Twitter is a very different social media platform than Facebook. Facebook is great for contact information, photos, and even some conversation; but Twitter is (mainly) for connections, conversations, and resourcing. Here’s some key lingo for those who want to get started on Twitter. Also check below for a list of people to follow to get started.
Twitter Lingo
@: an @ sign followed by a username alerts that person to whatever you tweet
#ff (Follow Friday): a list of users you think others should follow, tweeted on Fridays
A tweet: an update on Twitter that is between 1 & 140 characters
DM (Direct Message): a message sent privately to another user (also must be under 140 characters)
Hashtag: a hash (#) followed by a word or phrase that once posted become a link to all other tweets using that same # + word/phrase
To tweet (verb): to post an update on Twitter
Favorite/Fav: marks a tweet with a star and puts in into your favorite list so you can go back to it easily later
Following: you’ll receive this user’s tweets on your homepage
Lurker: someone who follows users or hashtags but doesn’t tweet or doesn’t tweet often
RT (Re-Tweet): you are tweeting an update someone else has already tweeted
Trending: whatever hashtags are most popular at the time either for all of Twitter or for your friends
Tweeps (Twitter peeps): the people you follow on Twitter
Username: the name for your Twitter account which may or may not be related to your real name
Verified accounts: a celebrity account that is verified to be that actual celebrity (as opposed to a fan or a parody account)
Users to Follow
Worship Times @WorshipTimes
Michael Gyura (Worship Times’ fearless leader) @mgyura
Presbyterian Church (USA) @presbyterian
ELCA @ELCA
United Methodist Communication @UMCommunication
Church & Social Media @chscom
Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow @breyeschow
Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber @Sarcasticluther
Pope Francis @Pontifex
Revised Common Lectionary @lectionary
