Perhaps you have just started using Twitter , or you are thinking of opening an account, but the language that the users of this microblogging social network hold scares you as it would when you enter the Kazakhstan Pasapalabra. It is not for less. By its nature and communication system, Twitter contains its own micro-universe where people follow , retweet , modify tweets or send direct messages , and for all this it is necessary to know a very simple code, although necessary.
To begin with, when you start using Twitter you will notice that the username you have chosen will have an at right in front of it . When you want to address other users, you will always have to use the preceding at sign , because otherwise, they will not receive the notification when you want to refer to them. You will have to use this formula whenever you want to make a public mention .
DM or D
If you want to have a private dialogue with another user , you must dispense with the at sign in favor of the letter "D" , thus building a direct message (known in Twitter slang as DM ). The way to compose these messages would be: D (space) username (space) message.
Of course: for the receiver to get your message, it has to be one of your followers . Term known as followers in this social network. And with which a user who has previously added you to their contact list is designated . If the other person doesn't follow you, they won't be able to receive the private message.
You may be surprised at how the followers thing works . Indeed, it is not necessary for the invitation to be accepted bilaterally (as happens, for example, on Facebook when we add friends ). It is enough that you want to be aware of the activity of a certain user on Twitter so that you can add them to your contact list.
Time Line or TL
The Time Line is that main screen in which the status updates of all the users you are following are mixed . Here both individual entries and mentions appear , which are those messages that other users write addressed to you. And they include a reference to your user (made, remember, using the at in front of your name on Twitter ).
RT
Among the messages or tweets ( tweets ) that make up this Time Line list , you will distinguish many with the acronym RT . This means ReTweet , or retweet . It is nothing more than a forwarded message . Like email messages or Facebook messages , someone reads something that catches their eye. He wants to share it. And it directly forwards it to the rest of the users who follow it . In the RT you will usually find the reference to the author of the original message.
MT
If that forwarded or shared message were later edited or had some kind of modification , the user in charge of doing it could change the acronym RT to MT ( modified tweet , or modified tweet ). Of course, always keeping the reference to the original author .
PRT
Another way to make clear that the original text has been manipulated (usually by criteria useful space since messages can not exceed, in principle, 140 characters ) is using the acronym PRT ( partial retweet or partial retweet ), which indicates that due to space issues the original entry has been shortened.
#FF
It is possible that your first Friday as a tweeter, you will attend Follow Friday in awe . This is nothing more than a way to take advantage of recommending other contacts that you follow to users who follow you . The reasons can be diverse, because they are very funny tweeters, because they are excellent sources of information or because of other criteria. The way to identify this manifestation is because the messages of your contacts will include the hashtag (or hashtag ) #FF , followed by the different users that are recommended preceded by the regulatory at . This is a great opportunity to expand your contact list by following therecommendations from the tweeters you like the most.
It is said that it is good not to refer more than five users every Friday . Many users dedicate personalized messages for each recommendation , explaining why they follow that contact and why they encourage others to add it to their list of users.
# hashtag or tag
When reading messages on Twitter , the constant appearance of the pound sign (#) is striking . This is used to create or refer to common topics . In the slang of this social network it is known as a hashtag , which is a tag that serves to indicate a recurring topic on Twitter . We can use existing hashtags in our tweets (famous are, for example, those dedicated to #leysinde, #nolesvotes, #acampadasol, #sonmisamigos and others) or create our own , something that helps to play with the own language that this social network allows .
