Twitter is a network for information

Twitter is a network for information-sharing in real time.

StartIng out: Using Twitter is like blogging, but shorter. Instead of 500 words, Twitter allows you to share your thoughts, 140 characters at a time. These short posts—or “Tweets”—are usually one thought, question, or piece of news. As soon as you Tweet, your thoughts will go out to all of your followers.

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SoCIAL NETWoRkS

Social networking websites can help you connect with other activists around the world, share news, publicise your work, and build your audience online and on the ground. Sign-up is free, though using social networks effectively requires you to invest some time to set up your profile, make connections, and keep your content fresh.

Examples of social networking websites:

Facebook has over 400 million active users around the world.

To make the most out of social networks, make sure you set out with realistic goals and a plan to achieve them. For example, aim to Tweet on a regular schedule, and add a number of new contacts. or make a campaign through Facebook with consistent links and information. 

reMeMBer: keep your content fresh and relevant to build your network.

• Once you sign up, start exploring—search for your friends by email address, search or browse Tweets by topic, search for organizations, and start posting your own thoughts.

• Use hashtags to make your Tweets easier to find—hashtags let you tag your posts so that they are grouped with similar posts.

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StartInG out: Facebook offers several options for connecting with other users— personal pages, organisational pages, and Groups and Causes. Explore Facebook to see how others are using these tools—then decide which combination works best for you. Some things you might find useful:

• Post links: Use the option to post links to your Facebook wall to notify your friends and followers when you post to your blog or find a news story, resource, or anything else you want to share. You can also link your Facebook to automatically share status updates and links with your Twitter and other social networks.

• “Share:” When someone else posts a link you think is useful, pass it on!

• event Invitations: Use the “Events” option to manage invitations to in-person events.

TweetsGiving was a global celebration that aimed to change the world through the power of gratitude. Using Twitter, they raised $10,000 in 48 hours to build a classroom in Tanzania. Leveraging the US holiday, Thanksgiving, they asked people to Tweet anything they were thankful for and include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to the site. Second, the project asked for a donation in honor of whatever you were grateful for. These donations, done through PayPal, allowed you to buy a brick in the new classroom for $10 or become a “Top Turkey” for $100. And third, to bring the project awareness, it asked that you follow @TweetsGiving on Twitter and help spread the word.

other social media websites

Facebook and Twitter are just two examples of popular social networks. Though these two have a global reach, you might want to focus on the networks that are most popular where you live.

Upload videos and photographs to Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo and other media-sharing sites to share your advocacy videos, photo- graphs of your events, and more.