Ten Twitter Suggestions

Posted on June 8, 2010

I might have gone as far as to call this post “Ten Twitter Rules,” but there’s probably someone on Twitter that has a different opinion on each of these. So here are some suggestions that would be rules if I ruled the world.

1. Always include a space on either side of RT, DM or any @mention. For a retweet (RT), it just helps it be recognized as a RT. For an @mention, it’s necessary so that the person you mention will know about it. But for a DM, it is critical. Consider this tweet “DM@mytruelove Let’s meet tonight after 8 – my husband won’t be home.” Without that space, the whole world can read that tweet!
2. If you’re going to mention someone in a tweet – be sure to include the @ before their handle. That way they’ll know they’ve been mentioned.
3. Be very careful with DMs, sometimes Twitter hiccups and they can show up in your timeline. Check your timeline to be sure it isn’t public. Especially important if you tend to ignore item 1 above.
4. Be sure to check your mentions on Twitter. That way you’ll know when people you aren’t following are talking to you or retweeting you.
5. If your tweet starts with a twitter handle and you want to make sure EVERYONE notices it, Add “. “ before the twitter handle. Otherwise, only people that follow you AND that first Twitter handle will see the tweet in their timeline.
6. Many Twitter apps have built in URL shorteners, use them. People are much more likely to retweet something that isn’t too long because of the URL.
7. Stick to 140 characters. Sure you can tweet longer, but not everyone wants to open their browser to read the rest of your tweet.
8. When retweeting, please shorten the tweet to keep it under 140. If your twitter client doesn’t let you know you’re over 140 characters, get one that will. I see too many RTs with only half of a link at the end because it was cut off.
9. Try to spell people’s Twitter handles right. If you have problems, check your Twitter app – some help you by having a list of everyone you follow.
10. When replying to a tweet – use Reply. To some this may sound like a no-brainer. But I see a lot of people obviously replying to someone without using the function. It can be hard to discern the meaning of your reply if even the recipient can’t tell what you’re replying to.

Those are my Twitter observations. You’re free to disagree. Let me know your thoughts.

Is there something I missed? Leave a comment.