In the beginning there was nothing, until you sign up, then there is a whole world of opportunity. When I was envisioning this site, I asked myself, “How basic should I make things?”. The answer should be fairly obvious by the end of this post.

www.Twitter.com

The start page can be a deterrent for some people. This is understandable, you are about to start something new. Do you have the time to learn it? Do you want to? What if people don’t think your interesting? That’s what is so great about the internet… someone WILL find what you do and say interesting. With all of the ways to search Twitter and various sites to recommend people based on what you type, you are sure to make friends fast.

To start, click the Get Started – Join tab. I’ve linked the highlighted text and the picture below to the join page on Twitter’s site. Feel free to click on either. A new browser window should open for you so you can toggle between the two screens if you get stumped.

The Sign Up Process

The hardest part of signing up for any forum or service is choosing your screen name. Depending on the purpose for your account(s), you may decide on name other than your own. Don’t worry, if you want to change your screen name later, you CAN. It doesn’t need to be witty, just use your first and last name. Lots of people do it so they are easier to find.

Once you have entered your name, selected a username and password then entered an email address in the respective fields, it is time for the dreaded captcha. Personally I despise them, half the time I need to try two or three times, unless I get an easy one. If you have a hard time reading the words, you can request a new set of smushed together letters by clicking the link just to the right.

Once that ordeal is over with, you are on your way to becoming a Twitter celebrity. There will be a couple more screens to go through before you can send your first official “Tweet”. These next steps will help you find some initial friends or people to “Follow” as it is referred.

Making Friends

The first screen gives you the option for finding people you already know using Twitter. However, this time it is via your email contact list. Twitter can scan the email addresses (if you are using one of the three web based email providers listed AOL, Gmail, or Yahoo) and find people you know who are already using Twitter.

Some people can be a little nervous about letting a website sift through their email account. If you do not want to do this click the “skip this step” link at the very bottom. If you change your mind, you can always do it later.

The last screen before your ready to send your first Tweet will show you a bunch of people, most of which you probably will not know. The box next to their name is checked by default. For now, you can click on the box next to the people you do NOT want to follow. This will REMOVE the check mark so you DO NOT follow them. If you want to uncheck all of the boxes,simply click the “select all” box at the very top. If you do know anyone on the list, simply leave the box checked.

Now click finish and guess what??!? You officially have a Twitter account!

Congratulations (insert applause here)

In coming posts I will go over different slang and terminology used to say what you need to say in 140 characters.  Until then play around with the different ways to say as much as you can in 140 characters.

Leave a comment telling us what is your first Tweet said?