Twitter Guide

A beginners guide by beginners

Marianne Wallace and Rachel Bew

Occupational Therapy Interns

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking site used by many to express themselves, share stories, pictures and articles on the internet.

Twitter can be a place people find friends, support, news and more.

Twitter uses messages of 140-characters called “Tweets”. Twitter can be

accessed on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Your profile picture can be anything.

Everybody has a name and a @username.

These can be different. Think of the @username as an email address.

Your bio – some information about you and your interests.

This shows that you are “following” someone. To follow someone press this:

Your Profile

These are people and organisations that you follow.

You will see Tweets from people you follow on your homepage.

These are people that follow you - your Tweets will automatically appear on their homepage.

Your Profile

This is where you type your message.

You may want to tag people using their @username or a #hashtag,

# - you can place this symbol in front of any word or phrase to give emphasis.

Press one of these buttons to compose your Tweet.

Sending a Tweet:

You have 140 characters for your Tweet. If you go over this you will need to reduce the number of characters before sending.

This allows you to state your location – this is optional.

Be cautious about sharing this information

Press here to add a photo

Press here to send Tweet.

Sending a Tweet:

Ideas for Tweets:•Thoughts and ideas•What you have been doing•Your work with the SDWG•Photographs•News and articles•Links to websites

Something to consider:Please remember anyone can view your Tweets.

…unless you change your account settings to protect your Tweets (see Staying safe online section)

You might like to mention other people in your Tweet using their @username. This person will then get a “notification” that you have “mentioned” them in a Tweet.

# - hashtag is a symbol you can place in front of any word. You can search for a # to see what people are saying about that topic. eg. Searching for #Scotland will show Tweets about Scotland.

What to include in a Tweet:

This is a Tweet from Alzheimer Scotland. Their @username is @alzscot

Date or time Tweet was posted

This Tweet uses:#dementia@S_D_W_Gand includes an internet link.

This is the text of your Tweet.

You have 140 characters – this includes using @usernames, #hashtags and links.

Profile Picture

What a Tweet looks like

Press

All @usernames are automatically included.

Type your Tweet and press

Reply to Tweet looks like this:

Reply to a Tweet

Retweet

Press

Select Retweet from options

Retweeting allows you to pass on information to your followers

The retweet symbol will turn green

Press

Select Quote Tweet from options

Quote Tweet allows you to add a comment before retweeting to your followers

Add your comment and press

Quote Tweet looks like this:

Quote Tweet

Press

This shows your appreciation for a Tweet

The heart will turn red

Like a Tweet

Your Home page shows you Tweets from everyone you follow.

Moments shows you topics and stories that are currently popular. This is known as trending.

Notifications shows when someone has interacted with you on Twitter including:-When your Tweets have been liked, retweeted or replied to.-When you have been mentioned in a Tweet.-When someone new follows you.

Direct Message lets you send a private message to a Twitter user.

Options

Twitter is safely used by millions of people around the world everyday.

There are some areas that you might want to consider when using Twitter to stay safe online.

Security Online Abuse

Think before you

TweetPrivacy

Staying Safe Online

Security

Do not give out personal information like your password, address, date of birth, email or phone number.

Your location when Tweeting is automatically switched off this prevents people knowing exactly where you are.

Do not click on internet links you think might be suspicious or untrustworthy.

Be cautious of direct messages from people you do not know.

If you think your account has been hacked, change your password.

Privacy

Your Twitter profile is automatically set to ‘Public’.

Anyone can see your Tweets even if they don’t follow you or have a Twitter account.

You can opt to ‘Protect’ your Tweets which means only followers you approve can see your Tweets. You will receive a request when new people want to follow you, which you can approve or deny.

The ‘Protect’ function will make your account more private but will limit the visibility of your Tweets when sharing what you do.

The ‘Protect my Tweets’ option can be found within the Privacy Settings.

Staying Safe Online

Think before you Tweet

What you Tweet stays online

Think carefully about what you Tweet before you post it.

Your Tweets could be found on an internet search even by people who do not have a Twitter account.

Do not say anything or add pictures that you think might cause you or someone else embarrassment.

Respect others – Everyone’s views are their own.

Staying Safe Online

Online Abuse

Remember, not everyone online is who they say they are.

Do not let people convince you to do things that you are not comfortable with.

If someone posts something private about you that you are not happy with you can ask them to take it down or report it to Twitter.

It is ok to ‘unfollow’ someone if you no longer want to see Tweets from them.

Click on one of these buttons to ‘unfollow’:

Staying Safe Online

Online Abuse – Your options:

If you see Tweets that you find upsetting or offensive you have different options:

To access these options look for this symbol on the Tweet:

Mute: this means that you will no longer see Tweets from this account. This person can still view your profile and will remain on your ‘followers’ list.

Block: this means that the account can no longer follow you, view your Tweets or send you direct messages. You will not see their Tweets either.

Report: You can report Tweets if you think they are spam, abusive or harmful. You will be asked by Twitter to provide information on why you think the Tweet is offensive.

Staying Safe Online

Glossary

A @username is how you're identified on Twitter.People will use your @username to mention you in Tweets, send you a message or link to your profile.@username may also be called your ‘handle’.

@username

A hashtag is any word or phrase immediately preceded by the # symbol. This can be used to add emphasis or to search for a topic.

#hashtag

Note: The type of symbol you may seen may vary between your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Your bio is a short (up to 160 characters) personal description that appears in your profile.

bio

Direct Messages are private messages sent from one Twitter user to another. You can use Direct Messages for private conversations.

A Follower is a Twitter user who has Followed you. They will see your Tweets in their Homepage timeline.

FOLLOWERS

Your Home timeline shows all the Tweets from people you have chosen to follow on Twitter.

Liking a Tweet shows that you appreciate it. You can find all of your likes by clicking the likes tab on your profile.

Subscribing to a Twitter account is called “following.” To start following, click the Follow button next to their user name.

When you follow someone you will see their Tweets in your Homepage timeline.

Anyone on Twitter can follow or unfollow anyone else at any time (except blocked accounts).

To FOLLOW

FOLLOWING

Notifications shows when someone has interacted with you on Twitter including:

-When your Tweets have been liked, retweeted or replied to.-When you have been mentioned in a Tweet.-When someone new follows you.

Your personal image found in your Profile. It is the picture that appears next to each of your Tweets.

Profile Picture

Moments shows you topics and stories that are currently popular. This is known as trending.

ProfileYou can access your Profile by clicking on your Profile Picture or by clicking on the Me symbol.Your profile displays bio and all of the Tweets you have posted. Your profile along with your @username identify you on Twitter.

RetweetYou can share another users Tweet by using the Retweet button.

A Trend is a topic or a #hashtag that is popular on Twitter at that moment.

Trends

A Tweet may contain photos, videos, links and up to 140 characters of text.

To write a Tweet you click:

Tweets

ReplyYou can Reply to another user's Tweet.Reply by clicking the "reply" button next to the Tweet you'd like to respond to.

Useful Resources

Age UKTechnology and Internet Supportwww.ageuk.org.uk

BullyingUK Twitter Safety and Cyberbullyingwww.bullying.co.uk

Get Safe Onlinewww.getsafeonline.org

Safe – Internet Safetywww.safe.met.police.uk

Twitter Supportwww.support.twitter.com