Twitter Terminology

by Jeffrey M. Welch

To become a successful Twitter user there are a few quick things that you need to learn. Below is a quick vocabulary list to get you started. If you want to study these terms on Quizlet, click here for a study set.

Term	Meaning
bio	A short description that helps other users understand who you are. A blank bio is a sign to many that you are not a serious user, or may be "fake".
engagement	When a social media user interacts with your content by liking/hearting, replying, clicking on your link or profile, or retweeting. Retweeting is the most significant as more users may then interact with your content.
hashtag	A hashtag is a term that you can choose in your post to suggest as a search term. By adding the "#" sign, formerly called the "pound sign" but now mostly known a hashtag, you can help other users find your content. For example "#searchterm" or "#twitter".
header image	At the top of your Twitter profile there is a large space for a wide by short image, often this image is chosen to add some interest to your page or demonstrate an area of specialization. Crop your image to ensure that the right parts show when it is displayed on your profile.
feed	A list of tweets from all of the users that you follow. If you follow many people this list can change very rapidly and can update several times per minute.
friends	Friends are users that you follow, you will see their content in your Twitter feed.
followers	Users that follow you on Twitter, you may or may not follow them back.
follow back	Reciprocating a follow from another user by returning their follow. You should only do this if you share a common interest. Don't follow everyone that follows you.
impressions	Each time any user sees your tweet it is an "impression".
like or heart	Each tweet has a "heart" symbol, clicking on it notifies the user that you appreciated the content they shared.
messages	If you follow another user and they follow you, you are able to send each other direct messages which are private.
moments	Articles that are curated by editors at Twitter based on major trending topics.
notifications	Each time you are followed, or a user interacts with your content it will be recorded in the notifications tab.
PLN	A PLN is a "personal learning network". It is a group of users that increase your skills or knowledge. It is informal. You follow those that help you, and unfollow those that don't.
profile pic or avatar	On Twitter your profile pic (or avatar) is a picture, usually of your face, that helps to identify you to others as a real person. Users with an "egg" profile picture which is the default, may not be followed by other users.
retweet	When you find valuable content, you can retweet that content and share it with other users in your network, thereby extending the reach of the original tweet to new users.
reply	If you reply to a tweet, it sends a message to the user that originated the content and may start a conversation.
tweet	A tweet is the basic function of Twitter. Currently, it is limited to 140 characters. You can include words, hashtags, pictures and links to content anywhere on the Internet. Links are automatically shortened by Twitter and don't count for their full amount of characters.

Check out the Twiterversity guide.