WAYZATA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
GUIDE TO TWITTER
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Connect Tab, Profile Page, Hashtags, Trends, Tweet and Tweets
Retweet, Twitter Lists, Direct Messages, Following
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How to track activity on your Twitter Account
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HOW TO USE MOBILE TWITTER APPLICATION
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Table of Contents:
Twitter Home Page, Twitter Handle, Posting to Twitter
Twitter Guidelines for using Social Media in Wayzata Public Schools can be found at www.wayzata.k12. mn.us/socialmediaguidelines. Please make sure to read through these before setting up or using any Twitter account for your classroom or project.
Twitter Home Page
Upon logging into Twitter, on the right is a stream of Tweets posted by all the people you “follow� on Twitter. On the left you will see your page name, number of Tweets, number of people you follow, number of followers as well as suggestions of people you may want to consider following. You will also find a list of trends which consists of popular hashtagged conversations happening on Twitter at that moment. You can click any of these areas to learn more.
Twitter Handle
@
This is the username you choose to identify yourself on Twitter. This could be your own name, your school name or a nickname. People use your Twitter handle to contact or mention you. You will choose a Twitter handle when you setup your account at twitter.com. Please make sure your handle name helps people identify your project and that you are a part of Wayzata Public Schools such as @Gleason5thgrd
Posting to Twitter
To post your own Tweet, click the compose Tweet button in the top right corner of your page. You can link to images, videos, or URLs in your 140-character message, and add location if you want to show users where you are.
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Connect Tab
Connect tab’s Interactions timeline shows you how others have been interacting on Twitter; you’ll see when someone marks your Tweet as a favorite, mentions your username, follows you, or retweets your content.
Profile Page
Access the Twitter profile page from the menu in the top navigation bar, or from the Home tab. Profile displays Tweets, stats, and information about who you are. Others see this when they look you up on Twitter.
Hashtags #word(s)
#
Hashtags are used to for expression or to signify a group or event that is going on in real time and used to create conversations within a group.
trends
Trends are the most popular hashtagged conversations happening on Twitter in real-time.
Tweet and Tweets
This is the term used to the text, links, images, etc. that you post on Twitter. Tweets can be deleted even after they have been posted, but that doesn’t mean there is no record of them being posted. Anything published online has a digital footprint. Think before you post.
Fact: The US Library of Congress keeps a record of every single tweet.
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RE: Means Re-tweet
You can Retweet a Tweet posted by someone by: · clicking the RT button · typing “RT: @handle name: Content of their Tweet.”
Twitter Lists
Categories a user can create to filter multiple Twitter streams. This allows you to tune into different conversations on Twitter which could be anything from location, hobbies to thought leaders in a certain industry. You decide and add accounts to the lists.
Direct Messages Private conversations between two people that can only be read by them.
The Follow Button Click this button to follow a person’s tweets on Twitter. Their Tweets will show up in your Twitter feed to read, respond to, or Retweet.
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How to track activity on your Twitter Account Twitter Analytics Twitter has an analytics platform that is free for you to use. By going to the analytics site on Twitter you can find what’s happening with your Tweets. In Twitter Analytics you can see how many Retweets, Favorities, Replies, Statistics on following, mentions, unfollows and much more! To view twitter analytics go to https://analytics.twitter.com and login to your Twitter account.
How To Use Google URL Shortener to Track Link Activity In Twitter Google Shortner (goo.gl) is a great tool for tracking activity around your links on Twitter. At Wayzata Public Schools every staff member has a Google isd284.com account which you can use to track all your activity. Below we will outline how it works. You may want to have goo.gl open in another tab/window for your convenience.
1. Login to your Google isd284.com account. By logging into your district google account it will allow
you to track clicks for the links you shorten. This is a great way to see how many people are reading your content. 2. Go to the website of the article you want to share on your Facebook wall. Copy the original link.
3. Go to goo.gl and find the box below the words “Paste your long URL here:” and paste the URL you want shortened in the box as seen below:
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4. After pasting the URL into the box click on the “Shorten URL” box:
5. This will generate a short link for you. Click “Copy” to copy this link to use in your Facebook post.
6. Login to your Twitter account. Next click on “Compose new Tweet”. Write your message and add the goo.gl shortened link. Click “Tweet” when you are finished.
7. Your final post, with a shortened link, should look like this when you are done
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HOW TO USE MOBILE TWITTER APPLICATION Twitter has created a very robust mobile application for both the iPhone and Android phones. You can download the Twitter application for free from your app store. Just search “Twitter” and it will be the first app to pop up. Once you have downloaded the Twitter app click to open the app from your phone and you will be instructed to login.
Navigate Twitter:
At the top right hand side of every screen in the Twitter application you will see two symbols: Search - Clicking this symbol allows you to search Twitter for people and topics. Compose - Clicking this symbol allows you to write a Tweet.
Notice the “Home”, “Notifications”, “Messages” and “Me” choices on the side of the screen. These choices are available on all screens so you can quickly navigate through the application to get where you want to be within Twitter.
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HOW TO USE MOBILE TWITTER APPLICATION (cont.) Home:
The first screen you will see upon opening the Twitter application is your Twitter homepage. To view everything that is currently being talked about by people you follow on Twitter you may click on the “Home” menu item. You will then be able to see the conversation in real time. You may scroll to view older Tweets by using your finger and “pulling down” the screen.
Notifications:
When managing Twitter it’s always a good idea to review your notifications. This is where all the Tweets that mention your Twitter account are located. Once here you can click on any specific Tweet to view the Tweet individually and also reply to the Tweets.
DISCOVER:
The Discover screen is a place for you to see what content is trending on Twitter. When you click on discover you will first see articles that are trending. By scrolling downward you can see recent activity of people you follow. After that you will see trending words and hashtags and finally some suggestions of who to follow.
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HOW TO USE MOBILE TWITTER APPLICATION (cont.) ME
If you want to see your Twitter page and all your recent Tweets click on the Me menu option. On this page you are able to see: · recent Tweets · people you are following · followers · profile settings · access to other Twitter accounts if you have more than one Twitter account · messages You may click on any of these items to see the featured choices. Responding to a Tweet
You may click on any Tweet inside the twitter app to view and respond to that Tweet. Once you click on the Tweet it will pop up on the screen. Below the Tweet you will see 4 choices: Reply
Retweet
Favorite
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Select what you want to do and follow the next steps for action you have chosen.
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