Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets

by Paul McFedries

Maximize your fun and boost your productivity with this updated, full-color guide to tantalizing Twitter tips The popularity of Twitter continues to soar, and is fast becoming the most popular social networking site online. Whether you're looking to learn how to set up an account for the first time or are on the prowl for some cool third-party Twitter apps, this full-color guide will boost your entire Twitter experience. Allowing you to communicate...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470624663
• ISBN13: 9780470624661
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Wiley Publishing
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Become a Twitter Poweruser in no time flat

Full disclosure: By the time I read this book, I had been active on twitter for over a year. I had several hundred followers and was following several hundred people. In addition, I was a technical editor for a book on Programming the Twitter API With that said, I considered the value of this book from both a power user's perspective as well as a complete n00b. Twitter is extremely popular and there are tons of people on it. There are several items that you probably won't understand at first and it can be daunting. There are several gotchas you'll want to avoid. There are many things you can do to make Tweeting easier and the same goes for reading tweets. If you are new to twitter or are considering joining it, I can't think of a better resource. -The book is very easy to read. The author's style is one that makes for very pleasant reading. He's concise and to the point yet covers topics very thoroughly. He uses anecdotes and works hard to keep the material light and interesting, but it's also very technical. You could easily read this book in a night or two which, for new users would probably be a good idea. I'd recommend reading the first few chapters, then going to twitter and playing around with what you know. Then read the next few and repeat until the end. The only reason I say this is b/c in many ways, the book is like a waterfall. There's just a ton of material and suggestions in it and the overwhelming majority are things that you'll definitely want to use or consider. It's not hard to build a catalog of every feature. What he does instead is cover just about every imagineable aspect of twitter while explaining why you'd want to do something a certain way or use a certain feature. He explains the basics and then proceeds to areas more suited to power users. By taking a few breaks and trying everything out, everything will sink in and you'll likely get more out of it. The thing is, there's so many cool tips that you'll invariably forget a few b/c each time you read of a new one, it gets you thinking about what you can do with it. He'll get you started setting up the account. From there he'll walk you through finding people to follow (either people you already know, or people you'd likely find interesting). He explains how to search for items and how to get started the right way. He also warns you about what type of people to avoid and what to do if you find you've been had by a Spam bot or troll. From there he walks you through commonly used features in twitter and explains items like #hashtags. I know many people who've used twitter for a while and seen #hashtags but didn't know what they were. He covers #hashtags and @responses. He explains trending topics as well. In addition he explains various twitter clients and why you might want to use them as opposed to the web interface. And of course he explains using twitter from your phone exclusively. By now, I'm sure there are a bunch of new iPhone and Android

Terrific resource for those deciding whether or not to Twitter

My teenage daughters talked me into signing up for Twitter. I had no idea what I was getting into. But I had found a few old school friends and work colleagues on Facebook, so I thought: Why not? When I started getting emails from perfect strangers saying they were "following" me on Twitter, I thought perhaps I should find out what this phenomenon was really all about. So I ordered this book. The book is well-written, and keeps within the parameters of knowledge which would belong to the average computer-savvy person (i.e. someone who can use a computer to surf for pleasure, word process, send email and do their office job.) It explained the reasoning behind Twitter, which is to keep up with friends and their lives in short bursts (bytes, really) of frequent information. The book also explains how to use shortcuts and extra features to enhance one's Twitter experience. What the book did for me, admirably, is convince me that Twitter is a complete waste of time. I am already inundated with information which I feel I must assimilate to stay current in this fast-paced world. Twitter is an electronic pastime which I can safely do without. This book helped me decide that, and I think it did a good job of it. You might come to the opposite conclusion after reading this book. It's an excellent resource, no matter what you decide. Highly recommended.

A must read 4 anyone new 2 twttr or anyone who wants 2 get more value or have more fun w/ twttr

"Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets" is full of useful advice for anyone new to Twitter or current "Twitterers" who want to increase their knowledge. The book has nine chapters covering: 1. Getting started 2. Customizing your profile to get a unique look 3. Sending tweets 4. Finding, following, and replying to other Twitter users 5. Using Twitter on your cell phone 6. Finding topics and people in Twitter, tips on Twitter search 7. Integrating Twitter with other social media and blogs 8. Different clients and gadgets for Twitter 9. Twitter extensions for sharing non-text media, scheduling, and analytics I have been a Twitter user for some time, but I still found a number of new Tips and Tricks. The chapter on using Twitter on your cell phone is especially helpful, since the tiny interface is a challenge. The last three chapters are full of information not readily available elsewhere. I wish I had this book before I integrated my Twitter and Facebook accounts--I would not have spent so much time trying to do something that won't work! The gadgets and clients are fascinating, even if you do not use them all (I am a fan of TweetDeck and TinyTwitter), and the external web sites in Chapter 9 are valuable if you are using Twitter for business--otherwise, they are just fun! If you are new to Twitter, "Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets" will help you use and get value from Twitter quickly. If you already tweet, you will certainly find a few tricks and tips that you did not know!

Great and useful resource

Paul McFedries book contains all the information you need to get on board with Twitter. Though it's easy to sign up on and start using the popular social media site, this book does indeed provide you many of the latest tips, tricks, and resources for getting the most out of Twitter. Other books about Twitter cover how to use the site as a networking and marketing strategy for your business. Paul's book instead focuses on the general Twitter user. You get step-by-step instructions about signing up on the site, customizing your Twitter homepage, connecting with other Twitter members, and doing powerful searches on Twitter. The last third of the book gives you advance resources that get you beyond and connects you back to the Twitter.com website. You learn about desktop and mobile applications for Twittering, as well how to have your Twitter updates show up on your existing web or blog site. There's even a nice two-page glossary of Twitter related lingo that will give you "tweet cred" (Twitter creditability) amongst your friends and associates. This book is beautifully illustrated, and the writing is clear and concise. I kinda wish, though, that it was formatted in 6x9 size, rather the traditional 9x6 book size. The landscape orientation would have made this book feel more like the true guide that it is. Much of the information found in this book is available for free on the Internet, but having these resources collected in one place saves you time from doing all that searching. The author is a prolific writer who has sold books worldwide. So this book is well worth the price if you want to get up to speed on Twitter.

Great resource for all who want to learn and maximize Twitter

Twitter as a social networking tool is exploding and this book is the first to help you untangle all of information you need to learn about Twitter and put out your first "tweet." It provides a good foundation for the basics of getting started but it is also loaded with intermediate and advanced tips and tricks to get the most out of Twitter. Whether you just want to start tweeting or are looking for ways to leverage Twitter to its fullest, I think you'll find everything you need to learn and maximize Twitter in this book.