Tech Talk

Twitter has revolutionized the way I live my life.

When considering what topic I would write my inaugural entry about for this dynamic site, the decision was not difficult.

The question of why I tweet — or share information on Twitter — has followed me for the past year. From the NBC News and FOX News headquarters in midtown Manhattan to countless lunches with friends and co-workers across the country, I get the same level of doubt and cynicism. Few people who have yet to try Twitter seem to grasp how powerful the service can be, and boy are they missing out!

Despite sounding a bit cliché, I cannot express the impact this social networking tool has had on the way I get my news, share information and stay in touch with friends.

Chances are, if you haven’t spent any considerable amount of time on the site, you are skeptical. And yes, I am a tech nerd, but that point isn’t relevant to Twitter’s endless potential.

Like almost everything else in life, Twitter’s effectiveness lies with you and your actions and decisions.

It’s all about who YOU decide to follow — and boy are there choices.

From lonely housewives and frustrated commuters to overwhelmed news editors and egotistical celebrities, every slice of life is on Twitter — and I follow them all.

For Twitter newbies who have some understanding of Facebook, I almost always describe Twitter as Facebook status on steroids.  You essentially have a finite amount of space (for Twitter, it is 140 characters,) to describe something.

I have two Twitter accounts — one for my personal life that is restricted only to friends and one for everyone else.

On my public account, I generally share news and information I gather from Twitter and some of my favorite news Web sites. But I also follow the tweets of other interesting folks across the region and around the world.  You never know who will give you that great nugget you will want to retweet (or repeat, for you non-tweeters.)

ENOUGH ALREADY … HOW DOES TWITTER WORK?

The first step, I have found, to effective tweeting is finding folks you want to follow through searching for people you know in the search cue or checking out some of the hot topics listed on the right rail of the homepage.

By following others, you will get noticed and folks will begin to follow you.  I promise.  And then the fun begins.

Depending on who you follow, you will learn everything from Billy’s first word to information about the robbery at the deli across the street.  It is quite innovative — and best of all, your inbox won’t get filled up.

Unlike other sites, you can see everything someone has posted in a clear and simple format.  For example, if you want to see everything I entered, all you have to do is go to Twitter.com/jdeloma.  It’s really that simple.

In addition to seeing what other users are tweeting about in the popular trends rail that I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, you could go to sites like Monitter and enter keywords and even regional information to refine what information will appear.

You could also communicate — privately or publicly — with your fellow twits, as I like to call Twitter users.  For example, if you want to send me a message that anyone could see, simply enter @jdeloma somewhere in your tweet.

If you would like to send me a private message, click Direct Messages on the right rail and then enter the person’s name (for me, it would be jdeloma,) and then enter your message.  However, in order to send a direct message, the person must already be following you.

And in a nutshell, that’s Twitter.  Once you figure this out, which really won’t take very long, you can expand your horizons and avoid traffic jams, hook up with friends — and perhaps even find a better job.

You could see what I have been tweeting about on the right rail of this page.  Cool, eh?

Because Twitter is a large part of my life and what I do, it was important to post this primer so we are on the same page.  Now that this out of the way, we could have some real fun with future posts.  If you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to send them my way.

Now get out there, and tweet!  And then check back, and let me know how it goes.  And, please, don’t forget to follow me.

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