Learning how to join Twitter is the first step towards using the social media service. Twitter is an interesting platform that many find useful, entertaining, and addictive. Joining is free and simple, so anyone can quickly get started tweeting.
How to Join Twitter: The Basics
Joining Twitter is extremely easy and shouldn't take you more than a couple of minutes. Navigate your way to the Twitter homepage and click on the "Sign Up" link. You'll be taken to a short registration form that asks for your information, including:
- Your full name
- Your desired Twitter username
- A password
- Your e-mail address
Below the form you'll see the Twitter Terms of Service. This documentation covers their privacy policy, terms of use, and several helpful tips for using the service. Once you've read these terms, check off the box to indicate you agree with them and click on "Create My Account."
The Full Name Field
Keep in mind that the full name you enter on the signup form will be publicly displayed on your homepage, so anyone visiting your page will see it. If you don't want your name visible to the world, you can use a different version of your name, or a different name entirely. Here are some suggestions for this field.
- Your first name and last initial
- The name of your company or website
- A nickname or spoof on your real name
- Just your first name
Your Username
Your username is the title under which your tweets will appear on the service. You can change your username any time, but changing it can confuse your followers so only do this if you really feel you need to.No spaces, punctuation, or special characters may be included in your username. If you require a space, use a hyphen or underscore between the words instead, such as "Jane_Doe," for example. It's very common to just skip the spaces all together though, like "HockeyFan" or "MomofFour."
The entry field for your chosen username will tell you right away if your desired name is already in use. If the name you want is taken, try different variations until you hit upon one that's available.
Usernames can be anything from your real name to something that describes what you'll be tweeting about. If you're using Twitter to promote a business, website, service, or blog, use the company or site name if you can. If you just want to use Twitter to keep up with friends and have fun, then pick something that reflects your own interests or hobbies.
Next Steps
Now that you've got the basics of how to join Twitter under your belt, you'll be facing a couple more screens before you're taken to your homepage. Twitter likes to promote certain areas of the site, so you may be invited to follow a few popular celebrities or allow Twitter to search for friends based on your webmail accounts. You can skip these steps if you wish, as they are not required.
Your Twitter Homepage
Once you've passed all of the introductory screens, you'll end up on your personal Twitter homepage. You can then start looking for people to follow, tweet messages, and use all of the other basic features that the service provides.
When you've started following people, their tweets will appear on your home page so you can keep up with them in real time. If they follow you back, your tweets will show up on their pages as well.
To send out a tweet, simply type your message in the box at the top of your page that says, "What's Happening?" Remember that your updates must all be 140 characters or less, including spaces.
Explore All That Twitter Offers
Now that you've joined Twitter, it may take some time to get used to the system. Jump right in and start sending out tweets, find interesting people to follow, and check for local news and business sites to keep up to date with. There are so many different ways to use Twitter, from meeting new people to promoting your brand, that you're sure to get hooked in no time.
