Tweet Etiquette and the Twitter Concierge
Posted on Thu, May 27, 2010
by Lyudmila Bloch, Etiquette Expert NYC
At the New York Book Expo this week, Joel Comm was carefully autographing his revised and updated version of Twitter Power 2.0.
A huge line of fans was forming on the crowded floor of the Javits Center. For all Twitter users this is a must-read book. For the rest of the world, it’s a great read on how to grow your relationships, expand your social skills (on twitter and off), and how to find like-minded people with whom to share your ideas and your interests.
What I learned from Joel was that Tweet Etiquette is very much alive and well, and is evolving every day. “Some of those etiquette rules are smart, sensible, and should always be followed” – he advised.
Rule # 1 – Don’t spam
Joel insists that this rule can never be ignored. If you break this rule and continue spamming – you will not survive on Twitter.
Rule # 2 – Follow style
Crafting your personal message is encouraged, but don’t abbreviate it too much, or overuse acronyms: your readers must be able to readily understand it. Of course, there are always exceptions. A fragmented message is acceptable etiquette, but don’t add your personal coding.
Rule # 3 – Retweet and give a credit to the original author
The etiquette of retweeting is simple. You can copy a tweet but add “RT” or “Retweet” with the original username. When a message is retweeted many times over, the original source may be lost in a crowd of retweeters. It’s OK to offer your own comments or opinion attached to a retweet. That’s what is so interesting about it – you add your own opinion to a piece you didn’t write.
Rule # 4 -- Keep it brief and stick to 140 characters.
Joel explains in his book that the reason a tweet is limited to 140 characters because it’s the maximum number of characters that can go through SMS systems in a single message. If you really can’t do it – use www.twitlonger.com You can send an unlimited message using that service.
There are plenty of valuable tips one can learn from this intriguing and insightful book about the immeasurable power of Twitter. One of the best chapters is “How to Join a Conversation” and avoid offending others while tweeting! Think of this book as a “Twitter Concierge” – you get an answer to virtually any question!
