You can follow different groups and if you want to send out a twitter that includes that group you just put in the # sign followed by the name of the group. A tweet message would look like this: DesertCactus Hello to everyone! #tpp #tparty #teaparty #tpot http://argeg32ra . Remember you also can include links that have been shrank to websites, article, blogs, Tea Party Patriots, etc. As you type 140 starts dropping for every character and space you use. That’s why “before” is b4, or B4, and “your are” is UR or ur.
Go to http://www.twitter.com/ you setup your account. My moniker is DesertCactus. I suggest you not use your real name. Keep your monicker short. I whished I had chosen DC because I eat up a lot of the 140 characters with DesertCactus. You can have more than one name, so I will need to set up another with letters and initials. R2 or something.
I also use two other programs that offer different functionality and I jump between the programs. You can have them open and minimized at the same time. One is called hootsuite 2.0 and you can download it here: http://hootsuite.com/about. Set up your account with Twitter first, though. Once you set up the program it isn't that difficult to set up your streaming columns if you use their help page. With anything new, it will take a few minutes to get the hang of it, but it is worth it. To open the software, after downloading, just hit the Icon of the owl in the top left corner and the twitter stream page will open.
Along with hootsuite 2.0 is another very useful program that shortens long URL addresses. Though hootsuite 2.0 does have a check box to automatically shorten URLS, I like the next website to shorten URL’s. Also use it for shortening URL’s to input into an email message. Bookmark the following page: http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url.
Again, bookmark and copy long URL's into the shrink box and hit the shrink button. Presto! You now have a truncated web address that is much smaller so it uses far less characters of your allotted 140 in Twitter and it looks much nicer in an email because you can take a 40 character URL address and reduce it to 8 or 10 characters. It cleans up emails nicely.
Next, I use another program (I use a total of three Twitter Programs counting this one). This last tweeting software is pretty slick. It is called Tweetdeck and can be found at www.tweetdeck.com. I know some of the coordinators use this Tweetdeck. It has multiple columns and the user design’s; it is changeable and flexible in what feeds you program to view side by side. You can also change the background colors, etc.
This is a great way for coordinators to send out links, pictures, and just have live talk with your group. Let’s say you create a group named: #palmspringscoalition. Then you can have your group start communicating live whenever they are on and start sending links, articles, pictures, videos, etc. There are small icons at the top of the page that allow you to upload pics and videos to TweetDeck and then attach them to your tweet for your group to open. Also, the tweets are NEVER deleted so use common sense. I say this because your members can go back through the tweets to find information that you may have sent out, such as links to articles, etc., in the past.
Lastly the purpose of this communication: Twitter messages are just now starting to be looked at as a major source of communication and bloggers are also tweeting more, moving to instantaneous communication. They can send out links to articles just blogged, etc, and then communicate back and forth with those who read them. That is much different than just slapping things up and not getting any response, etc. Also there is interaction. Because of this trend, as noted, bloggers are moving to Twitter; software developers and webpage designers are taking note and are asking how they can use this technology. One thing that is coming is a group link that allows others to follow your contact list you create vs. putting them into the favorite’s one at a time, with just a single click.
Something new is a web page that only captures tweets of the Media! Now that is much more useful and that is why I am communicating.
Down the left side of the webpage are media icons that we normally use and think of. For example, click the Fox News icon and all the tweets from Fox news programs and their correspondents are displayed. This is pretty cool to say the least.
You will find this website for: "Journalist on Twitter" at http://muckrack.com/. Bookmark it! You need to know nothing about Twitter to use this page. Focus on who these people are and what they are saying. We must start knowing who is behind the scenes shaping the view you and I get. Also, it gives possibly a little insight into who they are by what they tweet.
I will post this email on my blog if you need to get back to it and will try to add to it as I learn more.
Keith
http://www.can-you-hear-us-now.blogspot.com
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