Twitter Lingo or 'Twermingology'!

Katie and I are now avid Twitter fans after many years of being 'active'... it's very different to Facebook (phew!) so it does take a while to get used to the platform. Then, once you're used to using it, you then have to understand the Twitter lingo!

We've put together a simple list of key words to help you understand Twitter better followed by a list of abbreviations that you may find among all those tweets!

Di

Direct Message (DM) - Twitter's function allowing you to send a private message to a person on Twitter. It is a message only you and the person who sent it/received it can read

Fa

Favourites - you can 'favourite' a tweet you particularly like so that the tweeter who posted it can see it's one of your favourites. Another use of favourites is to bookmark or highlight a tweet to read later

Fo

Follower - someone who subscribes to and receives your updates

Following - someone that you are following and are able to see their updates in your personal Twitter timeline

Follow Friday or #ff or #followfriday - this is a popular trend that is used when you are recommending someone who your followers should follow (obviously used on a Friday!)

Ha

Hashtag # - a way of searching for and joining in on topics on Twitter. Include a word followed by the hashtag symbol # enabling others to search for relevant posts. Find out more in our Hashtag How To blog post 

Li

List - a list is a group of Tweeters. You can subscribe to other people's lists or create your own. Read our blog post on Twitter lists here

Me

Mention - a mention is a tweet that has @username anywhere in it. All those 'mentioned' in the tweet will see it on their Twitter account

Mi

Microblogging - the social media niche that includes Twitter

Pr

Profile Photo - this is the image that represents you and shows as a thumbnail next to all your tweets

Profile Header - this is the larger image that is displayed on your profile behind your profile photo

Re

Retweet/RT - used on Twitter to show you are tweeting something that was posted by another user, giving them credit. Twitter's quote equivalent

Reply/@reply - is a tweet that is directed to another user in reply to their post. Anyone can see them and get involved in the conversation

Tr

Trend - Twitter determines which topics are the most discussed at any given time, these trends are discoverable and displays on your timeline

Tw

Twitosphere or Twitterverse - used to describe the 'world of Twitter'

Tweet - a Twitter update or post using 140 characters or less. You can also say 'I tweeted'

Tweeter - refers to a person who sends tweets on Twitter

Us

Username (or Handle) - this is the word that defines you on Twitter. The @ sign usually comes before your username linking it to Twitter. Think of it as your Twitter identity

AFAIK: As Far as I Know

BFN: Bye for now

BR: Best regards

BTW: By the way

CX: Correction

EM/EML: Email

EMA: Email address

FB: Facebook

ICYMI: In case you missed it

IMO/IMHO: In my opinion or in my humble opinion

LI: LinkedIn

MT: Modified tweet

NSFW: Not safe for work

OH: Overheard
SFW: Safe for work

SM: Social media

SMM: Social media marketing

SN: Social network

TFTF: Thanks for the follow

TL: Timeline

TMB: Tweet me back

TT: Trending topic

TY: Thank you

W/: With

YT: YouTube

Hope that has helped you find your way around the Twitosphere (see above!). Understanding Twitter and the lingo can help you to find more people to connect with, keep to that 140 character limit and importantly make Twitter more enjoyable for you!

Jane x