How is the best way to use Twitter?

Cathie,

It is important to only retweet significant messages that you want to pass on to your followers. This should be limited to tweets announcing the publication of a NEW post, photo or video, or some other information which is unique in some way.

What you should NOT do, is to retweet every tweet that appears in your 'Twitter stream', ESPECIALLY if that Tweet is simply someone thanking another member for commenting on their post or other content. This is really an abuse of the Twitter service, and by passing on that tweet, you are abusing the service (and your followers).

FYI, reviewing your tweets identified several problems that can lead to reduced traffic for your content, and to you being ignored/shunned on the Twitter service.

If you would like more information on this topic, please feel free to post a comment on any daily HelpCenter discussion [link below].

Cathie,

I will have to address your question in several parts. I will be back as soon as I can.

Cathie,

Here is some information that I hope will help you:

1. Twitter is a service where you 'tweet' short messages to your 'followers', and to others beyond your Twitter network. These messages should be whole expressions and be important enough to warrant a 'tweet'. For example:
   
   

   My new photo essay depicting incredible #hummingbirds in flight. http://...

   or

   Check out Bob's latest video on dog tricks. It is soooooo cute! http://...

   or

   I can't believe that David got voted off the #DWTS show! Have you seen his reaction? http://...

   
   

   Each of these tweets are stand-alone thoughts and are an appropriate way to use the Twitter service for promoting your work, or the work of others.
   
   

2. You should always consider your 'followers' on Twitter to be your fan base, and often this fan base includes friends, family, associates, etc. You therefore should show respect for this fan base in the tweets that you share on the Twitter service. Sending tweets that are superfluous, or retweeting tweets of little value will reduce your integrity on the service, which will lower the effectiveness of your promotion and lead to your folllowers dropping or blocking you. Basically, if you wouldn't send the same information in an email, then you likely shouldn't tweet it either.
   
   
3. As mentioned above, tweets should be stand-alone complete thoughts. Therefore, you should almost always avoid sharing your comments on Gather with Twitter. There is hardly ever an occasion where this would not be considered an abuse of the Twitter service. Obviously the same is true for retweeting too. For example, tweets like the following should be avoided at all costs:
   
   

   RT @Mrs_Roadrunner: Thank you SO MUCH Sandra!! http://www.gather.com/viewImage.action?fileId=3096224746528078#cid-1688849886414791

   This is a tweet from your Twitter page which is simply one member thanking another member for stopping by their post on Gather. This type of comment should NEVER be shared with Twitter, and certainly should never be retweeted.
   
   

4. Also, you should never overuse hashtags. This can be considered spam. For example, here is another tweet from your Twitter page:
   
   

   http://bit.ly/9FvWFZ #photo #photograph #foto #fotos #fotograph #hummingbirds #pictures #picture #nature

   This tweet has little substance, and does not convey much about what you are sharing...or what a reader will find when they click on the link. A more appropriate (and effective) tweet would be:

   http://bit.ly/9FvWFZ Amazing flight of the #hummingbird caught on film! #nature

   This second tweet captures attention and curiosity, as well conveys information about the content being linked to (and therefore shows respect for your followers).
   
   

5. It is also important to look upon your Twitter account as you would a blog or Gather group. You should have a 'theme' or primary subject area that you tweet regularly. Tweeting about a wide variety of subjects will not be as effective as tweeting around a specific topic. If necessary, open another Twitter account for each subject area (nature, cooking, TV etc.).

You asked some great questions Cathie, so...