#whatisthis

Twitter Take II

If you set up your Twitter account a couple days ago, you are probably wondering what all the #'s and @'s are all about.  You are not alone as a new user wondering what Twitter is all about.  When I first started using Twitter, I was confused as to what everything meant.  Here is a short synopsis of what it all means.  It's pretty simple.

# is used to classify Tweets.  For example, if I am tweeting something about educational technology, I would use the #edtech hashtag to classify that tweet, or if I am tweeting while at a conference such as TIES I would use the #ties11.  The # helps users follow those same tweets.  There are also times during the week that there are chat sessions on Twitter and you can follow along and participate by following the certain hashtag (#edchat,  #spedchat).

@ is used when you mention another user in your Tweet.  If you were going to mention me in your tweet it would look like this.  Hi @braymo22, hope you are having a good day.  This way, I will get a notification saying you had mentioned me.  It's a way to make sure certain users see your tweets as well.

There are a ton of resources on the web that can help you understand Twitter.  I personally like the this resource.  Here is a list of educational hashtags to follow.