So you would like to celebrate Christmas and the holidays on Twitter? Well so do I so I’m putting together this little post to gather my thoughts. Here are some things you can do to help get into the Christmas spirit with your Twitter account.

Decorate Your Twitter Photo

Turn your Twitter Photo into an elf or Santa and even add some snow with Twixenate or add a Santa hat with Twibbon.com ( Other Christmas twibbons).

Change Your Twitter Background

You can always decorate your current background with some snow in Photoshop or use one of these templates:

• Christmas Themes on Twitrounds
• Christmas Themes on Twitter-Backgrounds.net
• Christmas Themes on Twitterbackgrounds.com
• Christmas Themes on TwitBacks
• Christmas Themes on Techie-Buzz.com
• Christmas Themes on snazzyspace.com

Help People In Need

The holidays are a time to give  and help where you can. On Twitter you can join a cause like the #twismas movement to raise money for a child or follow some popular charities on Twitter like:

• Make A Wish Foundation
• The Red Cross
• Charity Water
• UNICEF
• Kiva
• More …

Also be sure to check out TwitCause.

View Christmas Pictures

Using TweetGrid you can see all photos being posted to Twitter about Christmas in one place … and you don’t even have to update the page.

Track and Tweet With Santa

Norad has a special website and a Twitter account dedicated to helping you track Santa on his busiest day of the year. Also be sure to check what I believe to be the real Santa Claus on Twitter. Also, don’t forget to keep up with his blog.

- Photo by Steve took it

I mainly use BackTweets but am always looking for better solutions. I actually switched from TweetMeme to BackTweets once I learned about BackTweet’s advanced functionality and Google Analytics integration. But now I feel it’s time to take a look back and see where the world of Retweet counts, buttons and stats are really at.

Let’s start off with my current favorite. BackType is a conversational search engine that scans the web for comments about your posts not necessarily on your posts. Where their original intent was to connect blog comments from one blog to another, one can see why they eventually got into the Twitter game. Using their existing technology they expanded their offerings to a site called BackTweets which became one of my favorite sites in an instant.

BackTweets keeps a fairly up to date list of all mentions of your blog. You can search for all links back to your blog or for specific posts. The data isn’t much different than Topsy’s and TweetMeme’s, I just feel like it’s the fastest and cleanest, but that’s just my personal opinion.

I think BackTweets really shines with their TweetCount widget which lets you customize everything from the color and source to weather or not you want it to be RT or “via”. Oh, and they automatically add Google Analytic parameters complements of Awe.sm. Doesn’t get much better than that. Thanks BackType!

Now on to the grandfather of Retweet tracking and indexing. TweetMeme is still my favorite Digg style Tweet aggregator for instant notification on hot topics and trends. Their RT button is probably the most used because of the websites popularity and is almost as dynamic as the BackTweet TweetCount button but falls short at color customization and Google Analytics integration. However, to compensate for the lack of GA integration, they have developed their own analytics that can track the viral nature of Retweets as they spread throughout Twitter. While I appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit, I prefer integrated analytics where available and prefer the BackTweets button for this reason.

I had heard of Topsy but never really learned what they are about. Topsy is basically a Twitter search engine that ranks links being shared based on relevance and influence of those sharing the links. They offer a Retweet Count button as well as a list of all tweets linking back to your posts. What really struck me was that they also displayed which shortened URLs were used as well as all tags and authors involved in the process. This could become my new favorite dashboard for viewing Twitter activity around a specific link but it will take a bit more before I switch over to their Retweet button.

Some Things Worth Mentioning

Bit.ly uses BackType’s data to display conversations relevant to your shortened links

TweetMeme has a site very similar to it called Retweet.com however it is pretty much just a ripoff of TweetMeme and TweetMeme seems to work much better

Sometimes, BackType’s data will differ from TweetMeme and Topsy however the BackType TweetCount widget seems to display correct data

Be sure to check out this post from SEOptimise for a nice break down of the Retweet buttons mentioned in this post.

- Photo by Steve took it

Facebook seems to be the king of social media for college students. One could easily argue that the demographics of the service support this. So why should they also care about Twitter?

Twitter and Facebook seem to fit the mold of Private vs Public. Facebook is a great means of keeping up with friends and family while sharing links, photos and seemingly random thoughts. The hump most new Twitterers (aka Tweeps) have to get over is

Why should I care about the seemingly random thoughts of complete strangers?

To me, its the same reason why you would go out to a bar over staying home with friends … you are interested in meeting new people. Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media sites out there and is the best medium for conversing with new like minded individuals. This mentality coincides with one of Twitter’s most useful functions. Tapping into the buzz of things that interest us. Twitter’s search capabilities in collaboration with it’s complete simplicity make it the perfect platform for crowd sourcing thoughts, ideas, questions and answers.

For example: If one were interested in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) they could follow the most popular MMA tweeps or even the MMA tweeps with the most interesting things to say. You could also set up a Twitter search for all mentions of MMA so you can jump in on the discussions and get the latest MMA news in REAL TIME.

You see, it’s not about the random thoughts of others but the thoughts of others that are relevant to you.

So what kinds of things should you be Tweeting?

That is completely up to you but the best way to learn is to watch others you enjoy reading. The most resourceful way to use Twitter is to reply and communicate with others. Some people like to use Twitter to show off their own accomplishments (like the completion of a new blog post or the creation of a new piece of art). Others use Twitter to support their business by proving their expertise through helping others in need. I myself use it mostly to talk with others I’ve met through Twitter … simple enough. Here is a list of 25 Twitter tips for college students.

Twitter is whatever you make of it and can be extremely powerful despite its apparent simplicity. The best way to learn about it is to just dive in. It’s always nice to know someone too, so feel free to reach out to me (@jondbishop ) and I’ll do my best to guide you in the right direction to be sure you get the most out of it.

- Photo by tanakawho

ReTweet buttons have taken social media by storm and are an easy way to encourage the sharing of your content on Twitter. There are dozens of solutions similar to the 3 buttons listed below, but these seem to be the most promising and include a “Tweet Count” on the buttons themselves.

I’m often surprised at how many great blogs aren’t using these buttons yet when it seems like a no-brainer. The only reason I could see not having one of these buttons on your site is if you don’t want social proof of your blogs failure. In other words, you don’t want the rest of the world seeing how many people are not sharing your posts. But then again, if that’s the case, maybe adding one of these buttons to your site is the first step to getting a solid new following.

TweetMeme retweet button

TweetMeme’s retweet button wasn’t the first of it’s kind, but it definitely sparked the trend that eventually led to this post. This button is probably the most recognizable throughout the blogosphere because of it’s unparalleled support and cutting edge website. Past attempts at aggregating retweets into a “Digg style” website fell short due to shortcomings in functionality and bandwidth.

My only quarrel with the TweetMeme button was the fact that it automatically added “RT @tweetmeme” to your tweet unless you had some sort of high level clearance to get it customized. However, it seems they have fixed this and you can now customize it, as you should be able to. This was an especially smart move considering the launch of BackType’s retweet widget that allowed you to customize itself to your heart’s content.

Backtype Tweetcount Widget

This is the retweet button I am currently using because, at the time, TweetMeme wasn’t allowing me to customize my tweets. The main difference between BackType’s widget and TweetMeme’s is that BackType counts all Tweets pointing to a post where TweetMeme only counts each tweet once. You can also change the color of the widget to match your website’s theme. I’ll probably stick with this one for awhile.

Real Retweet Button

This guy popped up just the other day. Besides being a TweetMeme ripoff … well it’s a TweetMeme ripoff. The only reason I would even consider using this button is if I wanted to try something different.

So which RT button do you use?

Replies set the cornerstone of Twitter’s communication capabilities. We use them every day in hopes of making new friends or keeping up with old ones.

A few months ago, Twitter made some changes to their @reply system that prevented people from seeing conversations out of context. Everyone freaked out and Twitter clarified on their changes. I personally like the changes Twitter made.

Now I just wanted to give everyone a quick refresher on the current status of how @replies work. I feel like I regularly come across other Tweeps having trouble following conversations on Twitter.

The Basics

Twitter’s @replies still follow a lot of their originally proposed functionality. One of the main things a lot of people forget is that when you click Twitter’s “swoosh” button, your reply is now directly associated with that tweet.

If you ever receive a reply that seems out of the blue, check Twitter for the “in reply to ..” text and click to see what the Tweet was a response to. Most popular Twitter apps also display the “in reply to ..” text as well. Remember that Twitter can only associate your replies to Tweets when you use the “swoosh” button. Once again, most of the more popular Twitter apps have also embraced this functionality so there are no excuses.

Replying to people in this manner will prevent your reply from showing up in other people’s timelines when they are not following the person you are replying to. This becomes especially useful if you find yourself replying to people all the time and you are worried about posting too often. In short, it is an easy way to filter out the noise.

However, just because you won’t see conversations out of context in your friend stream, doesn’t mean you can’t hop over to Twitter search and view all public conversations taking place. In fact, Twitter Search can even thread your replies to help organize your conversations. If you are looking to see threaded conversations in a normal Twitter-like environment you should check out TweeTree which also displays videos and unshortens links.

Mentions

Mentions were adopted by Twitter when people started using @replies to reference other Tweeps in their tweets. The difference between replies and mentions is that when you mention someone you might not be talking directly to them. In this case, all of your followers would see your Tweet regardless of whether they are following the person you are mentioning or not.

Mentions won’t have the “in reply to ..” text because they are not necessarily directed at anyone.

Advanced Tweeting

You will regularly see people adding a . (period) before their @replies or placing some other text before the @reply to prevent it from becoming a semi-private conversation. It’s not always needed however there are times when you may wish to reply to someone and you want ALL of your followers to see the conversation taking place.

Remember that in the end, you can use Twitter however you damn please.

- Photo by db*photography

Probably one of the easiest ways to network on Twitter is to answer questions asked by your followers. It is also a great way to find new people to follow as well. There is a solid list of sites that help facilitate Q&A on Twitter outside of who you are following. By reaching outside your network, you are exposing yourself to a new audience and in turn increase your chances of getting more like-minded followers.

Now I still prefer the old fashioned method of finding questions on Twitter by just using the standard Twitter Search. All you need to do is include a question mark and your topic. I also include an operator that removes all links as I find they are usually just titles of blog posts and not real questions.

There is also a growing list of sites you can use that might make finding and answering questions a bit easier. I sometimes find these sites to be a bit limited in what they offer simply because they restrict their Twitter Search API calls to phrases like “Does anyone know” and “why does” rather than scanning for all legitimate questions. However, I will leave judgements about quality up to you.

I hope I have successfully overwhelmed you with Twitter Q&A sites. Each site works a little differently, whether it is just the look and feel or the functionality altogether. I’m not convinced yet that Twitter could replace Yahoo Answer or LinkedIn Answers, but Twitter seems to be in a league of it’s own, delivering unparalleled real time results. This especially holds true when asking questions via Twitter at an event.

Nevertheless, continue to provide value to your community and watch your relationships grow stronger in time.

- Post header photo by Jilligan86

I seem to find myself digging for great Twitter analogies when faced with the paradox of explaining Twitter to a friend. You would think that something so simple would be easy to explain, yet somehow people are still dumbfounded by its purpose.

So here is a solid little list of Twitter analogies I’ve found scattered across the web. Choose your weapons.

• Twitter is a Party
• Twitter is an Appetizer
• Twitter is a Text Webcam
• Twitter is a Tavern
• Twitter is a Hammer
• Twitter is a Coral Reef
• Twitter is a Cocktail Party
• Twitter is like Post-it Notes
• Twitter is a Virtual Coffee Shop
• Twitter is Telegram 3.0
• Twitter is a Conference Reception
• Twitter is Email Marketing 2.0
• Twitter is like Fishing
• Twitter is like Holiday Cards
• Twitter is a Line-A-Day Diary
• Twitter is like Sex

If you have a favorite analogy that is not on this list, please share it in the comments and I’ll throw it in the mix.

- Photo by OctopusHat

Retweeting has become a great way to find quality information through Twitter. New, more advanced, Twitter monitoring tools have made it easier to drown out a lot of the noise and focus on the quality posts being shared. It’s not fool proof as popularity and quality battle for the number one spots. You’ll almost always see the usual suspects in any “most ReTweeted” list, but there are also those gems that slip through the cracks.

Why should your care?

All of these sites provide valuable insight as to what type of content goes viral on Twitter.  A bunch of factors go into why a certain link might get retweeted more than another. Some general ones are:

• Quality of content
• Ease of retweeting
• Popularity of blog or blogger

I hope these tools can help you learn some things as well as find some great new bloggers and tweeps to follow.

Backtweets is the Twitter side of BackType, a conversational search engine. It’s a great way to see who’s tweeting your posts, even if they forgot to post it as a ReTweet. Every once and awhile I’ll type in my blog url just to see an overview of everyone that’s been tweeting my posts.

Tweetmeme scans Twitter for links and organizes them in an easy to retweet database. They’ve also provided a cool ReTweet button that displays the number of ReTweets a post has as well as gives you the ability to easily ReTweet the post.

Retweetist monitors Twitter for fresh links and ranks them according to how new and popular they are.

ReTweet radar is the Twitter side of http://spy.appspot.com. It gives you a large list of trending topics to zone in on as well as displays the most retweeted links and tweeps.

Re.twit’d doesn’t only look for popular ReTweeted links, it also displays popular ReTweeted tweets. If you ever just wanted to see the most popular tweets on Twitter and not necessarily the most popular links, then this is your place.

Repeets scans Twitter for all ReTweets and displays the recent most popular ones as well as  the most popular in the past 24 hours, past week and past month.

Funny how everyone is all up in arms about Twitter’s most recent changes.

Small Settings Update

We’ve updated the Notices section of Settings to better reflect how folks are using Twitter regarding replies. Based on usage patterns and feedback, we’ve learned most people want to see when someone they follow replies to another person they follow—it’s a good way to stay in the loop. However, receiving one-sided fragments via replies sent to folks you don’t follow in your timeline is undesirable. Today’s update removes this undesirable and confusing option.

The Importance of Discovery

Spotting new folks in tweets is an interesting way to check out new profiles and find new people to follow. Despite this update, you’ll still see mentions or references linking to people you don’t follow. For example, you’ll continue to see, “Ev meeting with @biz about work stuff” even if you don’t follow @biz. We’ll be introducing better ways to discover and follow interesting accounts as we release more features in this space.

So I’m still trying to figure out what the big deal is. Part of my normal Twitter routine was to scan through my friend stream for original thoughts, ideas and links to which I could reply to. One thing I rarely did was jump in on conversations already happening unless I was following all parties because:

1. I wasn’t seeing the whole conversation in my stream
2. It would take too much effort to track down the entire conversation

So for me this new change is great. It’s easier to find other tweeps to converse with without sorting through all the seemingly one sided conversations.

Furthermore, for all the people complaining about losing their method of finding new tweeps to follow, there are PLENTY of ways to find new followers. Twitter even went so far as to say they would be implementing new methods of finding like minded tweeps in the near future.

We’ll be introducing better ways to discover and follow interesting accounts as we release more features in this space.

So once again, what’s the big deal?

ReTweeting is the act of re-posting someones tweet on Twitter by copying their message and adding the prefix “RT @username“. The idea is that you are passing on a tweet or a link that you like and think your followers would also enjoy. It’s also a great way of letting someone know you liked what they had to say.

I guess my only problem is that, at times, the retweets seem to take over my friend stream. I’m also starting to see a lot of people get lazy with their tweets and retweet other people only to fill up space.

I can’t say I don’t like the idea of retweeting because I do it myself sometimes. I just think we abuse it a bit. This is why I think it would be nice if a mind shift took place where people start sharing information along with their own ideas about it.

This is why I made CommenTwitter. There were plenty of plugins and buttons to help Tweet the title of your post along with a link. In other words, there were plenty of ways to contribute to the noise already building up on Twitter. But why weren’t there any plugins that helped fuel the conversation about your blog outside of their comments. Some of the best ideas and conversations can be found in the comments of a good blog post, so why not bring those discussions to Twitter. This is just one way I think we can bring more value to our tweets when we’re all essentially talking about the same thing.

This is actually something I think Tweetworks does a great job of as well. Rather then take the lazy mans way out and just retweet a good post, you can actually jump into a threaded conversation about that post, ON TWITTER.

So in the end, I won’t be signing any petitions to ask Twitter to add a retweet button to it’s interface. I will also refrain from using retweet buttons when I can. I will however keep mine on my blog because I know it won’t die down any time soon. I will also continue to work on CommenTwitter so that it is more appealing to a larger audience and easier to use.

- Photo by Jon R Bishop

TweetSuite

TweetSuite is an excellent plugin developed by ‘social & viral marketing scientist’ Dan Zarrella. It started off as a plugin that returned all ReTweets of a post and has turned into a complete Twitter/WordPress solution.

Features include:

• Server-side (no-JS or remote calls) TweetBacks
• ReTweet-This buttons for each TweetBack
• A digg-like Tweet-This Button
• Automatic Tweeting of new posts
• A Most-Tweeted Widget
• A Recently-Tweeted Widget
• A My-Last-Tweets Widget
• A My-Favorited-Tweets Widget

CommenTwitter

I designed CommenTwitter to both increase the quality of tweets about posts as well as generate traffic to that post. I believe people should be just as proud of their comments on other peoples blogs as they are of their own blog posts.

Basically what you do is input your Twitter Credentials before you submit a comment. This in turn tweets an excerpt of your comment along with a link back to the original comment in it’s entirety.

TweetStats

TweetStats is a nifty little plugin that works alongside the TweetBacks plugin. It ultimately allows you to add a widget to the sidebar of your most recent and most popular tweets. I’m hoping this is the beginning of a new generation of plugins working together to present the best content to it’s readers.

Automagic Twitter Profile URI

This is a great plugin that uses a commenters email address to ping the Twitter API and retrieve their Twitter username. It then “automagically” adds the commenters Twitter name next to their name in their comment.

Tweet This

I’m not a huge fan of setting up wordpress to automatically update your Twitter feed every time you post. I think it should be on the publisher to write tweets that are both personal and more attractive to draw in their followers. However I do think it is important to allow other to easily tweet your post.

Twitter Tools

Twitter Tools is another one of those complete WordPress/Twitter solutions.

Features include:

• Archive your Twitter tweets (downloaded every 10 minutes)
• Create a blog post from each of your tweets
• Create a daily or weekly digest post of your tweets
• Create a tweet on Twitter whenever you post in your blog, with a link to the blog post
• Post a tweet from your sidebar
• Post a tweet from the WP Admin screens
• Pass your tweets along to another service (via API hook)

Twitter Remote

While not technically a WordPress plugin, I’ve always been a fan of the MyBlogLog Recent Readers widget and this would be the Twitter alternative. It basically just display a list of the most recent Tweeps to visit your blog.

I think these plugins best represent the potential when discussing Twitter/Blog integration. It’s time we start working on more practical uses and stop reinventing the wheel. I hope you enjoyed my list and please feel free to add your favorite Twitter/WordPress plugins in a comment below.

I talked a little about my Twitter following strategy back in a previous post but I wanted to expand a bit.

First you should know I am a very active follower. I take recommendations very seriously as well as any incoming replies.

Then there is my ‘social media’ inbox. I’ve basically just set my GMail to move all Twitter follow requests to a separate folder for easy sorting and general management. Then I begin the daunting task of opening each new followers Twitter page to scrutinize their stream.

One time I went a week without checking my ‘social media’ box and then spent the next 2 hours checking 350 Twitter profiles. It’s not so bad once you get in the groove. I try to keep each profile view down to a couple seconds looking for a couple key points:

The user’s bio/website/profile pic

I like to know I am following a real person and this could be the first giveaway. I also personally stay away from people pushing MLMs, porn and press release feeds.

The user’s conversation quotient

Your conversation quotient is simply the ratio of total tweets to total replies. The average is said to be around 25% so that’s more or less my bearing for success. The higher your conversation quotient, the more likely I am going to follow you back.

You can learn more about the conversation quotient as well as view in depth statistics at twitter-friends.com.

Any signs of robots

I don’t get along with robots for some reason so I just avoid them. This includes follow schemes and auto replies.

And that’s about it. It all boils down to following real people talking to other real people. It’s becoming easier and easier to see through the bullshit, so don’t kid yourself.

Looking around the Twittersphere these days begs the question “How much of people’s daily Twittering is done by Robots”?

Well the answer is Too Much.

Why do I not like Auto-DMs/replies?

I like to use Twitter as a means of connecting with other people in real time. When I get a DM or a reply, I hop on my computer and reply back. It takes very little time and shows I care about the person connecting and conversing with me. Now imagine my frustration when I reply to 30+ direct messages and get no responses. What happens is people set these things up and then just ‘let them do all work’.

The whole auto-DM epidemic has actually resulted in me sending less DMs and I scrutinize every incoming tweet to judge its authenticity.

So in the end, if you don’t have time to reply to every new follower, then don’t. I’d rather get to know you through your public tweets than receive an empty welcome.

Why do I not like follow schemes?

You have most likely seen it several times in your public twitter stream

“Joe Shmoe has a crazy idea. 19,530 new twitter followers in 30 days? Check it out …“.

The truth is that this is just a Twitter pyramid scheme that encourages spam. I have spoken with a a lot of other level headed tweeps who agree that this program is spammy.

I personally manually approve every new follower before following back to keep my Twitter stream optimized at all times. I find new tweeps in relevant Twitter directories and via tweeps I am already following. Why would I be interested in a bunch of random new followers.

But that’s just how I tweet. My main quarrel is the spam. Please cut it out and note I will not follow you back if I see tweetergetter in your stream.

- Photo by atp_tyreseus

I love talking to people about the tools they are using to efficiently track conversations in social media. Everybody has there own methods they’ve developed over time and their own goals they wish to achieve.

Most of my Tweeting revolves around TweetGrid and Twhirl. TweetGrid always seems to catch my new replies a split second before Twhirl will so I keep TweetGrid running in the background at all times.

There are a couple very cool features built into TweetGrid that allow me to track local, relevant and high profile conversations.

First there’s the local search. I’ve been using this feature via Twitter’s advanced search tips before it was officially revamped and released in TweetGrid. It’s a fun way to keep up with the local scene as well as find some local tweeps.

Next we have Groups. Keeping up with 2000+ followers can become quite a hassle. To be sure I don’t miss anything too important, I’ve put together a list of friends and tweeps I’ve conversed with in the past that provide value. The list changes on a weekly basis and is usually dominated by the same people (as you can see in the attached photo). But it keeps me in the loop.

I also track terms associated with me and my blog. I recently released my first wordpress plugin and like to keep track of it’s mentions in Twitter. It’s also a great way for me to keep tabs on any problems people might be having with my plugin.

I usually leave a spot for my interests. This grid does not have it, but I usually have a spot for tracking bands I like, games I play and anything else I’m interested in.

And last but not least I can keep track of my friends timeline and DMs thanks to some recent TweetGrid updates.

The one thing I cannot stress enough is the speed at which TweetGrid produces results. I’ve yet to use it as a replacement to tweetchat for jourchat and other hashtag related discussions but I could easily see it being a suitable substitution.

The other day I was thinking that it would be great if Twitter could be used as a communications platform for discussions around blog posts. I mean we already do this but lack organization. We all know organization isn’t Twitter’s strong suit.

Ultimately I think it would be beneficial if everyone tweeted their blog comments. Currently you’ll see things like:

“Commenting on Jon Bishop’s blog” or “Reading This Awesome New Post”

Every once and awhile someone will actually provide value when Tweeting about one of my posts … but this is rare. I think more people need to start speaking up as it is only through the general consensus of the greater population that we can come to the most logical solution.

So this is where Commentwitter comes in. Ultimately my goal is to give the commenter the option of sending their comment to twitter and allowing people to follow that blogs comments both in the blog and in twitter. The main reason for this is to generate a buzz and encourage commenting on peoples blogs. It will also improve the quality and value of people’s tweets revolving around blog posts.

So here it is, Version 1.0 of Commentwitter.

The ReTweet plays a pivotal role in the viral capabilities of Twitter. I’m not going to get into all the viral sciences of Twitter because Dan Zarrella is already doing that. Instead I want to discuss some basic simple rules that can encourage the ReTweeting of your Tweets.

1) Keep It Short

I usually keep it less than 120 characters to be sure there is enough room for people to add RT @username before my Tweet. When people have to trim your Tweet down to ReTweet it properly you run the risk of them not following through.

2) Make Sure Your Link Works

You would be surprised how many people post bad links without even knowing it. Some reasons this could happen are:

• You posted the wrong URL
• You posted an incomplete URL
• You added an extra character to your URL (example.com/abcd and example.com/abcd? are two different links)
• The URL shortening service you are using is down (I’ve been having problems with Twurl)

3) Don’t ReTweet Too Often

There are bots made for this. Your main goal on Twitter should be to provide valuable content and form relationships with like minded Tweeps. How am I supposed to get to know you if all you do is ReTweet other people.

4) Learn What Works

Check out what is trending on sites like Retweetist to learn what is working for other people. This is a great way to learn how to structure your Titles as well as what other people are finding interesting. You should also review some of Dan Zarrella’s research about “The 20 Words and Phrases That Will Get You the Most ReTweets“.

5) Become A Trusted Source

Remember to share other people’s work as well as your own. If you are successfully forming relationships on Twitter then there will be a group of people willing to share your Tweet.

You’ll notice that most of my tips revolve around convenience and honesty, because that is what social media is about. ReTweets are a great way to get your good name out there and develop a solid loyal following. Just take an extra two seconds next time to make sure your Tweet is fully ReTweetable.

Side Note: I’m still torn on whether or not it is okay to ask for a ReTweet. It seems as if Twitter is torn as well (Twitter Poll via ProBlogger).

- Photo by swanksalot

Third party services that sent out automatic direct messages to new followers were all the rage a few months back. Even still it’s a popular solution for the “lazy twitterer” hoping to snag some extra traffic for their company’s blog or website.

There are two main websites responsible for the auto DM epidemic, SocialToo and TweetLater. Both are great sites that have just been abused by their users.

Thankfully, both sites recognize the auto DM problem and have provided ways to opt out from receiving further communications via automated direct messages from their sites.

To put a complete stop from receiving these messages you should opt out from both sites.

Opting Out From SocialToo

SocialToo is currently the harder of the two to opt out from.

1. You will need to go to socialtoo.com and create an account.
2. Log In and click on “Change your Twitter and Facebook Preferences”
3. Navigate toward the bottom of the page and check next to “Turn off automatic Direct Messages from other SocialToo.com users?”

You should be all set. Now on to TweetLater.

Opting Out From TweetLater

1. Log in to Twitter.
2. Follow @OptMeOut. (@OptMeOut will follow you back shortly)
3. Once you receive an email stating you’ve been followed back, send a DM to @OptMeOut. (You can write whatever you want in the DM, it does not matter.)

That is all. You will receive a confirmation DM from @OptMeOut at which point you can unfollow them or just be on your way. The best part is that you do not need a TweetLater account to opt out.

* Update (8/3/2009) *

Here are a couple new services you can opt out from.

• SpyMaster
• Fun 140
• Twables

Waiting on @lolplaying to add a way to opt out from receiving auto-dms from their games. (see update below)

I can’t find who made Mobster World so I can’t ask them how to opt out.

Please let me know of any other services that send auto-dms on Twitter that also provide a way to opt out so I can add it to the list.

* Update (9/8/2009) *

Still no response from @lolplaying however they have provided an opt out for lolquiz.com

I think one of the things holding back Twitter from going “mainstream” is the fact that it’s so open and public. I was browsing through some blogs the other day and found a comment that read:

… Twitter is like a crowded room where everyone is yelling over each other …

This seems to be most people’s first impression unless they have someone to sit them down and show them how conversations flow.

For some reason we’ve come to believe that our relationships should spawn from real life introductions. Even after that there is the formality of managing acquaintances, friends and family. Twitter kind of breaks all the rules of traditional friendship. One could jump into any conversation at any time, in real time. We all share a single common bond, an interest in social media.

Once people can change their mindset from “sharing their lives with strangers” to “sharing their lives with new friends”, the barrier will be broken and we move on to our next obstacle.

What is the next obstacle? Complete transparency.

I think this will come in the form of video, geolocal microblog posts or a combination of the two. It’s easy to hide behind an avatar and 140 characters. You can take time to sculpt your tweet, spell check, rewrite, etc. Video brings a whole different level of honesty to the table that can only be described as near complete transparency. Facial expressions, tone and how you articulate yourself transcend static text.

It may be awhile before the masses can communicate at this level via the web …. but why should it be any different than real life?

- Photo by austrini