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You could be getting started on twitter due to the fact your buddies use it, because your employer has requested that you do, because you should publicize your online business, or just because you want to see what all the fuss is about. But no matter what of the reason, when you first register, it can seem like there is something of a learning curve when you begin seeing the first tweets in your tweetstream. It can certainly seem to be overwelming - @, RT, #, hashtags, tweet-ups, trending topics - what ARE these things? Well, in this post I am going to reveal it all. Almost all of these twitter abbreviations stem from the well-known simple fact that when you post on twitter, it has got to contain lower than 140 characters. It is due to this fact that space is at a premium, so there simply is not space, in the majority of tweets, to include "for the attention of..." or "I'm speaking about...". Twitter Slang Guidebook @ - pronounced 'at', this will probably be familiar from e-mail. On twitter, it is utilized as a way to direct a person's attention to your tweet. Thus if you wish to send a tweet directly to Ashton Kutcher, you start it with @aplusk Receiving a tweet with @ in front of your login name means that it will turn up in the "@mentions" column on the twitter website, or in whichever twitter program you use. In the same way, when you use @, the individual whose name follows it is less likely to overlook it since it will turn up in their 'mentions' column as well. RT - an abbreviation of 'retweet'. A retweet is when you see a tweet that is so great, you want to share it with your own followers too. Unspoken twitter etiquette means that it is improper to just copy and paste it, rather, always retweet it to credit the initial tweeter. You accomplish this by, if you are retweeting Bill Cosby, you begin it with RT @billcosby, and then the original tweet. These days, the kind of RT that I have just mentioned is generally known as an "old retweet". This refers to the fact that all those who use twitter from the twitter.com site can now not retweet posts in that way. Now the only retweets offered are the "new retweets", where you have no opportunity to add your own words or commentary to the start. Almost all of the twitter software package that can be found offers you both methods, and even a newer "new retweet" which, ironically, is like an old RT but instead of starting off with RT @billcosby, it puts Bill's entire tweet between quotation marks. Because of the construction of the retweet, which includes the @ from the initial tweeter, any retweet will appear in their @mentions column for each individual retweet they get. So, if anyone retweets your tweets, you can find out by checking your personal @mentions column. # - a hashtag. This is used on twitter as a shortened way of stating "what I am discussing is...". So, a tweet might read "This is so funny! #frasier" or "Go and visit our latest offers #cookies #baking". Tweet-up - A tweet-up is when people who met on twitter meet up in the real world. Trending topics - When hundreds or thousands of people on twitter are all talking about the same thing - frequently a TV programme or a breaking news story - it can turn into a trending topic. These are featured in the right hand column on the twitter web-site, commonly in the form of hashtags. So with these fundamentals, you're able to now go forth and get started working with twitter free of fear! Get a free ebook about twitter from twitter-101.co.uk.
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