Twitter 101

Start following the OAUG Forum on Twitter now to keep up with the latest conference updates and special promotions only offered to followers. The official twitter handle for the COLLABORATE 12 — OAUG Forum is @COLLAB_OAUG and the twitter hashtag for COLLABORATE 12 is #C12LV. Include this hashtag on your COLLABORATE-related tweets. Search for #C12LV on Twitter to see everything people are saying about the conference.

How is Twitter Useful for Me at COLLABORATE?

Twitter is a communication platform that helps people stay connected. At COLLABORATE, @COLLAB_OAUG will tweet to share information with attendees, gather real-time feedback and build relationships with fellow conference-goers. From the convenience of your smart phone you can:

Stay in-the-know and receive special promotions throughout COLLABORATE available only to followers
Receive reminders for all the must-see events and activities
Get last-minute session changes
Share your experience with coworkers back in the office and other online observers
Promote your presentation to your fellow attendees
Post questions and get a conversation started
Let attendees know where you are, what sessions you’re attending and which booths are must-sees in the Exhibitor Showcase, etc.

How does it work?

Twitter lets you write and read messages of up to 140 characters. The messages are public and you can decide what sort of messages you want to receive — depending on who you follow. Send and receive messages, or tweets, from your desktop in the office and from your mobile phone while at COLLABORATE.

A few things to know before you start tweeting

It’s important to understand that Twitter is recipient controlled — each person decides who they want to follow based on what they find compelling and interesting. They will search keywords or hashtags to find people tweeting about topics of interest to them, and then decide to follow. By searching the #C12LV hashtag, you can find and follow other COLLABORATE attendees.

Getting started

Sign up. Visit the sign-up page, and fill out the four fields. After you’ve signed up the site will walk you through a couple screens to help you find others on Twitter you know or might be interested in, such as COLLABORATE attendees. It‘s a quick process, but if you want you can click “Skip this step” on the bottom of the screen and jump directly to your account page.
Fill out your info. Click “Settings” to set up your page to include more details about yourself or your organization. Be sure to include a short bio (up to 160 characters) and photo. Your bio can be a brief description of your company or yourself, and the photo can be your organization’s logo or a photo of yourself. If you want to personalize the rest of your page, click on the “Design” tab where you can upload a background image or tweak your page colors.
Find people and companies to follow. First, be sure to follow @COLLAB_OAUG to keep up with the latest conference updates and information. Use the search box on your Twitter home page to look for people and companies talking about products and applications of interest to you. When you find interesting messages, consider following those accounts. Also take a look at the “Find People” section if you’re looking for someone in particular.
Start tweeting. Now the real fun begins. On your Twitter home page, use the box at the top to type your message. Remember, you only have 140 characters and you want be sure to use the hashtag #C12LV so all COLLABORATE attendees can find your tweets. When you have your message ready to go, hit “Update” to post your message. Not sure where to start? Try posting a question pertaining to COLLABORATE; ask others what sessions they’re attending and plan to meet up; say hello to other people you know or post a link to an interesting news article.

Best Twitter apps for mobile devices

We highly recommend downloading an application to your smart phone before you arrive at COLLABORATE so you can easily tweet from your phone and receive updates instantly.

iPhone

TweetDeck for iPhone uses a column-based interface that allows you to quickly swoosh between friends, searches, direct messages, etc.
Twitterrific supports multiple Twitter accounts and allows you to define auto-refreshes of your feed. You can also post your location and easily tweet images taken on your iPhone.
Echofon lets you tweet quickly from a modified interface without as many features, which may be a bit easier to navigate. Echofon lets you post pictures from your iPhone.

Android

Seesmic for Android is a powerful feature-rich application that’s simple and easy to use. Allows you to share photos, videos and your location in your tweets.
Twidroid has all the features that a normal user expects and has in the Twitter Web site, including following, tweeting, replying and sending direct messages.

BlackBerry

Twibble is a Java-based app and is good for keeping in touch with your followers on the go. Twibble has location-aware features so you can quickly tweet details of exactly where you are at COLLABORATE to any of your followers.
OpenBeak (previously known as Twitterberry) is an easy-to-use solution which is great for new tweeters looking for a simple interface. With OpenBeak you can easily take pictures on your BlackBerry and post them to Twitter without leaving the application.
ÜberTwitter offers location features without the need for GPS and lets you see everyone who is tweeting around you. You can send photos and videos from your device embedded into Twitter. This app also allows you the option to update your Google Talk status automatically every time you tweet.

Learn the lingo

Following: Follow other people and companies you’re interested in and receive their updates on your Twitter home page.
Tweet: Twitter users refer to an individual message as a tweet. Alternatives include “post,” “message” and “update.”
@username: Exchange public messages with others by simply adding “@” followed by the person you want to reach. Ex. “@COLLAB_OAUG threw an awesome Welcome Reception tonight!” People who are following you and @COLLAB_OAUG will see the message on their Twitter home page.
Direct message (DM): Direct messages are private and won’t appear in either person’s public home page or in search results. DMs can only be sent to people who are following you.
Retweet (RT): Like what someone else you’re following has to say? Click the retweet button and share the message with your followers. RTs are a quick, powerful way to spread messages and ideas across Twitter quickly.
Trending Topics: On the right of the screen on the Twitter search page, you’ll notice ten Trending Topics, which are the most-mentioned terms on Twitter at that moment. Topics update continually.
Hashtag (#): Using the #C12LV hashtag will allow other COLLABORATE attendees to follow your messages and search for all topics relating to COLLABORATE.
Tweetup: A tweetup is a simple in-person gathering organized via Twitter. Invite new friends and followers to meet you for lunch in the Exhibitor Showcase or in a particular education session.
Shortened URLs: With only 140 characters per tweet, you don’t want to waste space with long URL links. Use sites such as tinyurl.com or bit.ly to shrink your links. Most of the smartphone applications for Twitter provide a button for shortening any links in your tweet.