How to Tweet

It’s Easy to Tweet!

•Just click on "Home" to come back to your account homepage. Enter into the text box the message you'd like to convey. Then click “Tweet."

Deleting a Tweet

• To delete a tweet after you've added one just scroll over it and a “delete” with a garbage will appear. Click on it to delete.

▫ Note: Deleting a tweet does not guarantee the entry will be permanently removed from the web. Many other sites will likely archive your tweet (Google, among others). If you're unsure about a tweet, best not to send it than to remove it later.

Twitter Vocabulary: RT or Retweet

• RT stands for "Retweet" which allows you to copy what someone else said. You simply type "RT @" + [the user you are retweeting] + [the comment you are retweeting].

• You can also click on “Retweet” to do it automatically.

Twitter Vocabulary: @

• Using the @ symbol is how you send a message to a specific person.

• Using the @ sign before someone's name will also create a link to their profile. Note that the @ sign is not for private messaging - that is what the next symbol, DM, is for.

• If someone sends you a message with the @ sign in front of your name, it will show up in your @Replies in your sidebar.

Twitter Vocabulary: DM

• DM: Stands for "Direct Messaging." This is the only way to send a private message to a specific user. But you must be followed by the person in order to direct message them.

• Click on the Direct Messages link in your side bar. Select the person from the drop down box that you want to follow. Write a message and then click "send.“

• Note: You can also send a direct message from you home page by using the following in your "What are you doing?" box: D @ [username] + [message]

Bit.ly and Go.USA.gov• Bit.ly is one way to shorten

the number of characters of your tweet if you want to include a link. It takes an existing web address and makes it shorter.

• Go.USA.gov is another URL shortener, but it requires the long URL to be a .gov or .mil domain.

• Copy and paste the address of the webpage that you want to send your followers to.

• Go to bit.ly or Go.USA.gov and paste the link in the box.

• Click "Shorten.”

• Your short link has been created and can now be used in your tweets.

• They both provide stats on your link.

Signing up for Bit.ly or Go.USA.gov

• Bit.ly allows users to track their links. New users need to create an account. To create a bit.ly account, simply go to http://bit.ly/ and select "sign up". Fill out the username, email and password for your bit.ly account, and you will immediately be prompted to start shortening and tracking your links.

• Go.USA.gov lets government employees create short .gov URLs from official government domains, such as .gov, .mil, .si.edu, or .fed.us URLs. You must have an account to use go.USA.gov, and you will receive an email verification.

Example of Bit.ly and Go.USA.gov use

• Once you have your shortened link you can copy and paste it into your tweet.

• Major General Jones used bit.ly to shorten a link in his tweet. Armed with Science used Go.USA.gov.

• Clicking on the link will take the user to the original URL page.

How to Follow• To follow a user means that

you will receive a user's updates on your page and/or mobile device if you choose.

• To follow a user (in this case US Army Africa), search for the user here. Once you get to their page, you can click on the "Follow" button, shown to the side.

• From your home page, click on "following" and you'll see the new addition.

To Unfollow a User

• To unfollow a user, click on the "following" link on your homepage. Click on the box next to who you want to stop following. Select Unfollow [user].

• This will remove this user from your list of those you follow.

Using Hashtags• What is a hashtag?

▫ A hashtag is simply a mechanism for tagging tweets. A hashtag is created by adding the pound sign (#) to a keyword or a key phrase (Afghanistan, military), the end result being #Afghanistan or #military.

• Why use a hashtag?▫ The use of a hashtag allows those

interested in the topic to easily find related tweets through Twitter's search feature. These hashtags should be simple and intuitive so they are more easily found in Twitter search.

▫ #Oilspill or #Afghanistan, for instance, are intuitive to users who are searching for anything about the oil spill or Afghanistan.

• Searching with Hashtags▫ Type "search.twitter.com" into your

browser. Type in #afghanistan and click Search.

▫ You will now see a list of all the tweets that include this hashtag. If you want to tweet about Afghanistan with users who have this interest, it would be wise to use the hashtag #afghanistan in your message.

Hashtags: Things to keep in mind

• Hashtags are included in the character count (140) and so should be succinct. Pick the hashtag that is most relevant to your tweet. In the example here, #DADT is used for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

• It is not necessary to tag every single tweet. They are most useful when tied to current events, holidays, or presidential and secretarial visits.