How to use Twitter

If you’re new to Twitter or just want to better understand how it works this blog post is for you. Twitter is a platform that makes it easy to share thoughts or pieces of information quickly. Below is an outline for using Twitter as well as a few quick tips on best practices.

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creating an account

First, start off by creating an account. Go to the website and ‘Sign up’ if you’re new. You’ll need to put in your name, phone number or email address as well as your birthday. You will then be prompted to enter a verification code sent to either your phone or email.

Next, you’ll make a password and from there you can choose a handle (username), picture and any other information you want to include like a bio.

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using the menu bar

A good tool to find before you begin is the menu bar, pictured below. From here you can explore hashtags, look at your notifications and read private messages.

If you need to make changes or fix your privacy settings click the ‘More’ button on the bottom left side of the screen and then choose ‘Settings and privacy:’

composing a tweet

Once you have your account you can start using it. In order to write a Tweet, find the ‘What’s happening?’ box on your home page:

Or click the “Tweet” tab which you can find on your home page or profile page:

Either of those options will allow you to compose a Tweet:

If you look at the image above, you will see how I used a hashtag to tag a topic and the @ symbol to tag another user. Tagging a user will alert the account holder that they are in your Tweet.

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Other options along the bottom of your Tweet composition box include tabs for you to add an image, GIF, poll or emoji to the Tweet. You can also schedule when you want to send the Tweet by using the calendar icon that appears there.

Once you send the Tweet it will appear on your profile page.

writing threads

Sending a series of connected Tweets is called a thread.

If you want to make a thread then press the bottom right plus button (next to ‘Tweet’ in the image above) to write multiple Tweets in a thread.

retweets, etc.

Click the arrows which are in a square shape on another user’s Tweet to create a Retweet:

A Retweet shares someone else’s Tweet to your profile.

You can also favorite Tweets you like by clicking the heart icon on a Tweet. Or you can add to someone’s tweet by clicking the message icon on it.

That’s a quick tutorial on how to use Twitter!