Twitter 101

Tweet much? If you do, then this post is for you! Whether you are new to Twitter or a veteran Tweeter, there are some common courtesies you should be aware of whenever you are interacting with folks in the Twitterverse.

Today I did my research for this blog post by asking my Tweeps about their biggest #PetPeeve when it comes to #TwitterEtiquette. Before I reveal to you the biggest Twitter faux pas that people commonly make, I will review some #TwitterBasics, #TwitterTerms, and #TwitterTools that you will find most helpful.

#TwitterBasics

# = Hashtag Use this to identify and search for special topics
RT = Retweet Your Tweets repeated by others
140 = The max number of characters in a Tweet  
            (hint: use less than 140 so ppl can RT)
@ = Mention - One of your Tweeples is tweeting at you!  
           (hint: no space after @ ie. @NewBreedMama)
CAPITAL LETTERS = SSHH! YOU ARE SHOUTING!!
*italics* = Use the * symbol before and after a word for emphasis, OR
                   to symbolize action *blushing*
::Hugs:: = Expression of love and support

#TwitterTerms (and commonly used lingo)
 
MM = Mention Monday #MM
FF = Follow Friday #FF
Wordless Wednesday = Specific to Mommy Bloggers >> Post with Pic Only
Thx4RT! = Thank you for the retweet
WOOT! = Hooray, Yippee, Yahoo
SQUEE = How exciting or "Look at me! I'm a cheerleader!" Lol - you get the picture
LOL = Laughing out loud. If you don't know that one, we may have a wee problem... #JustSayin
LMAO = Laughing my ass off!
ROTFLMAO = Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off!
Shout Out = Acknowledging someone  (ie. Here's a shout out to @MaryBeauty for giving me the idea for this post!)

#TwitterTools

HooteSuite & TweetDeck = Apps to help you tweet more efficiently
Qwitter = Find out who "unfollowed" you
Friend or Follow = Find out if your followers follow back

Lists = Make Lists for ppl you follow the most 

Random Helpful Hint: Those links at the bottom of a tweet - they help you follow the conversation.

That's just some basic information to help you get started with Twitter. Keep in mind that when tweeting in 140 character phrases everything is in shorthand. :) And emoticons are used A LOT. =) If you don't know what something means, feel free to ask. Your tweeples will help you out! My best advice for getting more followers is to join the conversation!!

And with no further ado...

#TwitterEtiquette and #PetPeeves (Faux pas you don't want to make!)

If someone @'s you, do NOT ignore them. I mean, we all know that it can be easy to overlook a tweet here or there, but to CONSTANTLY ignore someone tweeting directly at you - SO not cool. Especially, ESPECIALLY if you tweet with them often!

If you tweet with someone regularly, follow them. Don't be a #TwitterSnob. Nuff said.

Tweet more than just links!! Ok so maybe around 30-40% of your tweets can be links to your site, other sites, you blog, etc. But if ALL you tweet is links, you'll get unfollowed quicker than you can say #FollowFriday.

No spamming! No one wants to follow a spammer.

Auto DM's from TrueTwit... Annoying a hell.

Auto DM's are ANNOYING!! Period. Especially if they are self-promoting links.

Be original! If ALL or MOST of your tweets are RTs no one will pay attention. If you continue to rephrase the same tweets over and over again, BORING!

Follow Back Y'all!! If you create a Twitter Follow Linky, then follow the people that link up, k?

Keep private information private. Common sense people! No weird sex talk, etc. That is the CORRECT use for DMs #WeirdSexTalk.

Don't be an ASSHOLE. Be polite. Be courteous. Be respectful. Once you tweet, it's out there.

Paid Tweets! Ok, I can see the temptation in this. Actually, I am guilty of Sponsored Tweeting (I even have a button on my blog *puts head down*) BUT if ALL of your tweets are SPONSORED - who is going to want to follow you? Really?

Twitter is a fun social networking tool. Just tweet with care & avoid these common faux pas to make the most out of your tweets. And don't forget to HAVE FUN!!

Would love to know your thoughts! Was this article helpful? Did I miss any of your #PetPeeves? Comment below and join the conversation. While you are here, I would love it if you'd take time to follow my blog with GFC and to Follow me on Twitter @NewBreedMama.

The Sugar Doll Blog Award!

Cate from RealLifewithKids gave me my first ever blog award! I'm so excited! The Sugar Doll Award is an award for your favorite blogs! However, there are rules for the giving and receiving of the Sugar Doll Blog Award...

Rules are as follows:

1.Thank the person who gave it to you!

2.Share 10 things about yourself

3.Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think rock!

4.Contact the bloggers and let them know you’ve picked them for the award.

So....

Thank you! Thank you, Cate! You rock! Love RealLifewithKids and I would give this award right back to ya, but I HATE chain letters/emails so I won't do that you, BUT all of y'all should check her out! This girl's has some bloggin skills!

Now, let's see... Ten things about myself... This should be easy, but I am trying to think up some amusing little facts that you may not already know...

1. I bite my nails

2. I hate mushrooms

3. I was born on Thanksgiving Day

4. I LOVE country music!

5. I'm an avid reader of books - yes, something about turn real paper pages makes me smile :)

6. I like to gamble - scratch off tickets and KENO are my faborites AND slot machines

7. I played softball in highschool - well, for 2 years and then I quit

8. I didn't know what Riley's sex was going to be before he was born - if he was a she her name would be Rylee

9. My favorite color is red

10. I once rode a mechanical bull! True story.

Ok, now it's time for the presentation of the awards! Drum roll please! In no particular order.. Oh, BTW this was soooo hard to bring this list down to 10 - I love all you bloggin mommas out there!

@KishaFloren - This girl is funny! And she is not afraid to speak her mind, in fact she likes going In Through the Out Door !!

@LuckyandSass - Lisa is witty and fun and... She Ain't Heavy !! Oh, and she was the ONLY one of all y'all that took my Father's Day Challenge! he-hmm...

@My2Gs - Lacie takes great pictures (she should hook up with @livelaughshoot, if she hasn't done so already!) Lacie loves to let us see what life down her lane is like at Life Down Our Lane !!

@ColeEmmett - I've just started to read this girl's blog, so I'm embarrassed to say I don't know Cole's momm's first name... but I LOVE reading Cole's First Blog !! And plus, the #junebloghop about weddings was a grand idea!

@JessAriasCooper - Love, love, love reading her stuff! She funny, insightful, and down to earth. Don't trust my opinion follow her because this Mama's Got Flair !!

@MommyMomentBlog - Jody at Mommy Moment is one awesome mama! She has great tips and SWEET, I mean SWEET giveaways!! Hoping to win one some day myself ;)

@carolinamomof3 - Ok, so I don't know if you can really call her site a blog... but this lsweet southern lady knows about beauty, fashion and Mommyhoodunscripted !!

@RockinMommi - She's a mommi and she's rockin! What more is there to say?! Check out her RockinMommi Blog !!

@VersatileMommy - Find out how about the time this mommy peed during a conference call! Still ROFLMAO! She got on her Slippers&Stilettos - say what?!

@stresslessmomma - Are you a momma in need of some stress management skills? Aren't we all?! Check out this momma at Stress Management for Moms !! PS - Fabutastic tweeter too!!

Breaking into the Mommy Blogosphere

For the past two months this New Breed Mama has been working her tail off trying to break into the Mommy Blogosphere! On Twitter, I rub elbows (well exchange tweets) with some awesome, amazing, high-status mommy bloggers. I read their hilarious stories about children throwing up in their mouths, making toilet paper torpedoes when Aunt Flo comes to visit while at Ikea, and crazy visits to their shrinks.

Seriously, I mean these women rock! THEY ROCK! I don’t know how they do it! Many of have managed to create their very own blogging empires right from the comfort of their own living rooms! To illustrate, let me tell you about Mommy Moment Blog . This blog is only 3 ½ moths old, folks, and now has 700 followers! 700. OMG. Not on Twitter, but on her actual blog! Amazing! And the Mommy Moment Blog fan page on Facebook is taking off – 776 “like’s” at last count! On Twitter, 1,555 followers!

A New Breed of Mom Blog cannot even compare… If you scroll down you will see I have a whopping 20 followers. (BTW feel free to follow me!) I was quite proud of how my little blog was coming along – until I talked to the ladies at Mommy Moment. The New Breed Mama is on Twitter, and that is going ok, 369 (ha 69!) followers, but The New Breed of Mom’s Facebook page – a sad 17 followers. 17. SAD.

How are these women doing it? If you are reading this right now, and you are one of these stellar mommy bloggers, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! , comment on this post and tell me what the secret is! When I’ve asked others how to gain a following on my blog and build traffic, I get responses like, “Just keep writing and posting regularly – it will happen.” and “Talk to people on Twitter. Read other women’s blogs and post comments.” I’M DOING THAT ALREADY!!

Then, there’s all the companies, who are like, “You need to have a higher page rank.” and “Make sure to post in a manner that will help with SEO.” I was like WTF is a page rank?!!! And who the hell is SEO?!! I now know page rank is some crazy algorithm that Google uses to determine who should come up first in their search engine, but I think it really means "I want to make $$$ off of you!!!" For real – how sneaky!! And SEO, that stands for "search engine optimization", but what it really means is "sell-out earning opportunities”!

Yeah, so, in summary – it is TOUGH to break into the mommy blogosphere!

Connecting with Local Mommy Bloggers

This morning, I had the opportunity to attend the Columbus Metropolitan Library Summer Reading Club kick-off event. The library welcomed local Columbus Mommy Bloggers for a special talk given by the library’s director. It was a great experience, and my first time every connecting face-to-face with other mommy bloggers!

We were all able to exchange blog information, websites, twitter urls, and contact information. I was the newest mommy blogger out of all of the attendees, although some of the other moms had been blogging for years! I also learned that there are other local events for mommy bloggers which I may be interested in.

The mommy bloggers I met:

Summer
@EverythingMoms and http://everythingmoms.blogspot.com

Amy
@amyturnsharp or @littlealouette and http://www.alittlealoutte.com

Kristin
@cbusmom and http://www.cbusmom.com

Christina
@mommystory and http://amommystory.blogspot.com

Alvin
@wyliemac and http://the270.com

Dawn
@thiswomanswork and http://www.thiswomanswork.com

Sometimes, being the New Breed Mamas that we are, we don’t always have the chance to meet and talk to our internet and twitter friends face to face. However, I encourage anyone who has the opportunity, to venture out and meet other local mommy bloggers face to face. Building local connections is a great way to build up readership and to stay ‘in-the-know’ about what’s going on for mothers in your neck of the woods!

How I Became Addicted to Twitter

It all started last November, when I began tossing around my age-old dream of writing a book. I had always wanted to write a book, but I never had any good book ideas. I know me, and I know that in order to devote the time and effort to write a book, the subject would have to be something that I’m truly passionate about.

One morning, during my husband’s “busy season” at work, while I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to get the boys dressed and out the door, it occurred to me that I am A New Breed of Mom. It occurred to me that I, like most other moms today, am somehow different than my mom and, really, all other generations of moms that have come before me. That morning, an idea sparked in my head. When I write my book, it will be about A New Breed of Mom.

My idea, at least initially, had faded, just as quickly as it had come to the forefront of my mind. Then, in April, after things in my life had slowed down a little bit, and just when I was starting to feel a little too comfortable and too complacent with my life, the idea came rushing back. I would feed my need to feel productive, and successful, by finally writing my book.

Oh, but wait, who am I? I can’t just run out and write a book and expect for a publisher to notice me, and to see me for what I really am – a diamond in the ruff. No, I would have to have a platform upon which to sell my book. Hmmm…. What I needed was a website, a blog - a place to start publishing my thoughts, advice, and experience about being A New Breed of Mom.

Then, presto! A New Breed of Mom was born!

You’re probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with Twitter? Well, I’ll tell you.

After A New Breed of Mom blog was up and running, I needed to figure out a way to generate some traffic for this site. I had heard of Twitter. My baby sister was on Twitter. But, I didn’t know if it was right for me. A social media marketing and networking sight? Did I have it in me to be that technologically savvy?

If you would have asked me a year ago what Twitter was, I wouldn’t have had the first clue. After several weeks of hearing the constant buzz on the T.V. and radio about “Twitter this” and “Twitter that” and “Follow so and so on Twitter”, I finally broke down and asked my youngest sister - what the heck was Twitter?! Initially, after being explained the concept, I said, “Nope. That’s not for me. I’m not a social media marketing kind of person.”

Ok, back to the somewhat present time. I needed a way to promote my blog. My sister said, join Twitter. It’s a little hard to catch onto, but you’ll love it. Ok. I will do it. I will join Twitter.

Then, I joined Twitter.

At first it was just about finding other ‘mommy bloggers’. Then it was about posting links to promote my articles. Then, it was about gaining followers. Now, it’s about having a network of, dare I say it, friends, who all share my interest in blogging about motherhood, parenthood, and the experiences of being a mother in today’s technologically advanced world.

Yes, my friends, I am addicted to Twitter. Are you?

What's your phone of choice for on the go social media marketing??

I'm and running a poll for the next week to see which type of phone New Breed Moms prefer to use to keep up to date with social media marketing on the go! Poll closes on 5/25/10 so cast your vote! ------------>>

Have more to say? Comment on this post to tell us why you love your phone for social media marketing?