So you are getting started on Twitter, you’ve found a few friends to follow, and all of sudden you are looking at a stream of tweets filled with @’s #’s and all sorts of weird abbreviations. What in the world does it all mean?!? Well, here’s some basic twitter punctuation to help get you started.
@username Use the @ symbol before a person’s username to refer to them on twitter, especially when posting a response to one of their tweets or “retweeting” a post of theirs (see below). For example, “@codepinkalert Thanks for sharing that link about the cost of the war in Afghanistan!” By adding the @ symbol, it creates a link to their profile in your tweet and also includes the tweet in their replies section of their account (the @username link on the right navigation bar when you are logged into your account).
RT or rt Means “retweet.” If you find a tweet useful or interesting, pass it on by writing “rt @username” followed by a copy of the message. If you are not quoting exactly, you can also put “via @username” at the end of the message. It’s polite to retweet messages or information you like, and the original twitterer will appreciate it!
#hashtag A word preceded by the # symbol is called a “hashtag.” These are keywords used for searching or organizing content on Twitter. #followfriday or #p2 is an example of hashtag.
d username Used to send a direct (aka private) message to another twitter user. Direct messages can only be sent to users who are following you.
h/t “Hat tip” is used to tip your hat, or credit, another twitter user for their idea or reference.
For all sort of other abbreviations and acronyms twitterers use to keep messages under 140 characters, check out this post on Oh Wow!
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