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Dec 03
Love0

How to install the Twitter app on an Android phone

By Blog

The following article about Twitter on Android phones was excerpted from Twitter In 30 Minutes, by author Ian Lamont. Download or purchase the Twitter book here.

Registering Twitter on an Android phone or tablet is quick. You will need to download the Twitter mobile app first, though. Twitter makes apps for most mobile Android platforms, including:

  • Samsung
  • Xiaomi
  • Nexus
  • LG
  • Motorola
  • Alcatel

The Twitter app for Android devices is closely integrated with the phone’s operating system, which can make registration easier. Note that you may see some variations in the interface, depending on which flavor of Android you use.

Here’s how to get started:

  1. Open Google Play on your Android device (phone, tablet, etc.) and search for Twitter.
  2. Tap the Install button.
  3. Google Play will show you which features the Twitter app will be able to access. You must approve this to continue the installation process.
  4. Open the app.

You will see something like this:

Install Twitter on Android phone

For this device, Twitter used the email address associated with the Google Play account (and the phone) to start the registration process. Tap Sign up a different account to register with a different email address.

The registration screen has fields for Name, Email, Username (which will determine your Twitter handle) and phone number. It’s almost identical to the iOS version. However, the Android interface for tweeting, adding people, and changing your profile is quite different than iOS (if you’re coming from an iPhone).

The Android Twitter app for phones and tablets will prompt new users to customize their profiles with photos and a brief bio. It’s very convenient, as you can use selfies and other photos taken with the phone’s camera. To edit your profile, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Android app, and click the More Actions icon (three dots in the upper right corner of the screen).
  2. Tap your Twitter handle.
  3. Tap the Edit profile button.

This article was excerpted from Twitter In 30 Minutes, by author Ian Lamont. Download or purchase the book here.

Oct 05
Love2

How to turn off Twitter notifications on the Web, email, and mobile

By Video

I am revisiting this issue because I hear a lot of frustration from people who are wondering why their email inboxes and mobile phone screens are filling up with notifications from Twitter. Some of Twitter notifications are useful — direct messages, or when your content has been retweeted — but some are useless. Others are useful or interesting, but can be overwhelming because there are so many of them.

The video below shows how to turn off Web and email notifications using the Twitter.com settings area. I also explore the Twitter notifications settings on the Twitter mobile app for iOS/iPhone, which is similar to the iPad interface. There are some similarities with the Android Twitter app, too.

My general advice for mobile users is to A) check the phone’s general settings > Notifications to turn on/off the types of notifications associated with the Twitter app (for instance, in iOS, banner or lock screen notifications) and B) in the Twitter app itself, look for the gear icon to get into the app settings.

One other note about Twitter email notifications: These generally show up in multiple places — your email inbox on your desktop, and on your mobile phone. Be sure to tackle them when you adjust the individual notifications on Twitter.com.

Without further ado, here’s the video that explains it all. When you are finished, please consider sharing it or liking it:

Oct 10
Love1

Hootsuite review for new Twitter users

By Blog

So you have a Twitter account, you’ve read my guide to Twitter, and now you are looking for a tool that will help you get the most out of the medium. Sure, you can send and receive tweets through twitter.com or the basic Twitter apps for Android and the iPhone. However, once you start to use Twitter a lot, the generic Twitter interfaces start to become a drag on sending, receiving and reading messages. The review below explains Hootsuite, an online and mobile application that lets you use your existing Twitter account in new and exciting ways.

Hootsuite is a tool that greatly expands the functionality of Twitter by letting you do the following:

  • Monitor multiple lists and streams on the same screen
  • Easily operate multiple twitter accounts
  • Post simultaneously on Twitter and Facebook
  • Share accounts with other users
  • Schedule tweets in advance.

Hootsuite review for new Twitter usersFor desktop and laptop computers, Hootsuite uses a Web browser, which means no additional software needs to be installed. There is also an app that works on various mobile devices, including iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and Android tablets. I use Hootsuite to post to my individual Twitter accounts (@ilamont, @in30minutes) and use Hootsuite to monitor what the people I follow are saying. The mobile app is particularly useful, as it makes it easy to send out tweets on the fly, as well as post photos taken from your phone. The app is free to download via Google Play or the Apple App Store.

If you are using the basic Hootsuite account, you can connect up to five services (for instance, two Twitter accounts, a Facebook account, a LinkedIn account, and a Facebook page). If you want to add more accounts or advanced features, you have to pay a monthly fee.

It’s easy to get started with Hootsuite (I’ve embedded a video below which shows how to do it). I recommend doing this on the Web, as it’s easier to type. Go to Hootsuite.com and register. Once you’re in, you can authenticate your Twitter accounts and Facebook. This means you’ll be able to see and post items on Twitter or Facebook without visiting Twitter.com or Facebook.com — including posting simultaneously to both (useful if your friends are on Facebook, and other people monitor your tweets, and you want to send something to both audiences at the same time).

In addition, you will be able to create multiple views of Twitter lists, direct messages and search terms. These accounts and views will be preserved even as you change browsers and computers, which is useful if you like to tweet from both your home computer and the laptop you use for school.

The area where most of the action takes place is tabs. A tab in Hootsuite is a stream of data relating to an account (such as all of the tweets from a single person) or a search term, hashtag, or some other regularly updated piece of data. You can have a tab associated with one of your Twitter accounts, or search terms that you choose. For each tab, Hootsuite has preset streams, such as:

  • Home feed
  • Mentions
  • Sent tweets
  • Direct Messages
  • Favorites
  • Pending
  • Retweets
  • Lists

It’s easy to go crazy, creating new tabs and filling up each one with various streams and lists. My recommendation is to start out with just the most important accounts and streams, such as your home feed and sent tweets. Add more if you feel that you can stand the information overload!

The video below by Jackie Johnstone explains how to get started with Hootsuite on the Web: