Twitter: A “Dream 10″ Guide on How to Say it in 140 Characters (Part II)

“Mastering the RT: Summarize what they said without altering it!”

One of the most common activities on Twitter is the RT: The re-Tweet.  You’ve read a Tweet from someone and wish to respond- however, it’s almost impossible to jam your response in 140 characters along with everything they said, and all too often people start butchering what the re-Tweeted person originally said.  This is not a great practice to get into- you shouldn’t be changing other people’s words when at all avoidable.

Instead, use a recognized journalistic technique to indicate you are referencing their statement in part.  Those who wish to follow the conversation can refer back to the other person’s original tweet, but the person receiving it will understand instantly what you’re discussing.

Let’s examine some samples:

So your friend has sent a Tweet your way…  They’ve taken all 140 characters?  Don’t butcher everything they said into numbers and abbreviations- there’s no point! Just simply use the journalistic technique of brackets: “[ ]” to reference the key element of their statement!  Here’s your RT:

As you can see, you’ve attributed the RT to the person in the proper “Twitter etiquette” (RT @originaltweeter), and eliminated the concern of jamming what they said into your response space by focusing on the point- in this instance, the Lions’ game.  See how simple this technique is? The person you’re RTing will instantly understand, and in most cases others will too without even looking up the conversation thread!  If you read just this response, you’d still get the entire point.

This same technique can be used in other instances as well, but it does not apply to pass along shared information-  If someone’s post isn’t conversational in essence, it makes no sense to summarize their generic Tweet.  Still, there are tons of conversations going on- and this is a great way to keep one streamlined!

Tip 10 ends the guide next… let’s finish this guide strong!