A Native Nerd's Guide to #NativeTwitter

Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. In 2012, more than 100 million users posted 340 million tweets a day. There used to be a limitation of 140 characters per tweet, but Twitter, seeing the need for people to express themselves a little more, doubled the count.

I have been doing a bit of research over the past few years, and I have been a user of the social media platform since December 2010. After just looking this up, I am admittedly surprised to say I have been on Twitter for almost eight years. (Wow.)

There are a lot of things to know about Twitter as a social media platform, and I see a lot of folks using it to share their thoughts, share photos, articles in Indian Country Today, or just a few thoughts about the world in general. There are a lot of great posts, but I think a lot of users on Twitter can take things one step farther in the right direction by optimizing their tweets just a little bit.

All of this said, I will now dispense to you the things I have learned over the years and do my best to explain all about what Twitter is, how to use it, and ways to optimize your tweets. I will also add my tweets to this article to give examples as we go along.

@VinceSchilling: Right now, as I type this, I am working on my weekly #NativeNerd column in @IndianCountry Today and I am discussing the best practices on how to use @Twitter. I will continue to add to this tweet as I go, so follow along as I type out suggestions, tips and personal insights. I will start with basic info for new or beginning users, and will add more detailed information as I continue through the article. I hope you enjoy!

How do I start tweeting?

Visit Twitter.com and start the normal set-up process and choose a username. A username is a personal online social media name people choose for themselves. It can be their name, something funny, or official. I use my name @VinceSchilling. Keep in mind, I started 8 years ago, and truth be told, the chances are fairly tight in getting the exact username you might want right off the bat because Twitter has 330 million monthly active users. But you might get lucky and find the name you like.

Once you get signed in, verify your email, and upload a profile photo… you can start tweeting.

Who should I follow?

When you first start Twitter, you will be offered suggestions on who to follow. If you follow someone, you will then see their “feed,” which is a semi-fancy name for their tweets on your “timeline.” Your personal timeline is all of your own personal tweets; your homepage is the tweets of everyone you follow. If you are gracious enough to follow me on Twitter, whenever I tweet an article, video, photo, or thoughts as a journalist in Indian Country, my tweets show up on your home page.

Now that I have explained this, follow anyone whom you like. With 330 million accounts on Twitter, you can follow your favorite celebrities, journalists, friends, family, or organizations. People aren’t the only ones with a Twitter account; you can also follow name brands and even TV shows. Sometimes, your favorite folks on Twitter will appreciate the follow and follow you back. Don’t take it personally if they don’t; sometimes they aren’t able to respond with a busy schedule, or they only wish to follow a select few accounts.

If you are still not sure, you can always ask people on Twitter whom they might recommend.

@VinceSchilling: My #NativeNerd column in @IndianCountry Today on @Twitter: I am now writing / discussing thoughts on whom to follow. Anyone out there have some great suggestions?

How can I get people to follow me?

When many people first come to Twitter, they understandably want to amass a great amount of followers who will respond, engage, interact, reply, and give overwhelmingly appreciative comments on just how wonderful of a person they are. Who can blame them? A compliment is a wonderful thing, and it really does feel fantastic to feel appreciated.

BUT—and I do mean this with emphasis—there will be a bit of work involved in maintaining a level of social engagement.

Social media is just that: it is social. In just as much as you like a compliment, others like to be appreciated as well. So though it is simple, a lot of people miss out on the “social” aspect of social media. You have to interact.

@VinceSchilling: My #NativeNerd column in @IndianCountry Today on @Twitter: A lot of people ask me, "How do I gain more followers?" I will explain my experiences in this article. What are your suggestions? Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts folks! :)

Many times, I see someone on social media who is just a broadcaster. In a sense, they are standing on a platform with a megaphone shouting out their own interests or promoting their own agenda. This works to some regard if the company is an established brand, but if you don’t interact with your followers or vice versa, many times people will lose interest and unfollow you or go elsewhere. Twitter can be a great place with lots of great information, but it can also be an anonymous environment where a Twitter user is like the Queen who, once she feels the amusement is over, screams, “Off with their heads!”

You must engage. Say ‘Good morning,’ or ‘Beautiful hat you are wearing,’ or ‘Thanks for the great comment, I appreciate your insights.’ People will tell you there are quick and easy ways to gain followers, but in my life’s experience, there is no such thing as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme.

What is the @ sign in front of usernames?

When you visit Twitter, you will notice the “@” sign in front of usernames. Simply explained, you have to put the @ sign in front of a username to let people know you are talking to them or about them.

When you are working in a Microsoft Word document or Google Docs, if you have ever put in a website and kept typing right after the website address, the website link becomes “LIVE.” For example, here is my LIVE link to Twitter:https://twitter.com/VinceSchilling.

You could now click on the link above and navigate to my Twitter profile online. When you type the @ sign in front of a username, it becomes “LIVE” in your tweet. It is the exact same concept as adding a website in a document.

But wait—there is a difference: When you tweet with a live username in your tweet such as mine (@VinceSchilling), that person will be notified you are talking about them. But you have to be extremely careful when adding the @ sign to a username.

@VinceSchilling: I am now talking about the importance of using the @ sign correctly. If you are one small letter, number, period or dash off, you could be talking to the President of the local cupcake club rather than the President of the multi-billion dollar National Potato Organization.

One tip one of my followers reminded me about as I was tweeting is to ensure you place a space before the @ to ensure the username “link” goes live. (Thanks BadPonyMedicine!) The only place you don’t need the space is if you are at the front of the tweet. You can always check to see if the link to their name went live after you post the tweet. If you click on their name and navigate to their Twitter page, your tweet “@ shoutout” has been successful.

Talking to someone on Twitter tips

If you wantto talk to someone on Twitter and you want the whole world to know about it, put a character or word in front of the username. Like “Hey @VinceSchilling!” Or “.@VinceSchilling, check out this link.” (That is why you will sometimes see a period in front of a username; it makes the tweet publicly visible to all your followers.)

If you want to talk to someone on Twitter and only want that person (and people who follow both of you) to see it in their timeline, start the tweet directly withthe username.

In this example, I tweeted to my wife. Notice thedifference in Tweets:

@VinceSchilling: > These tweets are publicly visible: Hello my beautiful wife @DelSchilling, have a wonderful day! OR .@DelSchilling, have a wonderful day! This tweet (when there is nothing before the @) is not posted on your timeline for everyone. The username sees it: @DelSchilling Have a wonderful day!

So this is already a lot to take in, but stay with me as I promise things will get easier. Many users out there know a lot of these tips, but sometimes there are small things that you may not know.

What is a verified account aka the blue checkmark thingie?

A verified account is just what you might think it means. It means Twitter has gone through the process to ensure that person is who they say they are. As you might imagine, since Twitter allows people to have parody accounts, there are a lot of accounts that might heckle or support public figures, ranging from fan clubs to outright angry accounts aimed at politicians. Twitter says they do not tolerate hate speech, but some accounts get away with a lot of volatile banter.

If you are not sure if the person you are following is the real deal, look to see if there is a verified account; that is your safest bet. As a public figure and journalist in Indian Country, I am fortunate to have a verified Twitter account, thus I have one of those cool checkmark thingies next to my name.

Replies, Likes and Retweets

When you are looking at a tweet (it can be your own or another person's), you will see the following:

• Reply: Far left button. It is just that: reply to a person’s tweet. Here is a great place to give a compliment, share your thoughts, or say what comes to mind. People are here to interact, so reach out and see what happens.
• Retweet: Second from the left. If you see someone’s post on Twitter and you enjoy it or what they say resonates with you, you can retweet it. You can just hit the retweet button and be done with it, or you can "Quote Tweet" to add a comment.
• Like: Third button (a heart). Click this if you liked the tweet. The public can see what you've liked.
• Tweet Activity: Far right. This is a little more analytical, and I don’t use this a whole lot, but if you are a statistics junkie and want to know who looked at your tweets or want to see the outreach, click on the little graph.

Throwing the block or mute at users

Is someone pestering you or being too argumentative? You can always block someone, or if you think they are annoying but don’t want to exclude them completely, you can just hit the mute button.

Just navigate to the three little dots next to the follow button on their profile and exert the power you were always meant to have! You are in charge here! (You can also report someone for abusive behavior.)

What you see on your own home page

When navigating to your own profile page, you will see a lot of information. Here is what they all mean in a nutshell:

• Home: Click the little house to navigate to your main feed.
• Moments: Curated stories showcasing the very best of what’s happening on Twitter. It guides you to current popular topics.
• Notifications: If someone uses your username in a tweet or replies to you, you get a notification. Twitter is great at giving you options to cater to the experience you want (like turning off phone buzzes).
• Messages: If someone follows you, you can send them a private message (a direct message or ‘DM’). Too many DMs are considered intrusive if you have not been invited to do so. Thus the expression, “Why is this person all up in my DMs?”
• Tweets / Following / Followers / Likes: Click these to see your own tweets, who you follow, who follows you, and the tweets you have liked.
• Lists: Some people like to categorize people into lists such as journalists, celebrities, singers, etc.
• Bio Info / Edit Profile: Your biographical info, a funny quote, where you live, and a place to edit this personal info.
• Follow Suggestions: Twitter follows a formula to find like-minded accounts. If you follow Spongebob, Twitter will likely suggest Patrick.

What the heck is a #hashtag and why are they important on Twitter?

When you scour through the millions of tweets, you will almost always see words or abbreviations beginning with the “#” sign. It is called a hashtag and works similarly to the @ in front of a username. It makes the words “LIVE” and if you click on the hashtag, you can see everyone who has used it to categorize their tweet.

Perhaps one of the best examples of the power of a hashtag is #NoDAPL, in which everyone who had something to say about the Dakota Access Pipeline or water protectors used the hashtag. When a #hashtag becomes popular, it “Trends,” meaning it is garnering the majority of attention on Twitter.

One thing to keep in mind: don’t go too overboard on hashtags. This might get you noticed on Instagram, but it honestly clogs up your tweets on Twitter.

Posting images, gifs, videos, links and more

How do you do basic tweets and add photos, links, videos, etc.? From your desktop, click the Tweet button. If you are on your phone or a tablet, it will be a little blue feather/plus button you will press to tweet.

• Attach a photo: Drag and drop into Twitter or navigate to the right place on your computer or phone.
• Add a GIF: A graphic interchange format (a nerdy way to say moving picture). Click on the GIF button and enter a search term; you can find some hilarious responses.
• Add a poll: Want to ask people to vote on a question? You can even schedule the time period. This is a great way to engage on Twitter.
• Add a location: Add where you are in the world to your tweet.
• Add an article, video or link: Use share buttons on websites or cut and paste the link.

Threads - Not as hard to do as you might think

If you have a lot to say and it won’t fit into one tweet, you may want to consider a thread. Seem tough? It’s not. All you have to do is type out your first tweet, then hit the "Add another Tweet" button (usually a plus sign). You will create a long or short continuous “thread” of connected tweets.

Take all this information and optimize your tweets

Taking all of this information into account, do the best you can to employ the best practices in creating the best tweets you can. Here are some of my parting tips:

1. Include usernames in your tweets: Do you like Dwayne The Rock Johnson’s latest movie? Look up his Twitter username and include him in your tweet. It is possible someone with millions of followers might retweet your message.
2. Use hashtags, but don’t overdo it: Use hashtags when you can, but people can tell when you are self-promoting too much.
3. Read your tweets before you hit send: Sometimes you might be caught up in emotion. Take a moment to breathe and read your tweet.
4. Don’t over-abbreviate: I can’t tell you how many times I try to read a tweet and get confused. It is better to create a two-tweet thread than to have your point missed entirely.
5. Twitter karma comes quick: Be nice. People have lost their influential careers over tweets. The old adage, ‘look before you leap,’ certainly comes to mind.
6. Stop being so damn serious all the time: There is nothing wrong with calling to question the choices of elected officials or company CEOs, but keep in mind people also want to know about the interesting lives of others. Do your part in bringing a bit of light to this world.

Phew! It took me awhile to get here! Now go out there and enjoy Twitter. I do—and I would be honored if we could follow each other. I would LOVE to see your tweets in response to this article “at me” on Twitter at @VinceSchilling and use the hashtag #NativeNerd.

I sincerely give well wishes to all of you.