Think I’ve covered every aspect of Twitter? Bet this list is missing something. What do you want to know about the microblogging service that even Conan O’Brian includes in his routine?

A Twitter Mystery: An adventure created in PowerPoint, but not using its built-in templates — just the design.

8 Ways to Avoid Overwhelming Your Followers’ Twitter Stream: I’m guilty of breaking rules especially the chat-related ones, but trying to get better about it.

Why People Don’t Follow Back in Twitter on Web Worker Daily: Hear from the crowd why they don’t follow some people back.

Twitter for Business FAQ: Some are leery of using Twitter for business. Perhaps, these answers will help them make the step forward.

7 Traits of Bad Twitter Follows: This came before the previous one.

7 Tips to a Good Twitter Experience: Believe me. When I first tried Twitter, I didn’t get it.

Twitter Success Means More Than Numbers: Of course, it’s cool when you’re reaching almost 2000 followers, but really… numbers mean little now.

How to Join Twitter Chats: Twitter chats are dangerous. They clutter the Twitter stream. I lost several followers because of my participating in chats (I now use my secondary ID for them @merylevans instead of @merylkevans). Some people are against chats on Twitter for good reason and believe they should move into a chat forum. Well, Twitter chats are going too strong to make a change.

How to Run a Successful Twitter Chat: Tips also apply to those participating. These guidelines are not Robert’s rules or anyone’s rules, just guidelines to help.

50+ Writer Uses for Twitter: Exactly that. Gleaned from a medical list. Bet you can come up with some for your business or industry.

Writer Doesn’t Get Twitter: I was like him when I took my first steps in Twitter.

4 Steps to Run with Twitter: Try to help people get up and running faster to save time in learning the hard way.

Real-life Twitter Business Success Stories: Amazing what you can get out of Twitter for business, too.

Slam-Dunk Networking With Twitter on Web Worker Daily: Do Twitter right.

Email Tip: Save Time and Stress with One New Folder on Web Worker Daily: This makes a big difference in managing my Twitter account. Early on, it was no big deal as I only received a couple of emails a day. That’s climbed a lot. This small step made a huge difference for this organized gal.

62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business: Exactly that.

When’s Prime Time on Twitter?: Always. Get on Twitter at an unusual hour for you and you never know what you’ll find.

How to Search Hashtags or chat with Twitter Search video with subtitles.

How to Use Tweetchat video with subtitles.

How to Use Tweetgrid video with subtitles.

How to Build a Better Twitter Bio: Are you sure you have it covered?

Twitter “Listed” Stat: Is It a Measure of Influence: Don’t let the Lists numbers bug you.

Get Organized with Twitter Lists Feature: Needing experts on X topic, make a list for the topic and you have you instant go to spot.

How Much Should You Reveal About Yourself Online: More than just Twitter, but every bit as helpful.

Using Twitter Lists Feature for Writing

10 Commandments for Writers Using Social Media: More than just Twitter, but just as applicable.

11 Reasons Why People Don’t Follow Back on Twitter: It’s not you… most of the time.

The Foolproof Way to Separate Fact from Fiction on Twitter: Crowds can make us believe something that’s not true.

How Writers Handle Personal and Professional Lives in Social Media: Some have multiple accounts, some combine.

How to Create a Twitter Profile for Writers: Making sure your profile doesn’t turn people away.

How Much Time Should You Spend on Social Media? What to consider when deciding.

Make the Most of Your Social Media Time: Some ideas and how I do it.

How to Build Conversations in Social Media Using the Three P’s: Passion, Planning and Promotion.

List will receive updates as more articles come out to fill any other gaps. What would you like to know about Twitter that these don’t answer?

ShortURL to this post: http://bit.ly/30UzTq

Updated 26 January 2010

Image credit Flávio Takemoto

I love participating in Twitter chats. These bring together intelligent individuals with a common interest yet each one adds something unique to the conversation. I’ve already covered how to join Twitter chats. This post looks at the process of participating in the chat.

#journchat set many of the standards that other chats have adopted. While official standards don’t exist, it becomes clear what works and what doesn’t work after you participate in enough chats. These guidelines capture the practices that lead to productive and fun chats.

1. Let participants know how to submit questions: Some moderators ask for questions before the chat, during the chat or both. Different moderators have different submission preferences. It helps to receive questions in private rather than during the chat because people might start answering.
2. Announce topic before chat: Most Twitter chats have a topic for the conversation. This keeps everyone on the same page. Tweet the topic before the chat so everyone knows.
3. Announce guests before chat: Guests add to the chat by sharing their expertise. Letting participants know about the guest allows them to watch for them and follow them. Some twitter apps like Tweetchat let you enter a Twitter ID to highlight that person’s tweets.
4. Tweet chat reminder: People get busy and forget. It’s OK to tweet reminders along with the topic and guest ID. It helps grow your list, too.
5. Begin chat with rules: New chatters join, experienced chatters forget. It keeps everyone on same page.
6. Identify who chat targets: #Editorchat, for example, is for editors and those who work with them. It doesn’t mean you can’t join if you don’t fit, you can observe.
7. Start with introductions: Moderator can encourage specific information such as “Tell us who you are and what you do.”
8. Stay on topic: Of course, it’s OK to laugh and make a joke about a comment. In fact, Timberry said, “A wise competitor once said: I don’t care if you stand beside me on the pier fishing. There are plenty of fish.” adarowski followed up with, “You didn’t push him, did you? ” Gave us all a big laugh.
9. Play nice: Accept it’s OK to have a difference of opinion, just be nice and courteous about it. If we all agreed all the time, it’d be a boring conversation.
10. Listen: Moderators and guests take the lead. We all have something to contribute. Listening ensures you stay on track and avoid dominating the conversation.
11. Block spammers: Several spammers invaded Twitter chats. Everyone blocked them and stopped it. While this rule could say “Don’t spam,” generally the spammers aren’t really part of the conversation.
12. Begin questions and answers with Q1, Q2, etc.: This helps people connect the answer with the question. I admit it — I forgot a couple of times.
13. Add the chat name to tweet: If you use Tweetchat or Tweetgrid, it will automatically add it for you. Otherwise, add the name with # or else the group will miss your comment.
14. Watch the pitching and promoting: Several chats ask to save the pitches for the last five minutes of the conversation.
15. Take unrelated tweets out of chat: Go to the Twitter browser or DM the person. It’s hard enough to follow a chat without having irrelevant and personal comments cluttering the stream.
16. Warn friends: Some people don’t like it when their twitter stream fills up with a bunch of tweets from a person participating in a chat. Many folks enter a chat saying, “About to join chat. You might want to put me on www.twittersnooze.com.” Better yet, create a separate ID for chats. Put your main Twitter ID in your chat profile.

What else works or doesn’t work when it comes to chatting through twitter?

ShortURL to this post: http://bit.ly/19w1w7