UTweet

I really get a kick out of explaining Twitter to new users. Besides the curious faces and giggles at seemingly inappropriate words like tweet and dm and twitterific, I get the same questions phrased multiple ways – “what the hell is @?” “how do you reply?” “is the reply public or private?”. It’s cool to see how people try and make sense of Twitter, no matter what the route.

Each time, however, I am faced with a new query about Twitter that makes me excited about its potential and forces me to step back and wonder, where is Twitter headed? The question tonight was “can you make a Twitter account for someone else?”. The answer is yes, you can make a “fake” account and pretend to be someone else – but I’d rather endorse just being your cool self, kapeesh?

Today, @davidgiesberg and I met with with UT Austin’s Student Government. We discussed how SG can utilize Twitter to reach more folks and initiate dialogue with the community. They were sold, so please follow @ut_sg for future updates on UT and SG activity – there was talk of throwing pie in someone’s face on the first day, but we’ll see if that pans out.

David also pointed me to a Brazen Careerist article that SG, individual and corporate Twitter users should consider when engaging in the Twitter community. We’re all guilty of practicing bad tweeting, of course, but it doesn’t have to stay that way – change can occur, one tweet at a time.

Five Social Media Lessons You May Have Forgotten:

1. Social networks are a means, not an end.
2. Content is king.
3. Participate, participate, participate. And then? Participate.
4. Everyone, no matter how much gravitas they command, is human.
5. Help yourself by helping others.

That being said, I hope you remember to please tweet responsibly.