still at a loss on Twitter. I can’t seem to remind myself to post anything, or check in to see what others are doing, on top of all the time I already spend on email, Facebook and a few other sites I go to regularly. I am extremely s-l-o-w when it comes to picking this stuff up, so I related very strongly to what you had to say.
Thanks for the link, April, I’m going to check it out and see if that helps it all make more sense. I have an account and a few followers, I’m following some people, but I haven’t even been back to the site since about the third day after I set up the account. All this networking seems so overwhelming, I don’t know how we’ll have time to write and still keep up with it all!
Chassily
Hi, Chassily. I can see myself struggling with the same things you mentioned–remembering to post something, checking to see what others are doing, etc. I feel like so much of my time I’m just trying to clear time to write, and when I’m supposed to be writing, I want to watch a good movie or play one of those fun little Facebook games because it’s all-work-and-no-play way too often.
When I finally get around to sign up for and start playing on Twitter, I’ll look you up there.
Ann C.
I’m on Twitter as @inksnatcher if any of you join.
When I get up and rolling, Sally, I’ll look you up!
Right now, I can’t seem to unglue my nose from the pages of Francesca Prescott’s Mucho Caliente! She hooked me with her article a couple of weeks ago. (http://1stturningpoint.com/?p=580). I bought her book and can’t stand to put it down for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Ann C.
Hey everyone, we’re up and running on Twitter at 1stturningpoint. Look us up if you have the chance! Sally, we’re “following” you now.
Ann C.
I am in great need of help with Facebook (I will never graduate to Twitter) I want to set up an author’s page for “Suzette Hollingsworth” to sort of separate my personal friends from my writing contacts, sort of a “public profile”. Do I just go in and set up a new FB page as if I were setting up my page for the first time? Is there any way to link lists - or ? Can anyone refer me to a help page to do this?
Suzie,
Not to be daunted, aid is on it’s way! We, in fact, do have an article on Facebook coming up. Not sure when, but I’ll let you know.
Jacquie