For the Twitter newbie, @wsbbizdev in the line above is the handle of a person on Twitter. Naturally, this was just one example -- a bunch of the people I follow had this note on their feed naming the various people they found this morning on TwitterGrader.
TwitterGrader has been around for a while, so I wondered why all of a sudden it was being mentioned over and over. I went over to TwitterGrader and noticed that there's a "Tweet Them" option on the page now that invites you to send a note to the people you're now following because you found them on TwitterGrader. Great viral tool, totally working -- I have no idea though if it's new because it's been a while since I looked at TwitterGrader.
SINCE we're on the topic though, I thought I'd post a few words about how TwitterGrader can help you on Twitter.
For those of you who are just now getting started trying to figure out Twitter, let me first say: Breathe. Relax. Twitter does not bite.
NON SEQUITUR
A lot of folks who are just now, for the first time trying to take a dip into this crazy, vast and varied world of the Internet (after many years of, yes, ignoring it, perhaps hoping it will go away) are getting dizzy from hearing about all the options and the many things you can do.
It's true, it was easier to get started learning about the Internet back when it was young and there wasn't that much going on. Now there's something new every hour, and if you're just now trying to jump on the carousel, it can be tough.
But I say again: Breathe. Adopt what the Buddhists call "The Beginner's Mind." Assume the mindset of one who knows nothing, and is open to learning.
Now. Take one tiny step at a time. Know that you will enter into a strange place that makes no sense to you. Remember studying a new language in high school or college, and trying for the first time to try to read a book or an essay, and only every third word made sense? It'll be that way for a while. That's okay -- just go in knowing it won't make sense. Not at first.
If you stick with it, and keep trying and exploring, it will soon enough.
/NON SEQUITUR
Okay! Feeling brave? All right so, go to http://twitter.grader.com.
If you're just starting out on Twitter, you're interested in finding a few interesting people to follow. Say you live in Seattle, like me, and you want to see who the most popular Twitterers in Seattle are. Click the Twitter Elite tab. On the new page that comes up, click "see the twitter elite in a specific location". On the new page that comes up, type in SEATTLE.
The most popular (and thereby potentially interesting) folks Twittering in Seattle are listed on the results page. Scroll down, and if you find someone you'd like to follow, just click on their picture to be taken to their Twitter page, then click the FOLLOW button.
Check out the PI's Monica Guzman -- she's #21 for all of Seattle. Of course Tracy Record at West Seattle Blog is #1 for West Seattle -- I'm #3 for West Seattle and Mark's #9.
If you're feeling extra brave, go back to TwitterGrader and click on the far right TAB, TweetIt Button maker, to make a Tweet It badge like this one.
funny
ReplyDeleteI love how the NON SEQUITUR ... /NON SEQUITUR detour is itself an insidery Internet thing and therefore potentially scary to the newbie audience you're addressing. For those unfamiliar with the HTML programming language, you can use the command ... (slash)command convention to change the look of a web page. For example, to make a section of text bold you would type (bracket)b(bracket) before the bold section, followed by (bracket)slash-b(bracket) to turn it off.
On the other hand, if you didn't already know that then I suppose the whole "non sequitur ... /non sequitur" bit wouldn't have been scary or, for that matter, humorous.
/funny
I also like TwitterGrader's little TwitSnip bookmarklet that makes it easy to tweet about things you find on the web.
ReplyDeleteRe previous comment: < heh >Mark< /heh >