Know Your "AT" From Your "Hashtag"

Once you start tweeting, you're going to see these characters everywhere. It might look like a bunch of typeo's but they're actually the keys to communicating on Twitter. So it's time to learn your at from your hash tag. Life is crazy. I mean who has time to keep up with all the latest in social networking. I'm Carley Knobloch and if you stick with me, I'll show you all the tech tools you'll need to get socially connected. Being on Twitter is like being at a really fun party with all of your friends but there are a few key characters that affect who gets to hear what you have to say. For example, let's say you get to the party and you want to shout something out to the whole group like hey party people, who is ready to lambada like it's 1985? On Twitter you would write it like this and anyone who follows you could see it which is good because it's lonely to lambada by yourself. Now, let's say you are introduced to a cute guy on the dance floor. You might say something like hey Pasquale nice to meet you, care to join me in a macarena? On Twitter if you want to talk to someone specific it's called a mention and you'll need to make sure that their handle is at the beginning of the tweet proceeded by the at symbol. Now if Pasquale is following me on Twitter, he'll see the tweet in his mentions feed and he'll know that I want to be his dance partner. You can mention people, businesses or even TV shows if you know what the handle is. A tweet like this with a mention in the middle will still show up in the mentions feed but everyone who follows them will also see it. So if you are just talking to one person it isn't really the correct way to reply. It's kind of like hey kids, how was your day at school, moving on, remember how I said that Twitter was like going to a really fun party? Well imagine going to a party that was filled with only people who share your love of fine cheese. A hash tag is used to join a discussion full of people that are interested in the same thing that you are. So for example if I was at a party with a bunch of fellow turofiles, I might say something like Pasquale have you tried the manchego with figs, it's delish. Well you'd say the exact same thing on Twitter but you'd add a hash tag at the end with the word cheese. Now that Tweet and every other Tweet with the hash tag cheese shows up in a feed and cheese lovers everywhere can join in on the conversation. Again make sure there's no space between the hash tag and your interest word or it won't work. Isn't it amazing how Twitter helps you find people that share your interest so easily? Once you get the hang of using these symbols, you'll find all kinds of people that you want to connect with on Twitter and you'll always be the life of the party. To learn more about Twitter, check out some of our other tutorials at eHow Tech.