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Twitterizing Your Design Life
Linda points to some basic “rules” for Twitter, but questions other rules provided by users.
If you aren't on Twitter or you don't know about its intricacies, then Linda will introduce this social media tool to you in this article and in following articles. Linda points to some basic “rules” for Twitter, but questions other rules provided by users. She also provides links to find other graphic designers and programmers on Twitter.
Twitter Fanatic
I've discovered the best way to make connections at Facebook, Friendfeed and LinkedIn is through Twitter. With
that said, I also learned that the best way to make a mark about your
personality or your cause(s) is through Twitter as well. You can lie on your
resume at LinkedIn, you can play "hands off" with Friendfeed (if you use
Friendfeed merely as a feed for your Twitter accounts) and you can mess around
at Facebook, marking that latter social media tool as a playground and nothing
more.
But, Twitter can define you, because it's use is both spontaneous and planned; and, you can define this social media tool however you desire. In fact, you can maintain two or more Twitter accounts for various reasons, making some accounts anonymous and others transparent. You can, if you want, spend half your day watching Twitter comments and making few of your own. Or, you can dive-bomb Twitter with remarks that range from what you're having for breakfast, lunch or dinner to enlisting votes for your favourite politician.
In other words, you can become a Twitter fanatic. You can use this tool to make friends and real change in your community and beyond or you can use it to play games. Or, both...it's up to you.
This is why, when I see Twitter "rules" for using Twitter, I cringe. While some rules make sense (such as not spamming, as Twitter will shut you down), other rules were written, I believe, by SanctiTwitter users. These rules, basically, were written so that the user who wrote them would feel more comfortable about the way you use Twitter.
Before I get into which rules to break, I'll go over some rules that must be followed, as they were written by Twitter, and these basics make Twitter work.
Twitter Basics
This section covers the basics, such as tools to use, how to contact other users, etc.
Tools
There are a few basics to remember when you're using Twitter, but they can be altered by which Twitter tool you use to contact users through Twitter. Some social software tools, such as Twhirl (which I use), make Twitter use a breeze. But, there are other tools to use, and you can use whichever one makes life easier for you. Many of these clients require the download and installation of Adobe Air (all are free, by the way).
Twhirl: Download this Adobe-Air tool and watch your feed in real-time. Use various links to contact people. You can carry all your accounts on this tool. Runs on both Windows (2000/XP/Vista) and Mac OSX.
Tweetdeck: I used this client before I switched to Twhirl. You can customize your Twitter experience with columns, groups, saved searches and automatic updates helping you to effortlessly stay updated with the people and topics you care about. This is an Adobe Air application that is in beta – my only issue was the number of APIs, or tweets that a person could obtain or send, as it was limited. That issue may have changed recently.
Spaz: This Adobe-Air client is cross-platform compatible and can be used on a desktop or mobile. This is an open source software using a New BSD-style license.
Twitter also offers several other applications that are compatible with the Opera browser, iPhone, Google Desktop and more. You can add Widgets to your Web site as well, if you want your site readers to find you on Twitter.
The reason you might think about using a social media client for Twitter is because it's a real pain to go to your Twitter page(s) on the Web to read your messages, replies and respond – especially when you need to constantly refresh the page. A real-time interface that incorporates Adobe Air could help you stay on top of your Twitter life easily.
Linda Goin
Linda Goin carries an A.A. in graphic design, a B.F.A. in visual communications with a minor in business and marketing and an M.A. in American History with a minor in the Reformation. While the latter degree doesn't seem to fit with the first two educational experiences, Linda used her 25-year design expertise on archaeological digs and in the study of material culture. Now she uses her education and experiences in social media experiments.
Accolades for her work include fifteen first-place Colorado Press Association awards, numerous fine art and graphic design awards, and interviews about content development with The Wall St. Journal, Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, and L.A. Times.