How to "Get Twitter"

Twitter may have more good buzz than any other Web service right now, but there's also no service that more people say they don't get--including some very smart. hip friends of mine. Check out this Google search for a surging sea of Twitter-bashing.) Some of my buddies have tried Twitter and abandoned it; many more haven't seen any reason to sign up in the first place. All profess bafflement that anyone would want to use it.

Which is kind of a shame, since Twitter is a heck of a lot of fun, if you give it a chance. The rapid-fire, short-form dialogs it enables have been referred to as microblogging, but Twitter has gotten so social and conversational lately that I think of it as something akin to Facebook on SlimFast. It's the most lightweight form of social networking I've ever encountered.

So herewith, some tips on how to use it in a way that'll maximize the chances that you'll "get Twitter." Disclaimer: While I've been Twittering for about a year, I'm still kind of a newbie--most of my Tweets have come in the past few weeks. And I don't even follow all the advice I give below yet.

Oh yeah--I'm harrymccracken on Twitter. Here's a link to my Tweets, such as they are...and here's one to PC World's account, which we use to share quick links to stuff on your site.

Okay, on with the tips:

1. Don't Twitter about boring stuff. It's boring. Just as with blogging before it, Twitter naysayers like to dis it by accusing it of being a place where people talk about what they had for breakfast. And some people do that. But it's just as easy to Twitter about interesting stuff you're doing, or at least to put an interesting spin on humdrum stuff. Simple rule: Don't ever write anthing in Twitter that you wouldn't want to read.

2. Don't Twitter into the void. When I first started Twittering, I wasn't just boring--I was boring in front of an audience of zero. Twittering is no fun unless you know that you're being read. Quickest way to get read: Use Twitter's "Follow" feature to track the Tweets of other people, be they pals or famously hardcore Twitterers like Robert Scoble. At least some of them will follow you back.

3. Make Twitter a dialog, not a monolog. Twitter's coolest feature may be the ability to respond to another user by starting a Tweet with an @ sign and that person's Twitter name (such as @harrymccracken). So respond to other folks' Tweets. They'll respond to you, too--and other people may join the conversation, or even Follow you. I know of Twitter fans who do almost nothing but respond to other users' Tweets.

4. Tweet your way. You can Twitter at the Twitter site, or via SMS. And if either or both of those methods work for you, great. But there are lots of other ways to use the service, including various desktop clients that are awfully convenient. TwitBin, for instance, is a Firefox extension. Many Mac-using Twitter addicts swear by Twitterific. And one of the reasons that Flock is my favorite Web browser is its nifty Twitter integration, which lets me Twitter and read other people's Tweets without leaving whatever site I happen to be on.

5. Mash up Twitter with other social networks. I was addicted to Facebook before I was addicted to Twitter, and for awhile, my Facebook addiction was an argument for avoiding Twitter--who has time for two addictions? But it's possible to feed multiple networks with the same amount of work. Twitter's Facebook application lets my Tweets automatically update my Twitter status. Hellotxt lets you update Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Pownce, and other networks simultaneously. And FriendFeed lets you meld all your social networks into one feed of your activities.

6. Read and learn. Some people are just good at Twittering in an entertaining fashion. I like the Tweets of Rafe Needleman, a friend who works at a Web site which shall remain nameless (hint: its initials are CNET). He's pithy and funny and has influenced my Twittering.

7. Don't let Twitter overtake your life. You don't have to. Twitter brags that it "really shines" when you use it on your phone. And it's possible to tell it to alert you via SMS when people you're following update. I don't--I kinda like it better when I proactively decide to go to the Twitter site to read, or check out Tweets in Flock. (I said above that I'm addicted to Twitter, but that wasn't quite right--it's far from a full-time fixation for me.)

That's enough tips from me for now--but if you "get Twitter" and have more thoughts, I'd love to hear 'em...