Wait, that's NOT how I'm supposed to say that I have finally started using Twitter? Hmmm...
Yep. I've given in and gotten a Twitter account. You can blame Duotrope again: I fell in love with some literary webzines that only accept Twitter-length fiction, and they require that authors have a Twitter account to submit... and so here I am! You can find me at CKHBFiction.
If you do follow me, I hope you'll understand that I'm starting out slowly, with few updates. I'm of the belief that jumping headfirst into new media is how naked pictures end up online forever... no, not naked pictures of me... okay, we're getting off track here. My point is that I don't want to accidentally type something really embarrassing that will haunt me forever. I want to wait until I understand how Twitter works, and then type something really embarrassing on purpose.
Hee.
So, if my initial posts aren't interesting enough for you, you can check out my list of Twitter fiction markets (fiction or poetry in 140 characters or less), or see what my author friends are doing. I've got myself a shiny new "retweet" button on each blog post now, and I can see the addiction building from here. Yowza.
So, you veterans, what should I know about Twitter? It looks like replies that start with an "@" show up in people's profiles but don't show up on my home page where I follow them? Does it make a difference if you start with the symbol or use it partway through the update? I got hash-tagged a couple days ago, and while I think that #CKHB looks awesome, I don't actually know how all this coding works or what it's supposed to do... educate me!
I'm on Twitter, too, but rarely use it. Just haven't had the time to really figure it out. Look me up, if you want. I'll follow you back.
ReplyDeleteLynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
I haven't jumped into the Twitter waters just yet. I want a few more manuscripts under my belt first, there are already too many distractions from my writing.
ReplyDeleteRight when I was about to swear off twitter it became fun and it has helped in meeting more writers etc.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found #terribleminds. :)
ReplyDelete-- c.
The hash tag is used to track tweets that people can search for. Like #thingsmycatate or #waysinwhichIamacompletearse or #thatsnotwhatshesaid or #ieatcarbatteriesfordinner
ReplyDeleteAll those are fake of course, but you might see how many people would put those (especially the car battery eating one--I bet that's a bit more popular that one might think) after their tweets to categorize them.
Case 1:
ReplyDeleteStarting a message with @jjdebenedictis creates a public message to me. What that means is that I can read it, and anyone who follows BOTH you and me can read it. Someone who only follows you, or only follows me, will not see it.
This makes sense in that you and I might be having a conversation, and to the person who only follows one of us, it's a one-sided conversation and won't make any sense.
Case 2:
If you put @jjdebenedictis in the body of the tweet (not at the very beginning), then anyone who follows you will see that message.
I should see that message too, even if I DON'T follow you. It will still show up on my page.
Case 3:
If you want to send a message to me that NO ONE ELSE can read, send a direct message using Twitter's in-built function or (I believe) by starting the message with DM @jjdebenedictis.
Thanks for that info, jjdebenedictis! You enlightnened me with the DM bit. I'm a fairly new Twitterer (if that's a word). Hi Carrie! We e-mail corresponded a few years ago about different things related to your career/law school (which my sister considered, but didn't end up doing) and other stuff. All the best.
ReplyDelete