Use twitter to share brief updates, join conversations and keep in touch with a large network of people.

Complexity: 1/5

“Twitter asks you one simple question: 'What are you doing?' You answer, and follow the answers of others. 'What are you doing?' could be reading an interesting items of news, responding to a call for help, opening a debate, or absolutely anything. The shared community that Twitter creates makes it one of the most interesting tools on the web.”

There is no single way of using Twitter. It is a versatile communication tool.

You can use it to follow short messages (tweets / updates) from other users, and to send your own short updates which are seen by Twitter users who follow you.

However, you can also use Twitter to join conversations, share links, build networks & keep informed.

You can think of twitter like…

* A virtual open plan office space - formal and informal conversation and interaction mixed together; muse aloud and see who responds; over-hear everyday conversations and sometimes over-hear great insights; get to know people & find opportunities to work together.

* An open door - breaking down the barrier between those 'in the room' and those outside. Service users & citizens can talk to you direct, and you can get into direct conversations.

* A personal newswire - giving you local news, and the news that matters to the people you follow.

You can find a One Page Guide to Twitter to download here.

Visit http://www.twitter.com and sign up for an account. Once you have signed up, make sure you edit your 'Settings' to add your Bio, Location and a Picture.

If you know someone already using Twitter, visit their profile and click the 'Follow' button.

You can find other people to follow using the 'Find People' tool or searching for people talking about your interest using the search feature at http://search.twitter.com.

Once your are following a few people you can look at who they follow or talk to (@replies) to find other people to listen to with Twitter.

Send short messages using Twitter to let your followers know what you are working on, to share a link, or to think aloud and ask questions.

Start your message with @username to reply to the message of someone you follow. Look out for people sending @replies to you.

Your network will take time to grow – and it is useful to regularly review who you are following, and who follows you by clicking the 'Following' or 'Followers' links on your profile.

You can use Twitter just from the website – but you get the most out of it if you use one of the many desktop or phone-based Twitter applications. Check http://twitter.com/downloads for an application for your computer or phone.

Include agreed tags in your messages to show they are about a particular event or topic - and search for the same tags on Twitter Search to find other people who are talking about the same subject.

For example, include '#dyw'in your twitter messages about Digital Youth Work.