They add “the” in front of a new technology. For example:

“Are you on the Facebook yet?”

“I saw you on the Twitter.”

An alternative is when different technology names get mashed together:

“I signed up for MyFacePage yesterday.”

It’s sweet, really. But it’s just Facebook. Twitter. MySpace. LinkedIn. No “the” necessary.

I remember when I first started on Twitter – both as @amurphy and as @quizzle. I didn’t know what the hell to do, how to follow others and what to tweet about (or what a “tweet” was, for that matter).

If you’re new to Twitter or thinking of jumping the bandwagon of the (2^nd) Best Overall Startup of 2008, don’t feel badly if you’re not sure what to do. I’m here to help – and so are the friendly folks on Twitter. If it wasn’t for @keithelder and @drigotti when I first got started, I would’ve given up.

How to Get Started on Twitter

1. Sign on, create a profile and upload a picture.

First things first. Create an account. And it’s not just enough to pick a username. Make sure to add your location and your 160 character bio to your account. Remember, you’re joining a community. Just as you’d introduce yourself to someone you meet for the first time, your bio serves as your introduction to the Twitterverse.

Need a little inspiration to write your bio? Check out the bios of Twitter Elite, the “top users” of Twitter.And don’t forget to upload a picture! Personally, I have something against following anyone who doesn’t have a picture. Maybe it’s the perceived lack of commitment… or maybe it’s that creepy default picture staring back at me that turns me off.

2. Go ahead and tweet something!

Now that you’re all set up, try tweeting something. And in case you’re not in on the lingo yet, a “tweet” is one of the 140 character messages you send out to your network.

What to tweet about? Tweet an observation. A link to an interesting or useful news item. A link to a hilarious video on YouTube. Something that amazed you. Something that confused you. Something that made you angry. Ask questions. Answer questions. Promote your blog or company (not too much though). Promote other blogs or companies. Try it. In time, it will be like second nature.

A note to companies joining Twitter: Do not be 100 percent self-promotional! If all you ever tweet about is your latest product, promotion or award, few people will follow you and those who do, will likely unfollow you rather quickly. Remember, this is a community. People aren’t here to be spammed, they’re here to interact and converse with others. To listen and contribute. It’s okay to promote yourself here and there, but also try to contribute in other ways that may not directly benefit you and your business.

3. Find some people you find interesting and follow them.

You can tweet all day long, but if no one’s following you (and your tweets), then what’s the point? The best way to find people to follow you is to follow others. Often times, and true to Twitter etiquette, the people you follow will follow you back.

First, try the “Find People” tab on Twitter and search by name, search by networks, invite friends or try suggested friends. To follow someone, just click the “follow” button by their name. There are also some external tools to help you find more people on Twitter.

When I first joined Twitter, I constantly searched for new, interesting people to follow. And when I discovered that someone wasn’t as entertaining as I originally thought, I simply unfollowed them. It’s up to you how many people you want to follow. The more you follow, the more may follow you. But by the same token, the more you follow, the more tweets you’ll get in your Twitter feed.

I follow about 600 people currently and find it to be just right. And to me, it’s exciting to see what’s going on in the worlds of so many different people — from entrepreneurs and social media nuts, to journalists and tech geeks.

4. Learn the lingo and do more on Twitter.

Besides tweeting, you can also…

• Reply. Spark a conversation! If someone said something interesting, talk to them about it! To do this, just put an @ symbol in front of their username before writing your comment, for example, @amurphy Thanks for the great post! Your tweet will then appear in their Reply section.
• Retweet. If someone says something particularly interesting and you want to make sure the people in your network see it, retweet it! To do this, just type RT @username and paste their tweet into your message. For instance, RT @amurphy Just posted a useful blog post for newbie Twitterers: http://xyz.com.
• Direct message. If you want your message to someone to be private, direct message them! To do this, click on the “Direct Messages” tab on the right, select a user from the dropdown and type your tweet. Keep in mind that there have been a couple of Twitter snafus in the past where DMs were made public, so if your message is super top secret, a private email or phone call might be a better pick.
• Favorite. If you come across a tweet with a message or link you want to save or you think is totally awesome, favorite it! Just click the star to the right of the tweet and it will be saved in your Favorites for later.

5. Become a Twitter Pro.

Once you’ve nailed the basics, try some other Twitter tools. There are a ton of them out there that other people created to enhance the experience. I’ve bookmarked a bunch of my favorite Twitter tools here, but you can also find some more info on the Twitter Wiki. One tool I highly recommend is Twhirl. It’s free software you download that allows you to use Twitter right on your desktop and is much more user-friendly than the web version.

Lastly, be sure to follow me @amurphy and say hi!

Update: Just came across this free download on How to Use Twitter for Business. It basically covers all the same things I cover above, but it does have a few more “how to” tips for those who may not be full-blown tech nerds yet – like how to set up your profile, where to click, how to upload a picture, etc.

Also, with only 140 characters allowed, a URL can easily suck up your precious tweet space. Don’t fret, TinyURL is here to help. Just paste your URL into the field on the site, press the button and voila! Your massive URL is shrunken down to a tiny one.

If you’re a web nerd, you’ve already heard the news. Our beloved Twitter (What the Heck Is Twitter?) was hacked this morning. There have been Twitter hacks before, but this time is different. This time, someone with – ah, gasp – a sense of humor hacked in.

The victims? Barack Obama, Fox News, Britney Spears, CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, The Huffington Post and about 28 other accounts. (The links will bring you to these folks’ Twitter accounts, but by now the damage has been deleted. Boo! No fun.)

Check out the “phantom” tweets:

1. On the Fox News Twitter:

2. On the Britney Spears Twitter:

3. On the Rick Sanchez Twitter:

4. And The Huffington Post Twitter:

The good news is that all of us in Twitter Land got a good laugh today. The bad news is the rest of us in Twitter Land could be next.

Update: Click here for or more on what happened and what’s being done from the Twitter Blog.

My best friend and fiancé have been dodging Facebook for years. And wisely so. Facebook is nothing but a boredom forum and an online social ladder. If I’m yawnin’ it up, have nothing else to do, have already attempted my NY Times Crossword for the day, maybe I’ll sign in to said social network. But I frequently regret it and typically feel more bored when I leave than when I arrive.

Well, I just received two friend invitations. One from Anne-Marie (the friend) and one from Larry (the fiancé).

So now that you’re “connected,” here’s what you have to look forward to:

• Being “poked” and the ensuing feeling of stupidly (and slight grossed out-edness) that you don’t know what the hell being poked means;
• A barrage of emails notifying you of said poke and the unnecessary amount of time you’ll likely waste trying to figure out how to turn off incessant email notifications;
• Inevitable disappointment when you realize that the beer your e-pal just gifted you was a virtual brew;
• Constant, nagging invitations from “friends” who want to know what kind of vampire you are. Or what animal you were in a past life. Or how hot you are as rated by the Facebook community;
• A flood of invites from barely-acquaintances who you haven’t seen or spoken to you in 10 years but want to be your “friend” now;
• The discovery of horrifying photos made public by friends when you were having the worst hair day ever and there looks to be a little drool crusted in the side of your mouth – and that you can’t do a damn thing about;
• The general commercialization of friendships, epitomized by supposed notes you receive from supposed friends who want you to know how much they supposedly like Applebee’s;
• The inappropriate and impersonal messages people post when someone endures some horrific life tragedy, making it tabloid-like fodder for nosy voyeurs and making you feel icky for having read them;
• The realization that now that you’re in, you’re in. Think Mafia.
• Impending embarrassment when your party friend from college posts some humiliating story, message or picture and your professional acquaintances in your network take notice (and often make fun of you, torture you or forever think differently of you);
• Worst of all, that you, your life, your image and likeness, your family, your friends… are now all fair game as far as the Internet’s concerned.

Did I miss anything?

I’m sorry that you both got sucked in. Really, I am.

Facebook is like the high school reunion you don’t want to go to. You might be guilted into it. You might feel like you’re missing out on something if you don’t join in. And if you do drag yourself to it, you regret it because you realize that you already keep in touch with the people you want to keep in touch with. You already have their phone numbers and email addresses.

If you’re lucky, you have some hilarious friends (ahem) who will post inane messages on your news feed that might make you giggle. Or maybe you’ll forgo some embarrassment because the site reminded you of a birthday you would have surely forgotten otherwise (by far, Facebook’s most redeeming feature). But the amusement, if any, will likely be short-lived. And will only point out that you’re incredibly bored and in desperate need of a hobby.

Welcome to Facebook!

Very cool way to look at the social media landscape, sometimes referred to as Web 2.0. Credit and kudos go out to Brian Solis.