What is Twitter?
A tweet, a posting of 140 characters or less, is the mainstay of an online application called Twitter. This product, first introduced in 2006, is a communication tool aimed at digital natives. According to Educause Learning Initiative (2): “Twitter is an online application that is part blog,
part social networking site, part cellphone/IM tool...” (Skiba, 2008).
part social networking site, part cellphone/IM tool...” (Skiba, 2008).
Twitter Vocabulary
Hashtag: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords
or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a
way to categorize messages.
Handle: A user's "Twitter handle" is the username they have selected
and the accompanying URL
Tweet (verb): Tweet, tweeting, tweeted. The act of posting a
message, often called a "Tweet", on Twitter.
Tweet (noun): A message posted via Twitter containing 140
characters or fewer
Direct Message (DM): Also called a DM and most recently called
simply a "message," these Tweets are private between the sender
and recipient. Tweets sent over SMS become DMs when they begin
with "d username" to specify who the message is for.
Follow: To follow someone on Twitter is to subscribe to their Tweets
or updates on the site.
Reply: A Tweet posted in reply to another user's message, usually
posted by clicking the "reply" button next to their Tweet in your
timeline. Always begins with @username.
Mention: Mentioning another user in your Tweet by including the @
sign followed directly by their username is called a "mention". Also
refers to Tweets in which your username was included.
Retweet (noun): A Tweet by another user, forwarded to you by someone you follow.
Often used to spread news or share valuable findings on Twitter.
Retweet (verb): To retweet, retweeting, retweeted. The act of forwarding another
user's Tweet to all of your followers.