Twitter is a platform wherein users connect, collaborate and communicate within 140 characters of text or less. Twitter makes global connections real and creates a flattened or more equitable model of access to information.
The lingo
- Tweet: A 140-character message.
- Retweet (RT): Re-sharing or giving credit to someone else's tweet.
- Feed: The stream of tweets you see on your homepage. It's comprised of updates from users you follow.
- Handle: Your username.
- Mention (@): A way to reference another user by his username in a tweet (e.g. @mashable). Users are notified when @mentioned. It's a way to conduct discussions with other users in a public realm.
- Direct Message (DM): A private, 140-character message between two people.
- Hashtag (#): A way to denote a topic of conversation or participate in a larger linked discussion.