Here are some Twitter.com top tips, in no particular order. Obey them, discard them, object to them, whatever.
1: Do follow a sizeable number of people. You'll start getting a good feel of the 'Twitterverse' when you're following 150+ people. Remember that not everybody is going to be online when you are, so only a percentage of the people you follow or who follow you will be around to 'live twitter' with you. Also, try to follow people from different time zones. It's fun to twitter with people in New Zealand when you can't sleep.
2: Do make your replies stand alone. By that I mean don't just say "@jackstow No way!" but say "@jackstow No, I don't want a free laptop, thanks." Remember each tweet has it's own individual URL that can be reached by people coming in from search engines, so it helps if a tweet is self explanatory. It's just something I like to do.
3: Do go mobile. If your phone supports it, get one of the many Twitter apps that let you tweet on the move. It's one of the great features of Twitter that you don't have to use their website to join in. Got a thought when you're out for a walk or just stumbled across a ruined house while out for a ramble? Tweet it!
4: Don't worry if no one replies to a question. Sometimes they fly, sometimes they don't and it's hard to know why. I once asked whether anyone still wears a wristwatch and, surprisingly, kicked off a whole debate. However, my (very interesting I thought) tweet about the effect of global warming on rivers, lakes and canals sunk without a trace. A conversation can start, continue for a few replies and will then come to a natural end. There's no indication of the end of a conversation on Twitter though, only silence from one party.
5: Do sign up for third party Twitter services. The three I find indispensable are TwitPic, which lets you tweet your photos, TwitterMail, which makes tweeting as easy as sending an email and TwitterFeed, the easy way to hook up the RSS feed from your blog to Twitter. A word of warning, however. Most of these services will need your Twitter login details in order to work. Just be wary. If you're not sure about a service then just ask on Twitter if anybody else has feedback on it.
6: Don't hold back. Be honest. Be you. If you have some brain stuff going on in your head and you're wondering if you should have tweeted it, then you probably should have.
7: Twitter's not for everybody. If you don't get it pretty quickly, then it's probably not for you. Don't try too hard or make it a chore. Move on, try something else.
8: Promote yourself - a bit. By all means tweet about your latest blog post, new CD, next gig etc, but don't overdo it. Accounts full of links and 'visit my brilliant website' tweets won't gather many followers.
9: Shorten URLs. Twitter posts are short. URLs can be long. If you want to post a link the URL shortening services TinyUrl.com, tr.im and is.gd are your friends.
10: Grow gradually. Don't sign up to Twitter and immediately follow 1,000 people. You'll have less chance of being followed back and you'll probably look like a spammer. Follow people who interest you, then follow the people they talk to. Your network will soon grow.
11: Keep it in proportion. Try to keep your following/follower numbers within 10% to 20% of each other. Oh, and just because you've been on TV or radio don't do the 'twitter celeb' thing of having thousands of followers but only following a dozen or so. It's nice to follow back, whoever you are.
