Steve’s 5 Starter Steps for Twitter

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Steve’s 5 Starter Steps for Twitter

02-12-09: Twitter just always seems to be on the rise, despite itself. It took me a while to really appreciate it, but I’m a big fan now. Twitter can be really odd and difficult to get in the beginning, so this is my way of helping out. Basically this is what I wish I’d seen before joining.

I’ll work on some more advanced elements of the Twitter experience in future videos, but this is a good place to start. Are you on Twitter? Let us know by leaving your username in the comments…

Check out Steve’s Twitter Steps Part 2

Links:
Twitter

Search.Twitter.com
David Pogue’s New York Times article “Twitter? Its What You Make it”
Tweetie, my favorite iPhone Twitter App.

33 Comments on “Steve’s 5 Starter Steps for Twitter”

  1. Noel Says:

    I believe you just sold me Twitter, Steve. You fucking salesman, you. No, really…sounds good. I’m going to consider it. Maybe when I get tonight all drunk I’ll start my Twitter page!

  2. Pj Says:

    Good intro to Twitter. But you need talking babies to really get your point across. Just ask John Travolta.

  3. MikeC66 Says:

    I enjoy the random aspects of Twitter more than anything else, today I saw it raining in LA, got some good info on Watchmen, and a good idea for coffee. Completely unsolicited, useful, and entertaining. A wonderful menagerie of the world on a moment to moment basis.

  4. Heather Cee Says:

    Nice job, Mr. Isaacs. Thanks for being genuine and not at all smug (which, unfortunately, seems to be a virus these days). You have reminded me that I should reply to your tweets more often, too. Cheers!

  5. martymankins Says:

    You have a great way of speaking and communicating. Of course, I’m sure being in the entertainment world (not to mention being a front man for a few bands) has helped.

    Your Twitter beginning steps were good. As a year long user on Twitter, I admit not to using search.twitter.com enough. Amazing what you can find out there.

  6. ::Kristen:: Says:

    http://www.twitter.com/sourpatchkid

    I don’t use it as often as I know I should, but I’m working on it. I’m just so faithful to FriendFeed!

  7. Steve Isaacs Says:

    Yeah, I’m gonna get to FriendFeed, but wanted to start from square one…

  8. Pj Perez Says:

    Ha, I am using your video blog to answer a friend’s questions about using Twitter. Hope it helps her!!

  9. Kirk Skodis Says:

    Great primer, Steve! I’ll also add this CommonCraft video which is great to explain it to like… your mom.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

    Another reason to get into Twitter now is that I believe it will eclipse the blogosphere soon. I posted my thoughts on this a few weeks ago: http://tinyurl.com/9ezpyl

    Best,
    @kirkskodis

  10. gouldlambchop Says:

    THANKS.. I think i get suome of this now, and by the way Dave sent me. xoxoxo~lambchop~

  11. CeeBee Says:

    good video steve. i agree with you in that it might take a little time and/or effort (not much though) to really get the point of a service such as twitter. it’s basically one’s stream of consciousness for people to tune in on. it can then evolve into an exchange of ideas through quick, even abbreviated communication that can then evolve into something more if the user allows it.

    it took me a bit to kinda find my “niche,” as there was perhaps trepidation on my part when it came to just throwing stuff out there, but provided you maintain a consistent stream of thoughts, ideas, links and actually interact with people, you’ll notice that the growth and ease with which interaction occurs becomes fairly natural.

    one’s ability to interact with others is only limited by one’s concept of what this service is capable of adding to their pool of social media resources.

    catch me on twitter here: http://twitter.com/CeeBee

  12. anvil Says:

    cool, that’s very helpful… i’ll stop by

    http://twitter.com/anvil

  13. gene Says:

    thanks!
    im giving it a try and having fun already!
    http://twitter.com/genetanaka

  14. gene Says:

    thanks!
    im giving it a try and having fun already!
    http://twitter.com/genetanaka

  15. Steve’s Twitter Steps Part 2 | steveisaacs.tv Says:

    [...] Steve’s 5 Starter Steps for Twitter [...]

  16. VideoEscaper Says:

    I just registered on Twitter a few days ago after putting it off for about a year now. When I first heard about it I thought it was one of those complicating sites that would take up my time and effort at learning how it works, like how MySpace.com was to me when it once required HTML knowledge.

    I finally registered a few days ago and now it’s starting to make much more sense than how I perceived it to be before. Had I discovered to watch this video earlier, I would have understood it better; and would have more reason to start following people. I’m still in the beta stages of Twitter and will gradually adding to it since more and more bloggers and vloggers are using it to network with each other. Networking is always good since we all can benefit in learning from one another. This informative video is just one fine example.

  17. Steve Isaacs Says:

    VE: Thanks, glad you like it – Twitter used to totally piss me off, I found it cryptic and odd. This is the video I would have wanted to watch before joining up. These days I love the service. Thanks for stopping by, and good job with http://www.vloggersblog.com/.

  18. Tammy Kreiss Says:

    Thank you, you showed me Twitter is not my thing and will only be used to get updates from stars. As far as my comments, when I D(name), @(name), or RT, the stars never respond or reply! I know they are busy, but if they can throw out a Tweet that often then they can answer an occasional question. GL with your unknown followings though, and thanks again. :D

  19. rockinbev Says:

    Cool! Thanks!

  20. Jim Penson Says:

    Steve, I agree totally with your approach to Twitter. And it especially noble in that you follow nearly as many people as follow you. Penn Gillette follows 2 people. Steve Nash, 3. Katy Perry, I think like a dozen. Some celebs see this as a one way broadcasting system, not a social network app. Personally, I’m not quite on board with giving the guy from That 70s Show this kind of bully pulpit. It’s fine for celebs to use it to market themselves. We all are. But to use it as a sort of mail stop, fan mail base I think is misusing Twitter. I have even gotten tweets from celebs who say , on one hand “Please understand that I can’t respond to all of you as much as I would like to”, and then turn around and respond immediately to other celebs who tweet them. That is the very pinnacle of Twitter snobbery, I believe.
    I am following you because of your attitude about Twitter. I can’t imagine why anyone would follow Aplusk and become one of the 2 million unheard voices in his stream. I wish everybody “got” Twitter like you do.
    thanks so much.

    jim @banjoist123

  21. Viralnation Says:

    Hi Steve yeah it would have been great to see your Steve’s 5 Starter Steps for Twitter to get a better understanding. When I heard about “Twitter” It sounded nerdy, and if it was anything like Bebo I wasnt going there. But it was through Viralurl.com my affilliate website they encouraged me to join, Viralfollower.com to build my Business. My following has grown to over a thousand in four weeks, only 3 sign ups no upgrades though lol. Apart from that twitter is a fantastic place to be involved. It has brought the people of the world together in a new form of communication. I have never before “Twitter” had so much information in my face about people and whats happening. GL Im Following you now.

  22. sheryl brown Says:

    i don’t get the hang of it but i give it a try

  23. Steve Isaacs Says:

    Jim: Thanks so much for the kind words. Yeah, the whole celebrities not following anyone else seems pretty lame. I wouldn’t call myself a celebrity! Also lame though, is the giant group of people who ONLY use Twitter to gain access to celebrities, and not expand their online social circle organically.

    I do love social media and am glad the vids can help people. I found Twitter SO difficult in the beginning to get, but now can’t imagine my online life without it.

  24. Twitter starter Video Tutorials 3+ | Z3bb Blog Says:

    [...] steveisaacs.tv [...]

  25. Alana Says:

    Hi…re:”Also lame though, is the giant group of people who ONLY use Twitter to gain access to celebrities, and not expand their online social circle organically”
    Twitter is very new up here in Canada…a lot of people view it with disdain..so i’m limited to people to interact with. Yet seeing the insites of people like Deepak Chopra and many other “celebrities” who have you would never normally be allowed can be helpful and uplifting. It also directed me to a music site that’s similar – Blipfm-where people share music playlists…-Hopefully i can convince some people to join up…your video will help!

  26. Steve Isaacs Says:

    Alana – I 100% agree with the celeb stalkers.

    Although being in Canada has nothing to do with who you can interact with on Twitter. 95% of the people I interact with I don’t know personally, or what state/country they live in.

  27. imPetraPetrelli Says:

    I just started it this week during the onslaught of the typhoon. because most local celebs are using to inform everyone about relief donations and volunteer work.thanks for the twitter tips ;)

  28. Brigit Jackson Says:

    Thank you, Steve!

  29. abbi Says:

    @abiimael

    wow, thanks your vid was really helpful, i got my twitter a few months ago but i wouldnt use it because to me it was pointless, now i am getting more into it, and its really cool. and your video just make me look at it in a different way. I live in Mexico, and twitter isnt really that much popular down here, mainly bacause of the difference of languages, and they just invented birddi.com which is pretty much twitter but in spanish, but ppl dont use it either, i guess we’re so used to those social web nets such as facebook and myspace. but yeah i got my twitter to expand my interact with people cause i happen to thing english is about the most globalized language in the world, and in deed it conects us all as ONE world, just like it should be.

    anyways, thank you so much. i’m following now n.n

  30. Bill Says:

    Great intro to Twitter. I’ve been look for a good video to introduce my students to Twitter, and I found it. Thanks.

  31. Pchervenak Says:

    all I get for followers is someone trying to sell something. tierd of it. Anybody worth following will not follow back.

  32. Tony Pinto Says:

    Well done, Steve. I considered putting together something like this myself. But why reinvent the wheel? Now I can just point my friends and clients to you. :-)

  33. Brielana Says:

    Thank You! I started Twitter because a friend was doing it and said good things, but I found it confusing. This has really cleared thing up.

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