I have been on Twitter since 2010, a totally random decision, an account created in a split-second from my BlackBerry device. I was at a holiday party, throwing out quips, being me, when a friend of mine said, "You'd be great on Twitter!"

My reaction?

"What the heck is a Twitter?"

Of course, I heard of it then, but it never crossed my mind to be anywhere near interested in social media. I didn't have a Facebook account, I'd abandoned my MySpace account years earlier, and I rarely--if ever--texted or sent personal emails. Now, all of that changed with my ownage of my BlackBerry. In 2010, a BlackBerry smartphone in your hand signaled to the world that you were Busy. On the go. Up to the minute.

So, I jumped into social media. And I've been looking down into the palm of my hand, walking into pedestrians, bumping into walls ever since.

In the beginning...

I had no idea what I was doing. I had one follower, my friend who suggested I try it out. So he got a barrage of tweets from me detailing every thing I was doing. It never occurred to me, I never thought those thoughts would go very far. And that's because I didn't know about Retweeting yet. That's what he was doing. I'd tweet about my day, my children, my husband, work, being angry, feeling happy, whatever, and he'd retweet it to his followers.

A funny thing happened. They began following me too.

First Thing, First:

Choose your Twitter name wisely. It has become a lot easier to change your handle in the past two years, but being on Twitter is like living in NYC, or a creepy boarding house: you don't know who's watching you! True story, it wasn't until a year after I began tweeting my life away that my supervisor admitted she was following me.

Tip number 2: Tweet. Just tweet. If you don't know what to tweet, then tweet this: "I don't know what to tweet." Chances are, that'll get retweeted because frankly, NO ONE knows what to tweet.

When you get the hang of tweeting random thoughts,

Tip number 3: Keep it in the 140 character limit. If you're new to Twitter and your tweets end in links for your timeline to follow, they won't be. Trust me, after you're known on Twitter, and people have grown to respect your thoughts & opinions, they will click on just about whatever you're asking them to. But, in the beginning, you're getting to know folks, and they're getting to know you too. Clicking on links from unknown people is a no-no, you don't want to catch a virus, or cold, whatever.

Tip number 4: Keep it clean and slander free. If you're angry with your spouse, it's OK to tweet, "My husband just pissed me the hell off." But it's NOT OK to say HOW he did it. The same holds true for anyone else near and dear to you. (And tweeting about your total dislike of your company's policies are off limits too)

Tip number 5: If you've joined Twitter to help promote your business or brand, say so. Put it into your bio so that others know it too. That way, people expect to see promotional tweets from you. Then again, don't just inundate your timeline with nothing but your links and 'promos', we call it Timeline Trashing. Even if you have something good to offer, if you promote it too often, if it shows up too much in a person's timeline, they will unfollow you.

Tip number 6: Follow back! In the beginning, it's not really about gaining followers, but building relationships with the people you're meeting. Thank them for following your tweets and let them know you're following them back too.

Tip number 7: Spell check your tweets--at least until you're familiar with which words are OK to abbreviate, and which aren't.

Tip number 8: Update your Twitter profile and picture at least once a month. Whatever you do, do NOT expect much love from the Twitter community if there's an "egg" (a literal picture of an egg where your face should be) next to your name. By updating your profile and picture, you're inviting your followers to grow with you, change with you. And, trust me, they notice.

Tip number 9: If you're gonna have a picture, make sure it's of your face! Not your boobs, not your foot, or any part of your body that doesn't have a smile on it. UNLESS, that's what you're gonna be tweeting about.

Tip number 10: Have fun! Tweeting in the beginning shouldn't feel like work, but more like a very large networking party. Check out other profiles, read other timelines, and just. have. fun.

I hope these tips will help! I am now followed by over 30,000 active, unique, and engaged people! Me! A complete stranger! And, yes, they help support my blog, BlackBerry Mama, too.