The Twitter Book |  | Authors: Tim O'Reilly, Sarah Milstein
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
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Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 13336
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0596802811
Dewey Decimal Number: 302.30285
EAN: 9780596802813
ASIN: 0596802811
Publication Date: May 13, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780596802813 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
This practical guide will teach you everything you need to know to quickly become a Twitter power user, including strategies and tactics for using Twitter's 140-character messages as a serious--and effective--way to boost your business. Co-written by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein, widely followed and highly respected Twitterers, the practical information in The Twitter Book is presented in a fun, full-color format that's packed with helpful examples and clear explanations. Twitter Tips 1. Even if you use Twitter primarily to post information that’s not directly about your company, you can—and should—use it to sometimes link back to your own site or blog. Many companies find that Twitter can become a top referrer to their sites, so avail yourself of that benefit—just do it in a smart way.
The key is to frame the link in a way that’s interesting to your Twitter followers. So instead of saying, “New Blog Post: Mundane Headline, http://yourblog.com,” try something like the examples here, each of which links back to the Bigelow Tea blog.
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2. If you’re looking to get the most out of Twitter, don’t fall into the trap of posting an RSS feed of headlines from your site or blog. Although there are services that will automate such a connection for you, they simply help you create an impersonal account that duplicates the main feature of an RSS reader. Why bother?
Four Important Things to Search For
If you want really useful search results from Twitter, you have to spend some time playing with the advanced search options to figure out the relevant terms and topics people are talking about. Here are four topics to get you started:
1. Your name. It may be known as a “vanity search,” but keeping an eye on what people say about you is a smart idea. (Don’t forget that putting quotes around your name can help refine the results. Search for “Jane Doe” instead of Jane Doe.)
2. Your Twitter account name. Don’t miss messages to or about you.
3. Your company, brand or product. Peek into the minds of customers, competitors, journalists and other key constituents. If you’re a local business, use the advanced search “Location” option to narrow down results. Also, if your company name is common, use the minus sign to weed out inappropriate results. For instance, if you work for Kaiser Permanente, search for Kaiser -Chiefs to make sure messages about the band don’t overwhelm your results. (Here, a targeted search yields some relevant results.)
4. Your competitors. Get market intel and ideas.
Product Description
"Media organizations should take note of Twitter's power to quickly reach their target consumers." --Tim O'Reilly (@timoreilly), in a Los Angeles Times interview, March 2009 This practical guide will teach you everything you need to know to quickly become a Twitter power user. It includes information on the latest third party applications, strategies and tactics for using Twitter's 140-character messages as a serious--and effective--way to boost your business, as well as how to turn Twitter into your personal newspaper, tracking breaking news and learning what matters to you and your friends. Co-written by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein, widely followed and highly respected twitterers, the practical information in The Twitter Book is presented in a innovative, visually rich format that's packed with clear explanations and examples of best practices that show Twitter in action, as demonstrated by the work of over 60 twitterers. This book will help you: - Use Twitter to connect with colleagues, customers, family, and friends
- Stand out on Twitter
- Avoid common Twitter gaffes and pitfalls
- Build a critical professional communications channel with Twitter--and use the best third-party tools that help you manage it.
If you want to know how to use Twitter like a pro, The Twitter Book will quickly get you up to speed. About the authors:
Tim O Reilly (@timoreilly), founder and CEO of O Reilly Media, has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. Sarah Milstein (@SarahM) frequently writes, speaks and teaches about Twitter; she was the 21st user of Twitter.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 Tweet! Tweet! March 11, 2010
D. A. Allen (Suffolk, VA)
The Twitter Book is a fun read, with a simple and easy-to-follow (no pun intended) layout. You really don't know what you're missing until you check out this book. The book layout is a small size that's easy to handle, and every other page gives clear screenshots and callouts with examples of what they're describing in the text. On my blog (click my name above and search for the entry "Tweet! Tweet!"), I give a breakdown of each chapter with a few highlights of things that helped me, along with a few recommendations I have for the next edition.
Overall, I learned a lot of cool tips from this book, as well as interesting and knowledgeable people to follow. The Twitter Book is a great primer for anyone who wants to expand their network, supplement their job search or customer base, or make new friends and contacts.
Excellent Introduction To Twitter March 3, 2010
tvtv3 (Sorento, IL United States)
I use the Internet and I have a Twitter account. I didn't open an account until June 2009 and even then I was a bit skeptical about Twitter. I really don't need to know what Larry Smith ate for breakfast or that my neighbor down the street just went to the bathroom. However, I eventually realized and understood how valuable a tool Twitter could be and no longer view the medium in disdain. Much of this understanding came after I read THE TWITTER BOOK by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein.
THE TWITTER BOOK is written not only for people who have never heard of Twitter, but for those, like I used to be, who are interested in using the social networking tool but are a bit wary of it. I used the book for a several months after reading it; I kept it by my computer and used it as a reference tool.
The book is quite easy to read. It contains six chapters, each of which are filled with colorful illustrations, vivid screenshots, and helpful tips. The first chapter in the book describes how to open a Twitter account, what you can type, basic Twitter jargon, and where to go if you need help. The second, third, fourth, and fifth chapters all have to deal with how to accumulate followers, what trends are, programs to help you become a more prominent person in the Twitterverse, how to reply back to messages, the best things to retweet (RT), what you should share about yourself, and much more. The sixth and final chapter of the book is oriented towards those who want to use Twitter for business purposes and how to incorporate the tips, lessons, and strategies you've learned into improving your business presence in the on-line world.
THE TWITTER BOOK is easy to read and understand. It gives a solid foundation of the basics for new Twitter users, but if you've already been using Twitter for awhile, you probably won't find much use in THE TWITTER BOOK. If you're interested in Twitter or have just starting writing tweets and want to know more, I highly recommend THE TWITTER BOOK.
Excellent Book on Using and Leveraging Twitter January 19, 2010
Gregg Eldred (Avon Lake, OH USA)
It probably comes as no surprise that Twitter usage grew 1,382 percent in just three years. It is a service that, once you understand it and its power, can become a part of your daily life. In more ways than just telling the world what you had for lunch. To help people understand that growth and to assist them with the use of Twitter, Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein have authored The Twitter Book. This little book, all of 234 pages, can be read in one sitting. Or, more likely, kept at arms reach, as it contains a wealth of information that one will refer to many times. It has the added bonus of explaining, using easy to understand terms, why you and your organization should be on Twitter, how to monitor the conversations, and the various tools at your disposal to leverage the service.
Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Get Started
Chapter 2: Listen In
Chapter 3: Hold Great Conversations
Chapter 4: Share Information and Ideas
Chapter 5: Reveal Yourself
Chapter 6: Twitter for Business: Special Considerations and Ideas
Index
Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein waste no time jumping into the Twitter universe. Within a few pages, you understand the appeal of the service, something called "ambient intimacy" which is a "lightweight but meaningful connection." While the conversations seem, to those not familiar with Twitter, as being banal, they actually bring people together. Once O'Reilly and Milstein explain the value of the service using several scenarios, they help you get started, from signing up to explaining Twitter terms, from finding people to follow to how to test drive the service. Once the basics have been covered, they cover a wide range of topics, providing tips and tricks, URL shorteners, customization of your Twitter page, and more. The final chapter is very helpful for organizations that want to leverage Twitter. Many of the items that O'Reilly and Milstein present in that chapter would be applicable to those may use the service to look for a job, too. It is the highlight of the book, as it presents solid guidelines for corporate tweeting and monitoring of the conversations taking place through Twitter.
The Twitter Book is an excellent resource for those new to the service or old hands. Written in a casual, conversational style, with plenty of graphics and examples, this book will connect with a wide range of Twitter users. Even the early chapters are beneficial to those that live on Twitter, especially when the authors explain @messages, the power of Twitter Search, and how to retweet. While retweeting may seem simple to veteran Twitter users, there are some excellent tips presented in this book on how to effectively retweet. O'Reilly and Milstein also provide the reader with solid 3rd party applications and web sites where the user can take advantage of the conversations on Twitter. Many of them may be familiar, like Twitterific and TweetDeck, for mobile and desktop tweeting, and sites like What the Trend and Who Should I Follow, for determining Twitter trends and finding interesting people to follow. While you may worry that the information will become dated quickly, O'Reilly and Milstein minimize that fear by writing an excellent resource and promising that they will continue to update it. Whether you are thinking about experimenting with Twitter or a seasoned user, The Twitter Book is an excellent resource. While I borrowed this book from the library, I will be purchasing it in the near future; there is just too much good information contained in this book
Disclosure:
Obtained from: Library
Payment: Borrowed
As a power user, I still learned from this book January 4, 2010
Miriam Salpeter
I think that Twitter is a terrific resource for job seekers, entrepreneurs and all professionals for connecting and network expanding. As a power user, it is easy to think of using Twitter as second nature. It's not rocket science, but there are many "ins and outs," and it really is not all that obvious to everyone. So, I was excited to receive The Twitter Book, by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein. As the authors note in Chapter 1, "Twitter lives a dual life. On one hand, it's a simple service. Besides letting you share and read very short messages, it has few bells and whistles. On the other hand, it can be surprisingly hard to figure out. The screens aren't particularly intuitive and the jargon and symbols are obscure."
So, I read the book both as an expert user and as a coach looking for resources to help my clients become more frequent and successful Tweeps. I was not disappointed on either count!
For new users, the book offers a tutorial on how to get signed up and started and how to create a profile. The book covers all of the terminology that Twitter users need to know and provides pictures and examples throughout. Need to know how to find people? Done. How to tweeet from the road? Done. What's a RT (retweet) and can you edit it if it is too long to send? (Yes, but consider using "via" if you change it substantially," p. 115).
Power users - did YOU know that there is an opp called 140it that "uses common cutting conventions to whittle down" your posts if they are too long? (It doesn't work for every post, but I had never heard about it, and I've been tweeting up a storm for a while now.)
Suffice to say that any detail you need to know is available in this handy, easy to use reference.
But, using Twitter successfully requires more than just a list of "how to," practical concerns. There are many nuanced aspects, and Sarah and Tim don't forget about them in this book. Included in the book: discussions about how many people to follow, how to have great conversations, how to @ reply so the user will know what you mean, how often to tweet and how to go beyond "what are you doing?" to be a contributing member of your Twitter community and more.
I'd recommend this book to anyone hesitant to try Twitter because it seems overwhelming and current "tweeps" who would like to pick up some tips from the pros. You can follow the authors at @timoreilly and @SarahM and you can follow the book's hashtag ("demystified" on page 41) - #twitterbook.
Good introduction, but will be outdated quickly December 7, 2009
Craig Dickson (Orange County, California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A good introduction to Twitter and many of the 3rd party tools that have sprung up around it. Definitely aimed at novice users. Also, I suspect this book will be dated quickly simply because the Twitter universe is evolving so rapidly that many of the tools mentioned will be superseded by better tools and the Twitter API itself is also evolving, helping to spawn more tools and features.
So if you are considering this book and it is more than 12 months old and there hasn't been a 2nd edition, I would probably look for something more recent.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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