1. Twitter: Twitter
(http://www.twitter.com) is a microblogging and social networking website in
which users post and interacts with messages known as tweets. Registered users
can post, read, like, and retweet tweets originally restricted up to 140
characters long, but were doubled to 280 for non-Asian languages in November
2017, but unregistered users can only read them. Users access Twitter through
its website interface, through Short Message Service (SMS) or its mobile
application (app). Twitter was developed by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone
and Evan Williams way back on March 21, 2006 and presently it is owned and
operated by Twitter Inc.
2. Facilities Available at Twitter: The following
are the facilities available over Twitter.
a) Profile: The registered
user can have a profile. Twitter allows users to update their profile via their
mobile phone either by text messaging or by apps released for certain
smartphones and tablets.
b) Post Tweet: Registered users
can post tweets originally restricted up to 140 characters long, but were
doubled to 280 for non-Asian languages later on or photo or video. Twitter
messages are public, but users can also send private direct messages.
c) Like: Users can also
like (formerly favorite) individual tweets.
d) Retweet: Individual
tweets can be forwarded by other users to their own feed, a process known as a
retweet.
e) Following: Users may
subscribe to other users’ tweets which is known as following and subscribers
are known as followers.
f) Mentions: The @ sign
followed by a username is used for mentioning or replying to other users.
Mentions lets users in a tweet conversations type @ to give a particular user a
notification.
g) Hashtags: Users can group
posts together by topic or type by use of hashtags #.
h) Twitter
Lists:
Twitter Lists feature make it possible for users to follow ad hoc lists of
authors instead of individual authors.
i) URL
Shortening:
Twitter has used its own t.co domain for automatic shortening of all URLs
posted on its site, making other link shorteners unnecessary for staying within
Twitter’s 140 character limits.
j) Trending
Topics:
A word, phrase, or topic that is mentioned at a greater rate than others is
said to be a trending topic.
k) Moments: Twitter Moments
allows users to curate tweets from other users into a larger collection.
l) Apps Centre: Users can also
use various embedded apps available in the Twitter that help users find other
applications.
m) Verified
Accounts:
Twitter stated that an account with a verification badge indicates that they are
in contact with the person or entity the account is representing and verified
that it is approved.
n) Polls: Twitter began
to roll out the ability to attach poll questions to tweets. Polls are open for
up to 7 days, and voters are not personally identified.
o) Privacy: Tweets are
publicly visible by default, but senders can restrict message delivery to only
their followers.
3.
Why Twitter is Important: Twitter has been used for a
variety of purposes in many industries and scenarios. For example, it has been
used to organize protests, sometimes referred to as Twitter Revolutions. A
practical use for Twitter’s real-time functionality is as an effective de facto
emergency communication system for breaking news. Below are some of the reasons
for which your institute or library should have a Twitter account.
a) Microblogging
Service: Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time. As
a result, you are forced to be concise. If the users
don’t have time to write and read anymore then Twitter messages are well within
the threshold of average user’s attention span.
b) Save Time: Twitter is an
easy way to tell people about anything in a very short span of time-both for
you and your audience. You can write a message over twitter in less than 30
seconds.
c) Generate
Traffic for your Website: Twitting your blog post can be a viral effect on
your blog traffic.
d)
Create Brand: For anyone who needs to build a personal brand, be it a
library or an institution the Twitter learning curve is shorter. You tweet, people
follow, and your network grows.
e)
Breaking Coverage: Twitter provides the fast transfer of thought, and an
endless supply of original content that's easy to consume on the go. Twitter is
the only way for us all to stay relevant.
f) No Grammar: Most users don’t posses serious writing
skills and Twitter does not require serious writing skills. Because of Twitter’s 140-character limitation you can
be excused for bad grammar, spelling mistakes and abusing abbreviations.
g) Marketing
Platform:
Twitter has made marketers rethink the way they
market. On twitter you can find more companies than users. All have their
twitter accounts and send tweets to their followers and it is the new age
marketing.
h)
No Device Barrier:
Twitter is highly usable through all types
of web enabled devices.
4. How to Auto Post to Twitter: Opening an
account in Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) is very easy.
Just log in to http://www.twitter.com and click on
the Sign Up for Twitter button and
follow the steps. To auto post to Twitter from others website, blog or RSS
feed, kindly use the following-
a) Feedburner: The best way to
auto-post from RSS-powered website or blog to Twitter is Feedburner. After
linking your Twitter account with the Feedburner, whenever you will post
anything over your RSS-powered website it will automatically be published over
the Twitter account. You can also post directly in your Twitter account. Here
are the steps to link Feedburner with Twitter account.
Steps
2.
Click on Publicize tab
3.
Click on Socialize tab
4.
Click on Add a Twitter account
button
5.
Log in to the Twitter with your user id and password and then click Allow button to authorize and add the
Twitter account to Feedburner.
6.
Now in the Feedburner account change the formatting
options (select Title and Body and include Link).
7.
Click on Activate or Save button to start the auto-tweet function.
b) TweetDeck: TweetDeck
(https://tweetdeck.twitter.com) the popular social media dashboard is a
brilliant application to auto-post to Twitter. One can access TweetDeck via its
Chrome app, iPhone app, Android app, Windows app or Mac app. The key features
of the app include its ability to monitor lists, user activity, and searches –
all in a single dashboard. Moreover, it also provides one with the ability to
select which tweets they want to display in the dashboard i.e. one can exclude
specific users or even specific terms from tweets.
c) HootSuite: HootSuite (https://hootsuite.com) allows you to schedule and
publish updates across multiple social networks including Facebook (page and
group), Twitter, Mixi, LinkedIn, Ping.fm, WordPress, MySpace, and Foursquare
automatically. HootSuite also allows you to add RSS feeds, Instagram, YouTube,
Blogger, Flickr, Tumblr, StumbleUpon to your account to update your social
networks when new posts are available from your own blog as well as others. You
can use HootSuite for free with up to three social profiles.
d) Buffer: Buffer (https://buffer.com) is another wonderful tool
that can help you in auto-posting to your social media accounts. You can post
updates or schedule posts through the use of the Buffer dashboard. Updates can
be sent to your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. From within the
Buffer app, you can set up ‘buffering patterns’ (auto-sharing schedules) for
different days of the week. This means that you can have a different posting
schedule on Monday, a different one on Tuesday and so forth. Again, one of the
most useful features of the Buffer app is the content suggestion tool that
automatically tells you what you can post to your social networks.
e) Zapier: Zapier (https://zapier.com) is an automation tool that works on
individual automated tasks that are known as Zaps. For instance, a single Zap
could be created for monitoring a particular YouTube channel. Zaps are
generally used to gather content and then automatically publish the found
content on your social media profile. The app itself supports over 250 services
and you can create Zaps according to your own requirements and preferences as
well.
5.
Conclusion: Twitter is an online microblogging service for distributing
short messages among groups of recipients via personal computer or mobile
phone.
Its microblogging system allows one to send and
receive short posts. It incorporates aspects of social networking websites with
instant messaging technologies to create networks of users who can communicate
throughout the day with brief messages or tweets”. In addition, users can elect
to track specific topics, creating a dialogue of sorts and pushing the number
of followers in a given Twitter feed into the millions.
How to Cite this
Article?
APA Citation, 7th Ed.: Barman, B. (2020). A comprehensive book on Library and Information Science. New
Publications.
Chicago 16th Ed.: Barman, Badan. A Comprehensive Book on Library and Information Science. Guwahati:
New Publications, 2020.
MLA Citation 8th Ed: Barman, Badan. A Comprehensive Book on Library and Information Science. New
Publications, 2020.

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