Pimp up your profile with a background image. Templates available at twitterbacks.com
Don’t forget your web address
Integrate Twitter into your website with badges
and widgets
Use URL shorteners to provide links to richer content. I like Bit.ly
because it tracks click-throughs.
If you want a message to be forwarded, it’s ideal to keep it under
120 characters so your followers can easily add RT @YourHandle
in front of the tweet.
Select your lead-in, first 42 characters, of each tweet carefully for Search
Engine Optimization.
Write keyword-rich tweets and use # tags. Search tags on
search sites like tweetag.com. Watch the right-hand column on Twitter to fnd
the hot topics.
Many more resources and tutorials available at mashable.com
Oh, and don’t forget about Facebook
– groups and fan pages, too.
My first adventure into social networking was MySpace two or three years ago. I’d tried a couple of other sites, like Gather and Goodreads, but I never really got into them and consequently forgot my username and password. Well, that actually happens a lot because I’ve got too many of those, matter of fact I have logonarrhea.
Anyway, I really got into MySpace and had a blast seeing how many interesting “friends” I could add, reading bulletins and sending them out, and leaving comments on friends’ profiles. Although some profiles are too busy and annoying, I still believe MySpace is a good, free tool for creating a webspace for bands and projects. But I’ve moved on.
About a year ago a colleague tried convincing me that Facebook was better. It took a while for me to try it out. After all I already had a MySpace page, not to mention profiles on a couple of Ning sites—one for the SB Writers Conference and one for local producers. Those types of webpages are good for small, concentrated groups and can be customized to suit the participants.
I’m not counting Linkedin because it’s more of a professional or business site. You definitely need to build up your Linkedin connections if you’re looking for a job or more clients.
Finally I signed up for Facebook. The benefits surfaced right away. I didn’t have to pimp my profile or chose my top friends, and I can see what all my “friends” are saying, and the comments by their friends, as soon as I log on. Some people I don’t talk to too often and in person details don’t come up like they do online. But now I know that cool person is into kickboxing so I have something to talk to them about next time I run into them. It’s a fun way to get to know others better.
Then came Twitter. It’s amazing what you can say in only 140 characters. You can give your “Followers” business tips, a weather report, or a link to your latest blog post. How do you get Followers? I registered myself on a couple of Twitter directories, Twellow the Twitter Yellow Pages and WeFollow—which lists popular tags that help people find you and your content. But you don’t have to follow me to get my tweets, because I’ve set it up so you can just come here and look at that little box in the right hand column. Plus my tweets do double duty because when I post on Twitter my Facebook status is automatically updated.
One of the definitions of twitterpated is the ever increasing acceleration of heartbeat and body temperature. And that’s exactly the way I feel when I see somebody new is following me on Twitter.
If you need help building your online presence, contact me. If you already have made a place for yourself on the Net, and like this blog post, please click the SHARE button below to pass it along.
After the Jesusita Fire, I’d had enough of fire talk. I’d sat glued to the TV, watching Joe Gehl and Tracy lehr reporting on location while ash rained down and flames shot up on the split screen next to them. But I was in for some more when I showed up for Lars Nelson’s Adult Ed documentary class Tuesday night. His special guest was Jennie Reinish whose film Behind the Lines: Fighting a Wildland Fire depicts what we don’t see when watching such a disaster covered on TV.
In July of 2007 Reinish went to shoot stock footage of the mushroom cloud of smoke coming from the Zaca Fire. She stopped for a soft drink and happened onto an information kiosk manned by firefighters. Their conversation led to an invitation for her to film at the base camp. Because she was a documentarian and not mainstream media, she got access to people, like the incident commander. who didn’t normally grant interviews.
While watching her film, I was amazed to find out what goes on in one of those base camps. Independent contractors are needed to provide basic necessities, such as food and hot showers. They even bring in a souvenir vender to sell t-shirts with the fire’s name on it to keep up the firefighters’ morale. The film also shows the many agencies involved in battling a wildfire and the difficult duties they must perform.
Behind the Lines premieres Saturday, June 6, 7:30 pm, at Samy’s Camera, 614 Chapala Street. The event includes live music and some of the firefighters featured in the film will be on hand. You can have your photo taken on a fire engine, too. A $5 suggested donation at the door benefits Jesusita Fire victims through the United Way.
