Twitter Vocab
OH
"OH" most often means "overheard" in Tweets. Used as a way to quote funny things people overhear.
FF
#FF stands for "Follow Friday." Twitter users often suggest who others should follow on Fridays by tweeting with the hashtag #FF.
Retweet (noun)
A Tweet by another user, forwarded to you by someone you follow. Often used to spread news or share valuable findings on Twitter.
Reply
A Tweet posted in reply to another user's message, usually posted by clicking the "reply" button next to their Tweet in your timeline. Always begins with @username.
Profile
A Twitter page displaying information about a user, as well as all the Tweets they have posted from their account.
URL
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a web address that points to a unique page on the internet.
Tweet button
A button anyone can add to their website. Clicking this button allows Twitter users to post a Tweet with a link to that site.
Short Code
A five-digit phone number used to send and receive Tweets via text message.
Follower
A follower is another Twitter user who has followed you.
Tweet (noun)
A message posted via Twitter containing 140 characters or fewer.
Name
A name that can be different from your username and is used to locate you on Twitter. Must be 20-characters or fewer.
Timestamp
A note displaying when a Tweet was posted to Twitter. Can be found in grey text directly below any Tweet. Is also a link to that Tweet's own URL.
Home
A real-time list of Tweets from those you follow. It appears on your Twitter home page.
Timeline
A real-time list of Tweets on Twitter.
Query
A search performed to retrieve information from a database.
Bio
A short personal description of 160 characters or fewer used to define who you are on Twitter.
Trends
A subject algorithmically determined to be one of the most popular on Twitter at the moment.
Handle
A user's "Twitter handle" is the username they have selected and the accompanying URL, like so:http://twitter.com/username.
RT
Abbreviated version of "Retweet." Placed before the retweeted text when users manually retweet a message. See also Retweet.
Direct message
Also called a DM and most recently called simply a "message," these Tweets are private between the sender and recipient. Tweets sent over SMS become DMs when they begin with "d username" to specify who the message is for.
Username
Also known as a Twitter handle. Must be unique and contain fewer than 15 characters. Is used to identify you on Twitter for replies and mentions.
An information network made up of 140-character messages from all over the world.
Lists
Curated groups of other Twitter users. Used to tie specific individuals into a group on your Twitter account.
Mention
Mentioning another user in your Tweet by including the @ sign followed directly by their username is called a "mention". Also refers to Tweets in which your username was included.
MMS
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), often called picture messaging, allows you to send media like audio or photos from your phone.
SMS
Short Message Service (SMS) is most commonly known as text messaging. Most messages are a maximum of 140 characters.
Hashtag
The # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users.
@
The @ sign is used to call out usernames in Tweets, like this: Hello @Twitter! When a username is preceded by the @ sign, it becomes a link to a Twitter profile. See also Replies and Mentions.
Notifications
The Notifications tab lets you view interactions, mentions, recent follows and Retweets. Using the Notifications tab you're able to view who has favorited or retweeted your Tweets, who has recently followed you, and all of your @replies and @mentions.
Follow count
The numbers that reflect how many people you follow, and how many people follow you. Found on your Twitter Profile.
Profile photo
The personal image uploaded to your Twitter profile in the Settings tab of your account.
Geolocation / Geotagging
The use of location data in Tweets to tell us where you are in real time. Is also called "Tweet With Your Location."
Listed
To be included in another Twitter user's list. Listed numbers and details appear in the statistics section of your profile.
Unfollow
To cease following another Twitter user. Their Tweets no longer show up in your home timeline.
Favorite
To favorite a Tweet means to mark it as one of your favorites by clicking the yellow star next to the message. You can also favorite via SMS.
Follow
To follow someone on Twitter is to subscribe to their Tweets or updates on the site.
Retweet (verb)
To retweet, retweeting, retweeted. The act of forwarding another user's Tweet to all of your followers.
Tweet (verb)
Tweet, tweeting, tweeted. The act of posting a message, often called a "Tweet", on Twitter.
Top Tweets
Tweets determined by a Twitter search algorithm to be the most popular or resonant on Twitter at any given time.
Promoted Tweets
Tweets that selected businesses have paid to promote at the top of search results on Twitter.
Protected/Private Tweets
Twitter accounts are public by default. Choosing to protect your account means that your Tweets will only be seen by approved followers and will not appear in search.
Mobile web
Twitter's website tailored to fit your mobile device. Visit it at mobile.twitter.com.
URL Shortener
URL shorteners are used to turn long URLs into shorter URLs. Shortening services can be found online.
HT or h/t
Usually means "hat tip." A way of acknowledging the person who originally shared the content being tweeted, such as a link to an article or video.
Following
Your following number reflects the quantity of other Twitter users you have chosen to follow on the site.
