It is Time to Tweet

What is Twitter? I define twitter as a social media’s child. Twitter becomes the marketing voice of social media posts such as on Blogger, Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram and Youtube. Twitter is widely-used in mobile phones that is why it became really accessible.

It is through Twitter that a video or a blog post is promoted. For example, I have created my latest post on this blog called ‘Family, Daily Living & Style’, I am copying the URL (web address) of my post and tweet it for millions of Twitter Members to see. I do that by creating a hashtag. If for example my latest post is about ‘Home MUST-Haves’, the hashtag can be:

- the title of the post.

i.e.

#HomeMustHaves

-or any compelling word that may arouse readers’ interest, base on the post ‘Home Must-Haves’

i.e.

#stressFreeLiving

Hashtag Tips/Info:

- must of course say something about your post or link

- hashtag makes it easy to search for a certain post

After the hashtag (# plus words) you are given ---characters to say something more about your tweet including a link for your followers to find that post you are telling about.

You can also upload photos and videos, BUT take CAUTION. MAKE SURE that YOU OWN everything you post or you will get screwed up – like what the biased tv station has done to the poor little bloggers that they could have reminded and gave warning first – if you are caught by that tv station, you will end-up jailed. Do not share others videos. Putting attribution – a little note or caption that an image belongs to somebody whose name you can identify in the post is the SAFEST thing to do or just posting a LINK to that video or photo NOT actually uploading them. If videos and images are prohibited to upload IF not YOUR OWN that is also the same with writings etc.-you can be charged with plagiarizing or copyright violation. Always be careful.

Another important reminder is that – avoid posting violent reactions pinpointing or directly stating names – if there is Libel in written media, there is now a ‘Cyber Bullying Law’ existing in our country (Phils.). Be careful, not just in Twitter but in all platforms of social media. You can say anything but putting marks like ?! (question mark preceding an exclamation point denotes hesitation or uncertainty. Words of doubt like ‘MIGHT’ or ‘MAYBE’ (baka/kaya) can free you from the worries of being charged of any crime. You could not be held liable for any damage because of those words. That is my secret when writing about unusual or anomalies I report to authorities like DepEd. My letter could not be traced with anything that a lawyer can find to be a ‘proof’ to hunt me even I divulged my name because I did not actually accuse anybody of anything – there is benefit of the doubt on my statements. I know most of you knew about that, just reminding.

How to have followers on Twitter?

- Follow interesting accounts

- Follow back when somebody follows you

Why are ‘followers’ essential to Twitter?

Because your followers sure have their own followers that are not aware you exist – if you are followed your tweets will be made available to the stream of your followers tweets most especially if you get a  ‘favorite’ or ‘retweet’. Twitter makes you digitally famous everywhere in the world.

Twitter can help promote products/websites. If for example, I want to help promote my church’s website I copy the links on videos there and share it to my followers – I love sharing my faith online, I even spend time creating photoshop documents for the posts – that is another tip to make your tweets interesting and eye-catching.

If a tweet implies an advocacy you believed in, you can re-tweet it to make other people see it – especially if you think it concerns them and the tweet is helpful and very interesting or you just want to share some knowledge you get from that tweet whether it is a news link or a blog article you have read recently. Just copy the URL (link)from that website and post it after your hashtag – say something more about it before the link then you can now tweet it. Most websites have integrated social media sharing buttons you can just find  Twitter’s bird icon then follow the instruction (like putting a message) before sharing.

This is where to find the URL address of a post or website

Options available to tweeters (people using Twitter)are : you can reply a tweet, favorite it (heart icon), re-tweet it to make it viral or even send a direct message (DM)to the one who made that compelling post- DM, is a private messaging option sent only to that particular Twitter Account you choose.