Archive for Twitter Terminology
How Does the Auto Retweet Thing on Twitter Work?
Posted by: | CommentsRetweet (RT): a retweet is what you do on Twitter when you want to share what someone else has said. When someone retweets what you say/tweet it’s usually a compliment to you, it means they like what you had to say, think what you say is useful or think others might be interested in what you said. It’s nice to thank people who retweet your stuff. Being retweeted makes people feel listened to, acknowledged and appreciated.
Here is a more official definition/explanation of a retweet by Webopedia.com:
Retweet: Abbreviated as RT, Retweet is used on the Twitter Web site
(a free social messaging tool), to show you are tweeting content that has been posted by another user.
I don’t know about you but I always forget to check the Twitter automatic retweet thing. I usually tweet from TweetDeck so if someone retweets using the auto-RT thing I don’t even know my tweet has been re-tweeted.
I’m talking about the retweet link you see when you hover your mouse over the right bottom corner of a tweet. (image of Twitter feed from @fun_master’s tweet stream)
If you log on to your account from Twitter.com, on the right you will see the word Retweets (located under the words: Home, @username, Direct Messages, Favorites). Click on Retweets.
Now you will see 3 tabs: Retweets By Others, Retweets By You, Your Tweets, Retweeted. Click on the tab Your Tweets, Retweeted. SURPRISE people have been retweeting your tweets and you may have never known! You can tell who has retweeted your tweet by looking at or clicking on the little picture below the retweet. If you are one of the people who has retweeted my tweets and I have not thanked you, well now you know why. 
If you are not a Twitter user please ignore this post, I know I totally overused the words tweet and retweet. WAIT if you are not using Twitter WHY are you not on Twitter? Especially if you are an entrepreneur or business owner you really should be on Twitter! How else are you going to interact with your clients and potential clients? What if people are talking about you or your business on Twitter? Don’t you want to be part of the conversation?
Okay I digressed… If you want to know who is retweeting your tweets using the auto-RT thingy then follow the steps above.
Happy Tweeting!
Auto DMs on Twitter Annoy Me
Posted by: | CommentsIt is late, I am tired and I should probably be in bed instead of blogging. I made the mistake of checking Twitter before turning off my computer and found one more AutoDM that pushed me over the edge and forced me to stay up past my bedtime to write this rant post.
What is an AutoDM?
A Direct Message (DM) is a private message sent via Twitter.
An AutoDM is an automated Direct Message you receive on Twitter after you follow someone. That someone has used a program to automatically send you a DM when you follow them. The DM usually says something like:
Thanks for the follow… check out my blog.
Thanks for the follow… buy this.
Hi nice to meet you please send me an @ message and introduce yourself.
Thanks for the follow… check out my Website
Thanks for the follow, I’m following you back and look forward to reading your tweets.
The problem is AutoDMs kind of ruin the whole point of Twitter for me. Twitter is for starting conversations, sharing information and building relationships.
If you send me an AutoDM it feels impersonal and like you are trying to sell me something. It just feels icky. If you really want me to check out your blog, buy your stuff, look at your Website or introduce myself to you why don’t you start by introducing yourself to me with an @ message.
A lot of people I know use AutoDMs and I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers but I wanted to let you know how I feel about AutoDMs. 
How do you feel about receiving AutoDMs? I’ve actually been unfollowing people that send me AutoDMs lately.
Apparently I am not the only one who dislikes AutoDMs…
After a quick Google search of the word AutoDM I found the following blog posts:
The Ten Commandments of Twitter
Hate AutoDM’s on Twitter? I do. Here’s how to block them
The Twitter AutoDM: Useful or Hurting Your Cause?
There are ways to block AutoDMs. I’ll save that for another post.
Good night!
Have You Been Phished?
Posted by: | Comments
Please be careful what you click on in Twitter, Facebook and all social networking sites!
If you receive a DM on Twitter saying something like “haha is this you?” with a link or other strange DMs please do not click on the link.
If you do click on the link please do not give them your Twitter Log In info, even if it looks like a Twitter page (it’s probalbly not).
This is how people get in to your account and send out those icky DMs to all your followers. This is called phishing, the mean person or program on the other end tricked you in to thinking you are just relogging in to Twitter but really you are not, you are giving someone else your log in info.
This can happen on Twitter, Facebook, eBay, PayPal, you name it… always check the url at the top of your browser, if something feels suspicious it probably is. If you do click on a link and you are asked to log in to Twitter again… don’t. Close your browser, re-open it, and start all over entering Twitter.com.
Scott Stratten explains phishing much more eloquently. Please read here.
If you are going to participate in social networking, it is uber important that you know how to protect yourself and your followers.
If your account did get phished you can easily stop the problem by quickly changing your password.
Thank you!
3/1/10 Update: There is a new phishing scam going on today. If you receive a DM that says: “Some1 wrote something about u on his blog” IGNORE it or DELETE it but please do not click on the link.
Twitter – To Follow or Not
Posted by: | CommentsThere is much debate in the Twitter community whether to follow back everyone that is following you or not. I don’t think you need to follow EVERYone back but if you are having public conversations with me (ie. Using the @ sign in front of my name) it’s probably a good idea to follow me. I may want to send you a DM (a private message) and offer to promote your business but when I try to send you a DM and I can’t because you are not following me, I get frustrated. When I go to your page and see you have hundreds of followers and are only following 7 back, I get frustrated. This makes me feel unimportant and maybe not want to promote your business anymore because it makes me feel like maybe you don’t care about me. Twitter is all about feeling acknowledged. I think most people are on Twitter because they want to be heard and acknowledged. If someone sends me an @ (that is not spam) I will automatically follow them back, that person is trying to build a relationship. I want to acknowledge that.
Some argue that they can’t follow everyone because it just gets too crowded in their Twitter stream. I totally get this and that is why I use TweetDeck where I can separate who I am following in to columns. I have one column with everyone that I glance at throughout the day, I have another column with local tweeps and another with cool tweeps, these two columns are the ones I regularly watch and interact with the most. I still glance at the masses and occasionally interact with them but I don’t get overwhelmed. Of course, the @ column is the one I watch the most and always try to respond to. If someone has taken the time to mention me or talk to me directly I definitely want to acknowledge them and write back.
I’ve found some of the “big” Twitter users don’t respond to all their @ messages. I understand it can be challenging but I would hope they at least try to respond. One certain “big” Twitter user has never responded to any of my @ messages even though he talks a lot about building relationships. Other “big” Twitter users such as Mari Smith or Mack Collier respond to @ messages, they get it. I know how I feel when I’m ignored and it’s frustrating so I try my best to keep up with @ messages and follow most of my followers that interact with me. If you have tried to send me a DM and I’m not following you back, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to. Please @ me and tell me to follow you!
What does an @ message in Twitter mean?
Posted by: | Comments
Twitter terminology:
The @ sign is used to have public conversations with your friends on Twitter. It’s kind of like a public instant message or text message conversation. If I want to get someone’s attention on Twitter I will put an @ sign in front of their user name before typing my tweet. They will then get a notification that I’m talking to them. The tweet will also include a hyperlink to their Twitter profile so all my friends on Twitter will see who I’m talking to (or about) and if they are curious who that person is they can click on the link and check out their page and follow them if they think that person looks interesting. It’s a great way to meet friends of friends.
For instance, just now as I’m writing this a Twitter friend @JustinRyan was talking to someone else about a past blog post I wrote. He was talking (tweeting) about me and used @Sally_K so I was able to see that he was talking (tweeting) about me and respond to him with the blog post link he was referring to.
Twitter Etiquette:
When someone sends you an @ message on Twitter. It is polite to respond. I know the big Twitter users such as @TheEllenShow or @Oprah may be overwhelmed by the amount of @ message they receive but Twitter is for building relationships not just broadcasting yourself so unless you are a superstar that doesn’t have time for the little people I recommend you start using @ messages and try to respond to any @ messages your receive.
