How to send automatic one time direct messages (DM) to new followers on Twitter.

Before I go into how to set up an automatic DM, I’d like to share a few of my thoughts.

First, I do NOT believe in using this feature for sending people directly to sales pages, ads, videos, etc. NO ONE LIKES RECEIVING THESE! IT’S INCREDIBLY ANNOYING AND PEOPLE WILL BLOCK YOU.. INCLUDING ME. It’s called Twitter etiquette : )

Read the rest of this entry

Part 2: Networking Using Twitter

Why Twitter?  Believe it or not, your interests, desires, talents are actually important and interesting to others in the world.  Twitter limits you to 140 characters to express whatever you want through what is called a ‘tweet’. So why should I use this service? Read on…

Read the rest of this entry

Never used TweetDeck before or new to TweetDeck? Check out this video.

Read the rest of this entry

Twitter Search is a great tool to use. I use twitter search to find people talking about a certain topic at that moment in time. It’s powerful because you can get real time information instantly on a topic.

Tweet Grid is also an awesome resource as well. Tweet Grid let’s you set up multiple search topics and see who is tweeting about those specific topics in real time. I personally like to use the New Experimental Layout: 1×4 grid.

Hash tags are also used a lot in tweets and on twitter searches. For example, if I wanted to search the current tweets about soccer I would put #soccer in the twitter search box and a list of current tweets on the topic of soccer would show up. This happens because people talking about soccer in a tweets put #soccer somewhere in their tweet (usually at the end) so it’s easily searched and found for people looking for news and information on the topic of soccer. Hashtags are used for categorizing tweets…

Read the rest of this entry

Creating a Background Image for your Twitter Profile

Another cool feature that Twitter offers is the ability for you to modify your Twitter background. For example, it allows you to incorporate your blog or website design into your Twitter background. Here are some design layout dimensions that you can work with to create a Twitter background image:

In Photoshop you want to set your dimensions as follows:

Read the rest of this entry

Oprah Talks TWITTER with Ashton Kutcher & Evan Williams

Oprah(@oprah)-Get’s informed of what Twitter is and get’s a tweet from Ellen(@theellenshow)

Ashton Kutcher(@aplusk)- Talks about how he beat CNN to a million followers.

Evan Williams(@ev)- Talks about how Twitter got started.

Read the rest of this entry

I have been receiving many questions about twitter. Here are some of the most frequent questions received.

What is the big deal about Twitter?

Read the rest of this entry

What are the differences between Google, Facebook and Twitter?

Here are basic simplified definitions of each:

Read the rest of this entry

What is HootSuite? HootSuite is the ultimate Twitter toolbox. With HootSuite, you can manage multiple Twitter profiles, pre-schedule tweets, measure your success and much more. The best thing is, it’s FREE!

HootSuite has recently become one of my favorite Twitter tools.

Why you ask?

Read the rest of this entry

What is a Tweetup?

The purpose of a Tweetup is to provide an opportunity for a real world meeting between two or more people who know each other through the online twitter service.  However, they are not limited to tweets.  At the end of the day, a Tweetup is about networking with like-minded, business-oriented people in a fun, high-energy environment.

I like Charlie Wollborg’s (@charliecurve) definition from the Royal Oak Tweetup we had recently:  “A tweetup is like the world’s largest, online cocktail party where people are sharing news and information, as well as having conversations about virtually anything, in real time.”

Interested in hosting your own?  Here are some tips.

1. You will want ot find a fun atmosphere to host the Tweetup. Ideally, choose a big venue where people can walk around and comfortably meet and communicate with people.  Low noise and low smoke is preferable.  Make sure to reserve an area large enough for the number you estimate will be attending. Speak to the manager of the establishment (Conference Room, Bar/Lounge, coffee shop), and fill him/her in on what is going on. See if you can get any specials on drinks or appetizers since you will be bringing in a large number of people. Make sure you visit the place beforehand to get a good feel for the venue.

Read the rest of this entry