Twitter is known as a micro-blogging site. Blogging has been around for some time. Usually blogging consists of people setting up basic websites where they write about whatever they want, whether it be politics, sport, cooking, fashion etc. Posting a message is known as a tweet. People make connections by following other people’s twitter feeds. Once you click follow, anything that person or organisation says will appear on your timeline. You can tweet a person by putting the @ symbol before their username.
Retweeting is also a big part of Twitter. This is where tweeps, slang for people who use the website, repeat tweets from other users to their own followers. A lot of activity on Twitter involves the use of hashtags. These are handles used to aggregate tweets about the same subject. For example, if a lot of people were attending a conference and wanted people to know what the speakers were saying they would tweet to an agreed hashtag by using the # symbol followed by the agreed name.
Tweets are instantaneous. In seconds, a tweet can alert the world to disasters. Like in 2008 when Mike Wilson tweeted first about a plane crash in Denver. How did he know? He survived the crash. Or like the Twitter user who tweeted from inside a hotel in Mumbai as terrorists murdered people in the lobby in the 2008 attack on the Indian city. Essentially, Twitter is a form of texting. However, rather than sending that text to one person, Twitter allows users to broadcast their message all over the site. And what’s more, it’s free.
UPDATE: Under the new E.U General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Ireland has now set the Digital Age of Consent to 16 years old. This means young people under the age of 16 in Ireland are not allowed to access this platform.
As with many social networking sites, there are risks for young people. And many of the risks are the same as those which come with all the other social networking sites. Twitter is a very public forum. While users can lock their profiles so that only followers can see their tweets, it’s generally a very open website. This means that almost anyone can log on and view what a specific person has said since they joined the site.
Imagine if you tweeted a message about how you hated your job and a potential new employer came across the tweet criticising your old boss. What does this say about you?
In seconds, tweets can be seen by thousands
And with young people, the problem is that often they forget that what they say online is not private, it’s very much public. Despite the privacy settings, any tweet can be retweeted by other users whose followers can then retweet this again. This means in just seconds, messages can be seen by thousands of people. Twitter is slightly different form many social networking sites in that often, young people and all other users are constantly online. Many users have their Twitter browser open on a continual basis, on mobile phones or laptops, and interact with the site many times a day.This can lead to young people dropping their guard and posting personal information which they shouldn’t.
Given that there are predators out there, and unscrupulous scam merchants, the wealth of personal information contained on the site tweeted by young people, whether it be locations, pictures, school events etc, is dangerous. Again, as with most social networking sites, there are things which we would rather our children did not see and with Twitter, there is little or no bar to inappropriate images or messages being retweeted and spread across the site.
And to add to that, cyberbullying is a big problem on Twitter. Because of its instantaneous and viral nature, nasty messages can be tweeted at users with ease and can be repeated again and again. But it’s important to stress that Twitter can do good too. For more information on getting the most out of Twitter and staying safe online, visit their recently launched Safety Centre here: http://twitter.com/safety (about.twitter.com/safety) https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security.
Twitter is a treasure trove of information. Many organisations and users tweet links to interesting articles or new information and the site can be a great tool for young people to broaden their understanding of the world. While nailing down specific reasons for Twitter’s success is difficult, there are some things which have contributed to it building up a massive user base of over 500 million people all over the world.
Traditionally, celebrities and other well-known people were screened off from “ordinary” people. But now, many high profile people are using Twitter. This gives people access to what they are saying and doing, and in a celebrity era, this makes Twitter extremely popular with young people. Given too, that young people are naturally born multi-taskers, Twitter is popular because it suits the modern, face-paced world we live in. As outlined, tweets fly around cyberspace in seconds and young people like it because they can connect to this ever-changing online world wherever they are. But most of all, Twitter is popular because it’s easy to use, easy to set up and becomes quite addictive.
Twitter have made improvements to their blocking and reporting tools. To help users control their experience on Twitter you can now Block, Mute and Report other users. For more info go to: http://twitter.com/safety/three-tools (about.twitter.com/safety/three-tools-to-control-your-twitter-experience) https://help.x.com/en/resources/a-safer-twitter
A verified account identify key individuals and organizations as authentic and are marked by a blue tick on their profile. Until recently brands and public figures/celebrities were only eligible for a verified account status. However Twitter have now opened an online application form for anyone with an account to apply for verified status. Twitter will now verify accounts that it deems are in the public interest. Request for verification can be made here: http://support.twitter.com/verification (support.twitter.com/articles/20174631) https://help.x.com/en/managing-your-account/about-x-verified-accounts
See "hashtag".
The @ sign is used to call out usernames in posts: "Hello @X!" People will use your @username to mention you in posts, send you a message or link to your profile.
Our easy-to-use analytics tool (help.twitter.com/managing-your-account/using-the-tweet-activity-dashboard) https://x.com/i/account_analytics to learn more about your posts and how they resonate with your audience.
X Alerts enable public safety agencies to inform people during emergencies by highlighting critical time-sensitive content with notifications and a unique look.
If you block a X account, that account will be unable to follow you or add you to their X lists, and you will not receive a notification if they mention you in a post.
Your bio is a short (up to 160 characters) personal description that appears in your profile that serves to characterize your persona on X.
A feature that allows you to save posts in a timeline for easy, quick access at any time.
A cashtag is a company ticker symbol preceded by the U.S. dollar sign. When you click on a cashtag, you'll see other posts mentioning that same ticker symbol.
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Dark mode for X features a dark-colored palette that is optimized for experiencing X comfortably in low-light situations. The dark mode feature is available on help.x.com/en/resources/x.com, help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-ios-app#night-mode, and help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-for-android-faqs#night.
Direct Messages (help.twitter.com/using-twitter/direct-messages) https://help.x.com/en/using-x/direct-messages (or DMs) are private messages sent from one X account to another account(s). You can use Direct Messages for one-on-one private conversations, or between groups.
If you deactivate your account, it goes into a queue for permanent deletion from X in 30 days. You may reactivate your account within the 30 day grace period.
On X for web, use the Display option from your menu to customize your view by font size, color, and background.
The Explore tab on X is where you can find what's trending, Moments, live events, your Topics, and more.
On X for web, your messages will conviniently be available in a small window in the lower right-hand side of your screen so you can scroll and DM without having to toggle.
Subscribing to a X account is called “following.” To start following, click or tap the Follow icon next to the account name on their profile to see their posts as soon as they post something new. Anyone on X can follow or unfollow anyone else at any time, with the exception of blocked accounts.
A follow is the result of someone following your X account. You can see how many follows (or followers) you have from your X profile.
This count reflects how many people you follow and how many follow you; these numbers are found on your X profile.
Gaining unauthorized access to an account via phishing, password guessing, or session stealing. Usually this is followed by unauthorized posts from the account. Hacked accounts are sometimes referred to as "compromised." Learn more about what to do if help.twitter.com/en/safety-and-security/twitter-account-compromised Read more about help.twitter.com/en/safety-and-security/account-security-tips.
Adding a location to your post (a geolocation or geotag) tells those who see your post where you were when you posted that post.
A hashtag is any word or phrase immediately preceded by the # symbol. When you click or tap on a hashtag, you'll see other posts containing the same keyword or topic.
post authors can choose to place any reply to their post behind an icon. A help.twitter.com/using-twitter/mentions-and-replies#hidden-reply is still accessible for anyone to view, however it won't be directly viewable within the main post conversation.
Online impersonation (pretending to be someone you're not) that is intended to deceive is prohibited under the "https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-rules". Parody accounts are allowed.
Your Home timeline displays a stream of posts from accounts you have chosen to follow on X.
Tap the heart icon to like a post and the author will see that you appreciate it.
From your own account, you can create a https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-lists of other X accounts by topic or interest (e.g., a list of friends, coworkers, celebrities, athletes). Lists create a timeline of posts, which you can also pin to the top of your Home timeline. We also make it easy to discover new public Lists to follow!
Mentioning other accounts in your post by including the @ sign followed directly by their username is called a “mention”. Also refers to posts in which your @username was included.
X's website tailored to fit your mobile device. Visit it at mobile.twitter.com/. When you visit mobile.x.com from a smartphone or tablet, you’ll experience the data-friendly help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-lite.
You can mute accounts; help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/advanced-twitter-mute-options; help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/advanced-twitter-mute-options and help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct-messages#mute.
Your (display or account) name is a personal identifier (sometimes a business name or real name) displayed in your profile page and used to identify you to friends, especially if your username is something other than your name or business name.
The Notifications timeline displays your interactions with other X accounts, like mentions, likes, Reposts and who has recently followed you. If you request it, we send notifications to you via email, SMS, or through the X for iOS or X for Android apps.
Tricking someone to give up their username and password. This can happen by sending someone to a fake sign-in page, a page promising to get more followers, or just simply asking for the username and password through Direct Message or email.
You can create parody accounts on X to spoof or make fun of something in jest, as well as commentary and fan accounts. These accounts must disclose that they are parody, fan or commentary accounts in order to comply with our strict policy against impersonation.
You can pin one of your posts to the top of your profile page to keep it above the flow of time-ordered posts.
The personal image (avatar) associated with your account. It's also the picture that appears next to each of your posts.
Your profile displays information you choose to share publicly, as well as all of the posts you've posted. Your profile along with your @username identify you on X.
Promoted Accounts present suggested accounts you might want to follow as promoted by our advertisers. These appear in your Home timeline, and via Who to Follow, search results and elsewhere on the platform.
Promoted posts are posts that are paid for by our advertisers. These appear in your Home timeline, at the top of search results on X and elsewhere on the platform, and are clearly marked as "Promoted".
Promoted Trends display time-, context-, and event-sensitive trends promoted by our advertisers. These appear at the top of the Trending Topics list on X and elsewhere on the platform, and are clearly marked as "Promoted".
Promoted Videos are videos within Promoted posts that are paid for by our advertisers. These appear in your Home timeline, at the top of search results on X, and elsewhere on the platform, and are clearly marked as "Promoted”.
You have the option to add your own comments, photos, or a GIF before Reposting someone's post to your followers.
posts are public by default. Choosing to "help.twitter.com/en/safety-and-security/how-to-make-twitter-private-and-public" means that your posts will only be seen by your followers.
You may reactivate a deactivated account within 30 days of the deactivation date. After 30 days, deactivated accounts are permanently deleted.
A post that you forward to your followers is known as a Repost. Often used to pass along news or other valuable discoveries on X, Reposts always retain original attribution.
A response to another person’s post. Reply by clicking or tapping the reply icon next to the post you'd like to respond to. A direct reply count is displayed next to the reply icon of a post, and indicates the total number of replies the post has received.
The act of sharing another account's post to all of your followers by clicking or tapping on the Repost button.
Suspended accounts have been prohibited from using X, generally for breaking X Terms of Service (twitter.com/en/tos) https://x.com/en/tos
Refers to a variety of prohibited behaviors that violate the help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules. Spam can be generally described as unsolicited, repeated actions that negatively impact other accounts.
A series of connected posts from one person. You can provide additional context, an update, or an extended point by connecting multiple posts together.
A timeline is a real-time stream of posts. Your Home timeline, for instance, is where you see all the posts shared by your friends and other people you follow.
The date and time a post was posted to X. A post's timestamp can be found in grey text in the detail view of any post.
posts determined by a X algorithm to be the most popular or resonant on X at any given time. Read more about help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/top-search-results-faqs
help.twitter.com/using-twitter/follow-and-unfollow-topics are a way to see more of your interests on X without having to follow individual accounts. With Topics we can personalize your experience with relevant posts, events, and ads.
A Trend is a topic or hashtag determined algorithmically to be one of the most popular on X at that moment. You can choose to tailor Trends based on your location and who you follow.
A post (up to 280 characters) may contain photos, GIFs, videos, and text.
The act of sending a post. Posts get shown in X timelines or are embedded in websites and blogs..
Anyone can add a post button to their website. Clicking this button lets people on X post a post with a link to that site. Learn help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/add-twitter-share-button
An information network made up of short messages (including photos, videos, and links) from all over the world. "twitter.com/signup" for an account.
A X emoji is a specific series of letters immediately preceded by the # sign which generates an icon on X such as a national flag or another small image.
help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-polls allow you to weigh in on questions posed by other people on X. You can also easily create your own poll and see the results instantly.
Available on tweetdeck.x.com or Mac app store, postdeck offers a more convenient X experience with managing multiple X accounts, scheduling posts for posting in the future, building post collections, and more.
see "follow"
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a web address that points to a unique page on the internet.
A verified X account receives a blue check icon to indicate that the creator of these posts is a legitimate source. Verified accounts include public figures and those who may have experienced identity confusion on X.
A username (or handle) is how you're identified on X, and is always preceded immediately by the @ symbol. For instance, X Support is twitter.com/TwitterSupport.
Twitter (now X) has a unique lexicon designed for real-time, short-form, public conversation. Key terms include Tweet (a post), Retweet (sharing), Hashtag (#) for categorization, Handle (@username) for identification, and Thread (linked tweets). These terms facilitate engagement, enabling users to follow, reply, and trend topics.
Core Features and Vocabulary
- Tweet (or Post): A message posted on X, originally 140 characters, now much longer.
- Handle (@username): A user's unique identifier, such as @X.
- Follower: A user who subscribes to see your posts in their timeline.
- Timeline (Home): The real-time stream of posts from accounts you follow.
- DM (Direct Message): A private, one-on-one message.
- Verified Account: An account with a blue checkmark, indicating a confirmed, legitimate source.
- Profile Photo (Avatar): The image representing a user.
- Pinned Post: A post fixed to the top of a user's profile.
Interaction and Action Terms
- Retweet (RT): Sharing another user's post to your own followers.
- Quote Tweet: Retweeting while adding your own comment.
- Reply: A response to a post, beginning with @username.
- Like (formerly Favorite): Clicking the heart icon to show appreciation for a post.
- Mention: Including @username in a post to notify them.
- Unfollow: Removing an account from your follower list.
- Mute: Stopping notifications or seeing posts from a specific account without unfollowing.
Content and Trends
- Hashtag (#): A word or phrase preceded by # to categorize posts, e.g., #breakingnews.
- Trending Topics: Popular subjects currently being heavily discussed on the platform.
- Thread: A series of connected Tweets from one user.
- Hidden Reply: A response to a tweet that the original author has hidden from public view.
Slang and Abbreviations
- Tweep: A user on Twitter.
- Mutuals: Accounts that follow each other.
- Ratio: When replies to a tweet greatly outnumber likes, suggesting the tweet is unpopular.
- OOMF: Acronym for "One Of My Followers".
- MT (Modified Tweet): A retweet that was manually edited.
- HT (Hat Tip): A shout-out or credit to another user.