Signing Up for Twitter

By Don Lafferty | Social Media

Jan 21

Signing up for a Twitter account is way easy.

Here’s the short version:

Twitter Home

• Go to Twitter.
• Click the green “Get Started – Join” button.
• Choose your username.
• Choose your password.
• Enter the email address that will be associated with your Twitter account.
• Click the “I Accept. Create my account.” button.

That’s it. You’re ready to go.

To personalize your account look for the “settings” link in the upper right corner of your Twitter home page and click on it.

Here you’ll find several options for customizing your Twitter account, and they’re all very simple.

In the Accounts section you’ll make the appropriate changes to your contact information.

This is where you’ll select your time zone, write an uber brief biography, and include the website where you’d like to refer people if they want to learn more about you–this can be your MySpace, Facebook, Blog or personal website.

In the Picture section you’ll upload the picture that will serve as your Twitter avatar. You can use a .jpg photo of up to 700kb in size. I recommend using a picture with relatively square dimensions, and if you’re using a picture of yourself, make sure it’s a close-up so your smiling face is easy to see.

The Phone & IM section is where you can to link your account to a mobile phone and a few different IM services.

The Notices section allows you to set up email alerts. This enables Twitter to let you know when another member starts to follow your updates or sends you a Direct Message – a private communication through the Twitter network.

In the Design section you’ll be able to customize the look of your Twitter home page by uploading a custom background image or simply changing the background colors. Be sure to click the radio button “Use my custom style below.”

The background image can be up to 800kb and should be sized to use up the whole screen left to right. if the graphic is small and looks okay in a step and repeat, you can tile the image by checking the appropriate box.

The Find & Follow section gives you the ability to search most of the popular web based email clients for friends in your address book who also have Twitter accounts associated with their email address.

Now you’re ready to start building your Twitter network.

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About the Author

I'm a father, a son, a grandfather, a brother, an ex-husband and a friend to many. I am born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia where I still live, work and play. My cup runneth over.