Table Of Content“Tee Morris walks you through the basics of twitter with humor yet provides you with the details
that makes you want to be a member of the Twitterverse. All A Twitteris one of the best books writ-
ten about what to expect from Twitter whether you are using it for a nonprofit, business, PR, a
personal brand, or to engage in a new social community. Tee knows this community. He doesn’t
present the information as an expert speaking about a community of which they don’t belong;
he is a Twitter member.”
—Shireen Mitchell
Social Media Strategist and Technology Advocate Washington D.C.
Social Media Women of Color (http://socialmediawoc.com)
All A Twitteris the essential reading for anyone wishing to employ Twitter as part of a Social Media
initiative. Tee Morris guides you through the basics with Twitter with his recurring refrain: Once
you’ve built a network, you participate in the conversation. Tee Morris knows his stuff—it shines
through in All A Twitter.
—Coach Ian Scott
Professional Speaker, Author & Life Coach
Lancashire, UK
www.coachianscott.com
Tee Morris is the proverbial Swiss Army Knife of social networking. He is razor sharp in his analy-
sis of what twitter isn’t and shown it for what it is: simple.
—Catherine White
Professional Speaker & Jazz Singer
Syndey, Australia
www.catherinewhite.com.au
Tee Morris has created a perfect guide for both personal and business users into Twitter’s world of
microblogging and network building. Even advanced users will find new and useful nuggets in
this entertaining read and will catch themselves nodding along while thinking, “Yes, exactly!”
“Welcome to the local coffee house that never closes.” Yes, exactly!
—Craig Fisher
Co-Founder of A-List Solutions, Recruiter, Career Branding & Social Media Authority
Dallas, Texas
www.fishdogs.com
“All a Twitteris the go-to guide for anyone interested in the fast changing world of Twitter and
Social Media. Weather you are looking at Twitter to promote your business or just to play and talk
to friends All a Twitteris a must have resource.”
—Megan Enloe
Professional Community and New Media Liaison Orange County, California
http://meganenloe.com
“The ‘A Little Birdie Told Me...’ tips throughout the book were especially helpful and featured
clever advice or fun hints and information on tools to make the most of Twitter. This book is a
useful reference guide I can turn to again and again as I build my Twitter community and
become more familiar with all of Twitter’s many benefits.”
—Becky Moore, APR
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All a Twitter: A Personal and
Professional Guide to Social
Networking with Twitter
Tee Morris
800 East 96th Street,
Indianapolis,Indiana 46240 USA
All a Twitter: A Personal and Professional
Guide to Social Networking with Twitter Associate Publisher
Greg Wiegand
Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a Acquisitions Editor
retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-
Michelle Newcomb
copying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the pub-
lisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the
Development Editor
information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in
the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibil- Kevin Howard
ity for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting
from the use of the information contained herein. Managing Editor
ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4228-5 Patrick Kanouse
ISBN-10: 0-7897-428-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Project Editor
Morris, Tee. Mandie Frank
All a twitter : a personal and professional guide to social networking with
Twitter / Tee Morris. Copy Editor
p. cm.
Apostrophe Editing
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4228-5 Services
ISBN-10: 0-7897-4228-4
1. Twitter. 2. Online social networks. 3. Blogs. I. Title. Indexer
HM742.M675 2010
Ken Johnson
302.30285—dc22
2009021096
Proofreader
Printed in the United States of America
Williams Woods
Second Printing: August 2009
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1 What Is Twitter (and What It Is Not) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2 Setting Up Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
3 Talking on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
4 Working Beyond the Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
5 Terrific Twitter Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
6 Tracking Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
7 Twitter to Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
8 iPhone,Therefore iTweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
9 The Trouble with Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
10 Getting Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
11 Taking Care of Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
12 ANTI-Social Media:The Dark Side of Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
13 Why I Am on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
A Tools for Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
B Twitterspeak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269
iv
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Welcome to All a Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
This Book Is Written by a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
This Book Focuses on Building a Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
This Book Is for Users of All Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
This Book Follows a Logical Progression with Twitter . . . . . . . . .3
This Book Is Written in More Than 140 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
What to Expect from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Going Beyond the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
We’ll Always Have Twitter… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Imagine That! Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Bird House Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
1 What Is Twitter (and What It Is Not). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A Brief History of Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
First Forums,Which Begat Blogging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Proceeding with Podcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
The Rise of Social Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
What Is Twitter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Twitter’s Role in Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
What It Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
What You Should Do to Make It Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
What Twitter Isn’t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Twitter Is Not a Chat Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Twitter Is Not a Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Twitter Is Not Like Facebook,MySpace,or
Other Social Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
2 Setting Up Twitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Registering on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Setting Up your Twitter Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
What’s in a Name? (Quite a Bit,Actually!) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
The Importance of a Good Avatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Contents v
Protecting Updates:The Good and the Bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Making Twitter Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Changing Your Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Receiving Tweets on Your Mobile Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Staying in the Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Giving Your Twitter Home a Redesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Building the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Following Someone at Random on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Following Someone You Know on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Following Someone That’s Following You on Twitter . . . .48
3 Talking on Twitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Writing a “Tweet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Editing Your Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Posting Your Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Following Followers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Following @Mentions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Replying to a Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Replying to a Direct Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Your Twitter Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Your Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
4 Working Beyond the Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Installation and Setup of Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
What I Like About Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
What I Don’t Like About Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Installation and Setup of DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
What I Like About DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
What I Don’t Like About DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Installation and Setup of Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
What I Like About Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
What I Don’t Like About Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
vi
Installation and Initial Setup of TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Setting Up Groups in TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
What I Like About TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
What I Don’t Like About TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
5 Terrific Twitter Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Mr.Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Starting with Mr.Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Shorten URL Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Is.gd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
SnipURL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Twitter Tools for WordPress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Installing Twitter Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Configuring Twitter Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
TwitPic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Uploading Pictures on TwitPic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Using TwitPic with Twitter Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
6 Tracking Twitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Twitter Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Bit.ly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
TweetStats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Twitalyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Hashtags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
7 Twitter to Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Twitter for the BlackBerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Blackbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Twibble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Tiny Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
TwitterBerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Twitter for the G1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Twidroid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
TwitterRide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Contents vii
8 iPhone, Therefore iTweet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Tweetie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
What I Like About Tweetie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
What I Don’t Like About Tweetie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Twittelator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
What I Like About Twittelator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
What I Don’t Like About Twittelator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
TwitterFon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
What I Like About TwitterFon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
What I Don’t Like About TwitterFon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
9 The Trouble with Twitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
The Double-Edged Sword of Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
The Fail Whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Lost Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Followers Dropped Without Consent or Knowledge . . .173
Twitter Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
When Twitter Is Used as an IM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
When Things Get Too Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Hi…My Name is Tee and I Have a Twitter Addiction . . .177
Remedying the Noise in Your Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
The Outsider’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
10 Getting Personal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Staying in Touch with Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Call Me When You Get Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
What Are You Doing This Weekend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Sharing with the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
TwitFic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Tweet-by-Tweet Commentary and TwitReviews
(No Spoilers Please!) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Trademark Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
Solidarity (J.C.Hutchins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
