Or have you already started to crawl? I'm in the baby steps stage. Many of you are running full out with it. Twitter means many things to many people. A few days ago I penned a blog post and I mentioned that I would do a folow up post on how to play nice in the Twitter sand box. Getting in the sandbox is a 
personal, individual choice. The following points are Twitter facts with my personal observations.
1. Twitter is a tool. A micro-blogging tool where you can put out information immediately (to whoever may be listening) in 140 characters or less. Twitter is another social media outlet. It is out there and you may or may not choose to use.
2. Should you choose to use, think about what purpose you want to use it for. Personal or business. Or both. What messages do you want to send? Who do you want to receive those messages?
3. Twitter is an announcement board. It is different from e-mail and blogging. Twitter provides the ability to have direct interactive conversations. Just remember, these are not private conversations. Anyone 
who is following your tweets is privy to what you are saying.
4. Who do you follow ? You follow interesting people, like fellow bloggers who you enjoy. If you like their blogs you may like their tweets. Before you follow anyone, read their bios and what they have been tweeting. Celebrities, newspapers, television newscasters and personalities, major companies are all tweeting. There are Twitter searches that can help you find twitterers you may be interested in following.
5. Be selective. Just because someone decides to follow you, that doesn't mean you have to automatically reciprocate. You will start to be followed by some people who you have no clue where or why they found you. You have the ability to block any follower. I have only had to block one so far.
6. Be considerate to your followers. Remember what you put out there cannot be retracted. Don't spam and don't be stupid. Be spontaneous, but make sense. The world is listening.
7. How do you get followers? Be interesting. Show your personality with your tweets. Provide insights or information that people can use. Add a link in your tweet to take your followers to your website and other interesting sites, articles, blogs, etc. Share knowledge. If you read something you really think others would enjoy, you are able to retweet just the way you can reblog.
8. Decide how much time you want to spend on Twitter. How often do you plan to tweet or read your followers tweets? Keep it manageable. Only follow people who tweet the information you are interested in reading. You can check their tweets once a day, or once a week, it's up to you. Unlike e-mail, tweets are like an all points bulletin. You are not required to comment or send a reply unless you so desire.
9. Check out who else your followers are following and who is following them. It is fun to peek and see who else is out there in Twitterland. Often you will find colleagues or company members in other parts of the world that would make a good fit for your Twit Book. Sorry, that's a play on Facebook and I don't know if there is actually such a thing but I think you know what I mean.
10. Look before you leap creep. Does Twitter appeal to you? What purpose will you use it for?
As I mentioned above, I am in the baby steps stage of Twitter. I use it strictly for business purposes. I post real estate statistics and community information. I do not tweet on a daily basis. I have Twitter on the front page of my website for consumers to see my tweets. I also have my blogs automatically sent to Twitter. My tweets go automatically to my Facebook home page.
One of the best things I find about being able to pick and choose who I follow, is that I find an amazing amount of information about the topics that interest me. It also gives me ideas for future blog posts. Whether you love politics, gardening, astronomy or gastronomy, experts with their fingers on the pulse of any pertinent topic are tweeting for anyone to listen.
I have had 4 e-mail notifications of new followers today, 2 since I have been writing this post. They found me and have decided to follow me for whatever reason. I will be making a return visit to see if they are local or from afar and what they have to say tweet.
It's up to me to decide whether to be a follower or not. Like any social media platform, there is lots to learn. You can choose to learn the basics (simple) or get heavily involved with Twitter searches, add ons, etc.
Twitter works great for those who prefer the K.I.S.S, take it slow learning style and also for those who like to giddy-up-and-go.
It's just another tool in the big Social Media toolbox.
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