Follow a twitter mentor. Let that person know that you like the way they use the platform, and that you're trying to learn from them. If twitter is about connections that lead where you want to go, use it to connect with someone you see as a leader, and go there.

What is Twitter – is not very difficult to explain. You can also find great tutorials of How you can use Twitter. The most important question is of course Why you want to use Twitter.

Why do you want to use Twitter has a relation with Why you are in business, Why do you get up in the morning. What is it that you bring to this world that makes it a better place for the people around you?

When you have the answer to that “Why?”, Twitter is a great platform to spread your message and find fans. Please remember that your website or blog on your own domain hosted by yourself is your first platform, your hub. Do not build a movement on a platform that is not yours because the risk that it will not be there one day is just to big.

Why is Twitter such a great platform? You have only 140 characters to bring your message. Fans or haters have only 140 characters to respond to your message. You have to think about what you want to say because you only have 140 characters. It is easy to write book, but it is difficult to remove enough words so that the book becomes outstanding. So you have to think really hard what you want to say in 140 characters that will touch the people around you.

Reading @lizstrauss' tweets you will probably understand what I mean here.

So here is the 3 step plan:
1. Find your answer to the WHY? question.
2. Build your website or blog, your HUB, to spread your message
3. Attract FANS on a platform like Twitter to come to your hub.

This way you will build trust with your followers. Once we trust you, we can start to LOVE you. When people LOVE you they will follow you.

Follow a twitter mentor. Let that person know that you like the way they use the platform, and that you're trying to learn from them. If twitter is about connections that lead where you want to go, use it to connect with someone you see as a leader, and go there.

Oh where to start!?

Advice I'd give to people just starting out would include:

1. Commit to spending at least two 15 minute segments on your account per day. Spend that time either finding new people to follow, retweeting stuff that resonates with you that others have posted, jumping in on a conversation or reading a blog of one of your followers and commenting (publicly with why you like it as well as the link).

2. Find a tool that works for you – such as HootSuite, MyVBO, Pluggio, TweetDeck or Seesmic and get comfortable with it. Many also allow you to connect your Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

3. If you are interested in finding people to follow set up a keyword search in SocialOomph and have the results delivered to you, via email, on a daily basis (you can use this for locations, special interests, etc.). When you follow those people reach out to them – comment on some status update they recently sent out

4. As much as it's a cliche and seemingly over-used people love quotes and affirmations and those are the highest RT'd items on Twitter.

5. Only very, very sparingly “broadcast” about yourself….don't be the pushy salesperson

This is what makes Twitter a magnificent source of knowledge and the most powerful network you've ever had if you pick the right people to follow….and also a magnificent low vacuum area time-suck for your entire freakin' life.

Log into Twitter and it's ALWAYS hopping. If you're in the U.S., when you start your day the Europeans are about 8 hours ahead in tweeting cool stuff. If you're up too late, the fun Aussies and everybody in Asia piles on Twitter and keeps you up all night with their links and insights.

It'll kill you if you aren't careful.

Get in, but set a timer and get out when you have to. I speak from painful experience of many “wasted days and wasted nights.”

If it's important enough and you're following the right plugged-in people, that key link or info nugget will find you. Trust me.

Broadcast Bologna.

In the social realm there are several online cocktail party social networks, the biggest being Twitter. Many people that have been there for a while, have an expectation of participation versus being broadcasted to.

Much of the broadcasting I’m referring to is the online Command Center “one post gets you everywhere” method of a getting a message out. These services let you make one update and it automatically posts to multiple social networks for you. It is in effect broadcasting an illusion of participation. It’s not about a conversation at this point, or a relationship, it’s just broadcasting. Or as Joseph Jaffe put it in a podcast with Jeremiah Owyang, it’s “communication not conversation”.

Because the broadcaster isn’t actually in the network participating in the conversation, it’s akin to direct mail, broadcast email or texting. This is not genuine and far from authentic. I’ll cave to the fact that my definition of genuine in these networks may be old fashioned in a traditional 2.0 sense, but right now, I still enjoy remembering when I’m on Twitter, that I am in fact “on twitter” participating in a conversation. I enjoyed the illusion of seeing a tweet and thinking there is a person in this conversation with me. NOT some social version of the ‘man behind the curtain pulling levers’ and hitting the “broadcast” button.

If your traditional mindset has you viewing these online communities as one more place you can direct your commercialized ray-gun megaphone, please rethink your approach. Drop your weapons and go hand-in-hand, this is not combat. You don't get to power or automate the conversation.

Regards,
Bernie

I'm not sure if this is within the scope of your ebook, but I did several posts on how to customize twitter. 3 easy to follow tutorials for online freelancers/ virtual assistants. Perhaps you can have a look and decide. Meanwhile, I'll browse around your site. Thanks

Downloadable Slideshare/PDF files for the 3 tutorials
http://createownwebsite.vatrainingonline.com/cu…

18 Resources that helps customize twitter
http://createownwebsite.vatrainingonline.com/re…

However, the post is more than 30o words. So, here's the shortened version.

Be interesting. Post remarks others may find interesting. No one is interested in where you are.

Share links. Post links to good articles. Share, share, share. Mom taught you that, didn't she?

Re-tweet. Showing Twitter love is through the re-tweet. It's the ultimate compliment on Twitter.

Use Direct Messaging (DM) wisely. A DM is a private message. Use it sparingly but wisely.

Don't auto DM new followers with a sales pitch. I often unfollow someone I followed if they DM me with a sales pitch and a link to their get rich quick scheme. Barf!

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers,
Bernie Borges

The big temptation in Twitter is to jump headlong into taxing projects and learn the ropes later. You can do this, but it's good to go slow down and experiment a while in a safe environment. The important thing is NOT to merely focus on ramping up followers and subscribers like a superhero out of the gate. Quality follows are everything, and software can't teach you how to use it wisely. Slow down for the good of your cause.

The important thing to stay focused on what you hope to accomplish with social media tools like Twitter in the first place, and to have fun learning. If you are in business for yourself, or want to be, listen to me carefully: you are NOT “doing it wrong”, no matter what anyone tells you! Never let anyone stunt your creative process. We are a becoming, not a born-finished product. No two people use Twitter in the same way, because we're not robots, we're individuals. Any social media guru worth listening to will empower you and energize you to explore your own style and what will work for you, not attempt to shut you down with preconceived, static rules based on their own personality type and inner resources.

For more in-depth perspectives, see Marcana.com or my social media blog, MarkBrimm.com. Meanwhile, here is my 4-step simplified Twitter learning process for the easily stressed, designed to impart how easy it can be to start learning–and using–Twitter for your cause) :

1) Experiment with every new social media item that comes out–under an experimental profile, not your “main” one.
2) Learn from your experiments and from those of others.
3) Plan your “big” social media projects AFTER you have your bearings, not before.
4) Rinse and repeat!

At first, it's a little like being teleported to Times Square after growing up on a deserted island. You have to know there are riches to be found there and that it's safe and that, in time, it becomes an amazing source of information, feedback, personal and professional support, and connection. It's different from almost anything you've tried before, so plan to give yourself some time to truly evaluate it. Look for the people who make it a point to help others, and they'll help you too. It's a remarkably friendly and polite culture. In fact, one of the great strengths of Twitter is that it doesn't require relationships to be two-way, so you can meet new people very easily–it's built into the culture.

Twitter rocks if you can invest a little time in learning the ropes! Hope you can join us.

Thanks for all you do Justin!