Twitter, you have no doubt heard about it. Its in the news and heck its even part of the news. So if your a twitter veteran or noob we are going to show you, the MMO gamer, how to best use twitter for your gaming purposes! Enjoy!
Note: If you are a veteran twitterer than I suggest skipping to number 7
1. What is Twitter?
First, for those of you new to twitter, we should explain what twitter “is.” Thats the most common question I get from people who don’t use twitter. “I don’t get it, what is twitter. I signed up, but I don’t get it.” Well first lets take the answer from twitter’s about section:
Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter’s success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple. Twitter asks one question, “What are you doing?” Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web.
Twitter’s core technology is a device agnostic message routing system with rudimentary social networking features. By accepting messages from sms, web, mobile web, instant message, or from third party API projects, Twitter makes it easy for folks to stay connected.
So let me sum that up in simple, easy to understand terms. Twitter is just people posting little micro-blogs (140 characters or less) to the public (this can be made private but pretty much defeats the point, imho) That mico-blog post or “tweet” is broad casted on twitter. It can be searched, viewed in other 3rd party programs, and tracked (we will go over these if you have any questions)
2. Following
Another feature that is important is following. This is similar to adding friends, but is different in that all you are doing is subscribing to that persons tweets so that when they post a tweet you will see it on your home page.
3. Direct messages
This is the forums equivalent to PM’s. You can use this to message some one privately. These messages are not broad casted.
4. @replys
When ever you see an @ sign attached to the beginning of text that means it is someones user name. (ex. @MMOcker is ours) This is used to “Tag” that person in the tweet. Whether to reply to something they said (ex. ” @johndoe Hey man did you play today?”) , tag them in a tweet you want them to see (ex. “WoW launched a new MMO! @friend1 @friend2 “) , or when talking about them (ex, “Me and @Friend22 went to gamestop today)
When you use the @ sign at the beginning of their user name it will also turn that bit into a link to their profile.
5. Hash Tags
These are used as tags, just like in blogging, to link your tweet to a category or stream of other peoples tweets that can be searched. So when ever we post a link to our articles we make sure to add #MMO or MMORPG so if people search MMO or MMORPG than our tweet will come up in that list. Those lists are live too. So when some one new posts a tweet with #MMO you will see it show up there. Hash tags can also be used by 3rd party programs in really cool ways
6. Posting Links
One of my favorite things about twitter is sharing links. People post links to really interesting stuff, and often times since twitter is so live you can hear about gaming news before its posted on any of the major news sites. Links are often very long, so twitter will shorten them for you after you hit the update button. However, sometimes they will be so long it will not let you post. (There are third party programs that help with this see number 7)
7. 3rd party programs
You don’t have to use twitter.com to use twitter. There are a multitude of 3rd party apps to use twitter better and easier. I am only going to link a few but there are tons out there for PC, Mac, Mobile, you name it. All with their own twist and features but all fed by every post on twitter.com
A. Tweet Deck (Most robust)
B. Tweetree (More simple)
C. Twitpic (for sharing SS)
D. TweetCraft (for those who play WoW)
But wait!… The 3rd party fun doesn’t stop there. Since tweets are public use an API they can used in a multitude of ways. There are even games based on twitter. Here are a list of useful web apps for the MMO gamer
A. Tweet My Gaming (tracks game mentions)
B. Twitivia (Trivia game)
C. Twitbrain (Nerd math game)
D. Tweetbomb (for the twitter troll)
E. Beatmytweet (Word scrambles)
8. Hash Tag Discussions
You can use hash tags (ex. #MMO #MMORPG #LOTR #aionlaunch ) to create or join a discussion on that topic. Just search for that tag and start replying to people. Its that simple. Some times these tags can become very popular. There are popular ones that have become part of the twitter culture. For example #musicmondays where you share a cool song, or #followfriday where you suggest cool people to follow.
9. Following Devs
Twitter is a wonderful way to not only get quick and constant updates from Devs but also to get up close and personal. Many devs have their own accounts even and will reply if you @reply them. Not only devs but also keep in contact with your favorite gaming sites *ahem*
Check out qforq’s list of game devs to follow of twitter for a complete list
10. Re Tweets
Have you ever seen a tweet like this? “RT @MMOcker Has anyone seen my pants?” That is some one re posting some one else’s tweet. This is a good way of sharing a good/funny tweet you liked with more people while giving credit to that person. So if you like our links we often post, then RT us!
So there you have it, now you know all I know on mastering twitter. I hope this helps you all. Please post a comment here if you have anything to add to this list, or put your new skills to work and post an @MMOcker reply on twitter!
If you want to get started following people, follow us here http://www.twitter.com/MMOcker
Fail Whale, when twitter goes down
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