Twitter 101-1: Twitter – You Hardly Know Her

Millions of people start a Twitter account and forget about it. Which is a crying shame … because in the world of social media they are missing a huge opportunity for a better life … seriously.

Time on Twitter can be well spent

Read on to learn about better living through Twitter. According to Twopcharts more than 2 billion (that’s right: two billion) Twitter accounts have been created. But only 506.1 million accounts are still in use and of those maybe 200 million were active in the past month.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll quoted by Business Insider found that 36 percent of Twitter users don't use their accounts after they've registered.

Why do so many people start on Twitter and abandon it or have an account and yet don’t use it? For most it is that Twitter is so different from other social media sites such as Facebook. But seriously, Twitter has the potential to make your life better. Here’s how it is … 

Your personal news feed: Follow a few reputable news sources and you’ll quickly learn more of what’s going on via Twitter. Over time you’ll also pick up other good sources of news and before you know it Twitter will be a primary news source. To get started, check out 10 Must-Follow Breaking News Accounts on Twitter from Mashable.

A great learning tool: Follow people who share good content that is relevant to you, your career and/or your stage of life and you get a constant stream of useful information. And, best of all, it comes to you in manageable 140-character-or-less bursts – if you want more, you click the link. This article might help: Choosing Who To Follow On Twitter.

Makes better connections than other social media: You follow people who are interesting (and quickly unfollow those who aren’t). Material they share is often material retweeted (RT) from someone they follow. This way you are exposed to new Twitter profiles and find interesting people to connect with. One of the biggest differences between Facebook and Twitter is that the former is closed (you have to be friends with others to chat) but not so on Twitter where you can literally talk to anyone. For example, my interactions with Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) and basketball great Shaquille O'Neal (@SHAQ) will always be highlights.

Going to make you a better writer: Before you dismiss this too quickly, think about it: In Twitter you need to say something of value in 140 characters or less – a lot less if you’re going to include a URL and leave room for others to retweet your message. This forces you to think about word choices … as well as teaching you a lexicon of creative Twitter language and abbreviations. This article might be helpful: The Complete Guide to Twitter Lingo.

A word of warning: If you’re only interested in connecting with family and friends you should stick to Facebook. Twitter works best among social media platforms when everyone is sharing interesting stuff and finding new and interesting people to connect with.

Are you convinced? Will you get active on Twitter now?

Related posts:

Twitter 101-2: Getting more from Twitter

Twitter 101-3: Getting even more from Twitter