140 characters that changed my life!

It is a nonstop activity! Once you taste it, you never stop doing it on a daily basis. I talk about following people and learning from them via Twitter. When I share my passion for using microblogging (i.e., tweeting), I notice that people don't feel comfortable and they think it is a useless service. I didn't ask them why? But, they maybe have no any idea about how to get started. 

Here are some tips for you to enjoy tweeting:

Have a Good Bio:  Just think about who you are in simple words. Be sure you attract your audience because this is the first thing they look for. So, don't lose them! Here is mine:

Start small: Just try simple things on twitter, e.g, creating a new tweet, following people, favoring tweets, replying to them, or retweeting others' tweets. You will learn more later, e.g, #hashtagging, creating lists, embedding tweets, ... etc. Just take your time.

Select your followers carefully: If you find garbage in your timeline, don't blame your followers but yourself. It is you who selected them to be part of your life. For me, I always read their profiles first and see if they have the same interests. I also follow those successful people who are optimistic and creative. They will impact you definitely.

Choose your words: Although a tweet can be a maximum 140 characters, you can share so incredibly useful information with others. You can mention people (e.g., @azhar_youssef) to attract their attention. You can also add images, videos, links to websites, and hashtags (e.g., #TLChallenge) to share with specific people or groups. Really, you can capture your readers by using many tools that go with their different styles of learning. Here is an example of a tweet I shared:

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Check out azhar_youssef reflective post in #TLCHallenge: Can @ThingLink Flip Bloom's Taxonomy Upside Down? http://t.co/nDjxqwK7Gc @soxnevad

— Azhar Youssef (@azhar_youssef) August 19, 2014

Interact with your audience: It is a two-way communication means through which you can give and take. Engaging and interacting with your followers will bring life to your process of tweeting and learning. It is not just favoring, or retweeting, but replying to their questions, and discussing their shares. One of the most great potentials of Twitter is letting the conversation go and constructing new knowledge together. Just imagine you are sitting in a room with many like-minded people working together and thinking aloud to find solutions or suggest new alternatives. Here is an example for a conversation with @Moonik7:

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@Moonik7 I always like to hear my students' stories. What about creating a class blog and give them the role of author 2 let them be heard?
— Azhar Youssef (@azhar_youssef) June 27, 2015

" data-partner="tweetdeck">@Moonik7 Have you tried podcasting for speaking? Students can record their voices using "Audacity", then transcribe it 2 correct themselves. — Azhar Youssef (@azhar_youssef) June 27, 2015

Thank people for their follow & reply: People like these small touches. Just find five minutes to say thank you. It means a lot to your followers, believe me. I don't recommend using apps that automatically send these messages. We are human after all.

At last, use TweetDeck to make it easy for your to tweet: This web tool will help you to put all things together, so you can see them at the same time. I tried it when attending many tweetmeets and it works so well with me. You can see the tweets instantly and reply to them so easily. Just give it a try. Leave you with a great video that shows you how to get started using TweetDeck:

I didn't take any direct instruction to use Twitter.
I learned all that by following others and trying to catch up all the activities they are involved in.  So, what are you waiting for?
Go and enjoy tweeting!