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	The Twitter Glossary Posted 05 June 2009

For those new to Twitter, the micro-blogging sensation can be a bit confusing, especially when it even has its own language! To help you out, here is a short and sweet glossary to words and terms used throughout the Twitter community. We've avoided the stupid ones...

#

Hashtags are a way to tag your posts on Twitter. They are keywords to categorise your tweet with a popular topic. An example would be: I’m at #OLD TRAFFORD enjoying the football game.

@(+Username)

This is the process of 'retweeting' someone's Twitter entry. In order to credit the original poster by entering the @ symbol followed by their username. Normally this is done before the actual post you are retweeting.

D(+Username)

This is the shortcut to send someone a Direct Message on Twitter. You can send a Direct Message by typing D, then adding a space, then adding the username of who you want to message. You cannot currently message more than one user at once.

DM

This is an acronym for Direct Message. You can send a Direct Message by typing D, then adding a space, then adding the username of who you want to message. You cannot currently message more than one user at once.

FailWhale

The "FailWhale" refers to Twitters 404 error page which has a picture of a whale.

Favourites

These are favourite posts saved by a Twitter user. You can choose a favourite by hovering over the post and clicking on the star icon.

Follower

Someone who chooses to follow you on Twitter will click on the Follow button to be kept updated of your posts on Twitter. You can choose to allow them to follow you or not.

Profile

Your profile alllows you to enter personal information and edit the appearance of your Twitter page.

Reply

You cannot Direct Message people that aren't following you. You can however reply to them by hovering over one of their Twitter entries and clicking on the arrow icon.

Retweet

If you find someone you are following is of particular interest, you can repost their Tweet by typing RT, then the @ symbol followed by their username. You can then either copy and paste their message or create your own.

Example:

RT @Username Sign up to the climate challenge petition! http://twurl.cc/18id

RT

This is an acronym for Retweet. It is not a function, to credit someone in a Retweet you would type RT, then the @ symbol followed by their username. You can then either copy and paste their message or create your own.

Example:

RT @Username Sign up to the climate challenge petition! http://twurl.cc/18id

Status

Nothing to do with you, status is Twitter's own notifications of fixes and system updates. You can keep updated at http://status.twitter.com/.

Tweeple

The community of people who are active on Twitter.

Tweet

An entry on Twitter consisting of up to 140 characters.

Twexting

Using Twitter on a mobile phone. Some carriers such as Vodafone allow you to update your Twitter for free.

Twitterati

The more well known and established members of Twitter. You can see the most popular Twitter users at http://twitterholic.com/.

Twit

Someone who posts on Twitter (according to Wikipedia).

Twittering

The act of posting on your Twitter account.

Updates

These are recent posts by a Twitter user, which you will see when viewing their account. You will have to use the 'More' button to view all posts.

You may also be interested in reading....

	Useful Tools for Twitter
	Get more followers on Twitter
	Linking to a Twitter entry

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