The 5 things any new Twitter user should know when getting started

The 5 things any new Twitter user should know when getting started

Sign Up


Go to twitter.com and click the big green button that says Get Started — Join! The sign-up process is thankfully brief: Name, user name, password, e-mail. Pick a user name you’ll be comfortable with as a nickname for yourself. It’s better to use your real name than something like makemoneyfast.

Send Your First Tweet
Log in with your new user name and password. Find the big box at the top of the screen that asks, What are you doing? You can type anything you want here, but a good first tweet is something that says hello to the world. Oprah Winfrey’s first successful tweet said FEELING VERY 21st CENTURY. Here’s a tip: Don’t type in all capitals.

Settings

Now that you’ve got your first tweet out of the way, it’s time to personalize your account. Click Settings in the upper right corner of the page. Most important is that you add a photo rather than leave the default Twitter icon. Nothing says “clueless newbie” like the default picture. Poke through the other settings to add information about yourself.

Follow Users

By default, Twitter doesn’t show any tweets when you log in. You can subscribe to other users: Click on a user’s photo or name to go to that page. Then click the Follow button that appears beneath the picture. Other people can follow you. If you don’t know whom to follow, start with President Obama’s communications staff at twitter.com/whitehouse. There’s also a list of Suggested Users on the Find People page. (Insider drama: Some Twitter users are furious at being left off the Suggested Users list, because they’ll never collect as many followers as Alison or Justine, the pretty ladies at the top of the list.)

You don’t have to follow everyone who follows you, but it’s considered good Twitter etiquette to at least consider it.

It’s possible to block other users from following you. But I don’t advise joining Twitter unless you love attention.

Search

Bookmark search.twitter.com. This page lets you search all tweets on Twitter, Google-style. There’s an Advanced Search page you’ll eventually find useful for constructing pickier searches.