Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple.



Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service. We'll explain what these are a bit later. It enables its users to send and read other users' updates, better known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts up to 140 characters in length, displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers).

Twitter quickly caught on and it continues to grow in popularity at an alarming rate, as new users come on board. While it is a communication medium like email for example, it is used in an entirely different way. Twitter is more sociable and fun rather than practical. Understanding the main concepts and principles of Twitter can actually take a little while.

So we'd like to give you a beginners or a basic guide to what Twitter is and what Twitter does so you can get involved with this twitterbug craze.

As mentioned earlier, Twitter is a micro-blogging service. Meaning each Twitter user has their own little "blog" that they can simply add messages to. These messages can be anything up up to 140 characters in length. Not very big but you can pack a lot in these messages. You can also send messages these also limited in length to other Twitter users and they will then appear on their recipient's blog. Each of these little messages is known as a tweet.

As well as adding tweets to your blog, sending them to other people or even reading other peoples Twitter blogs, you can also "follow" any Twitter User of your choosing. See, when you "follow" someone, their tweets will start to appear on your Twitter page. This is a way you can keep up to date with what all your friends, family and business contacts are doing in one place. By simply following your contacts and keeping an eye on your Twitter page you get to keep up to speed as it is live what everyone you know is up to.

When Twitter was first launched, the way you interacted with the service was by using the Twitter website. Now you can interact in virtually any way possible. Here are some examples, you can access your Twitter feed live from a variety of desktop applications meaning you don't have to be logged into the Twitter website. You can also send and receive tweets via text (sms) message via your cell/mobile phone.

Twitter is part of a movement known as "life streaming" part of the aim is to simply reveal your actions and thoughts live as you go about your day. Initially people would add messages like "Just eating some cereal" or "Paying for gas/petrol". Today such messages are understandably frowned upon however, the more interesting tweets are welcomed.

This is a good way of not just staying in contact with friends and family, but also learning about other people in quite a deep way. Some may feel it is a bit intrusive, but you decide what message you send. If you know what movie they've just watched or what they're doing on the weekend you feel more of a part of their life. Twitter is as much about conversations and communication as just sending an email to someone as it is real time.

The best advice for a new Twitter user is to simply try it out and see if you like it. Some people love it, others loath it, however you won't know yourself until you try it. Sign up for a free account, find your friends and "follow" them, then when you are ready get involved with the conversation. When they tweet, tweet back. Join up and become part of the twitterbug craze.