Bio-Link on

http://twitter.com/bio_link

Why join Bio-Link on Twitter?

To share links and short anecdotes from conferences and talks.

How to get connected to Bio-Link on Twitter:

1. Create a free account on Twitter by clicking on "Let me in." http://twitter.com.

   
   Image of Twitter's account creation button.

   If you already have an account, sign in using the link in the upper right corner.

2. To locate Bio-Link, click on the Find People link in the upper right corner. An even faster way to find Bio-Link is to click on this link: http://twitter.com/bio_link
3. Once you get to Bio-Link's page, click on the "Follow" button.

   
   If you click on Follow, posts (tweets) to Bio-Link will appear on your Twitter timeline. (Click on Home to get back to your timeline.)
   
   After clicking on Follow, the button changes to a green check mark indicating you are now following Bio-Link.

   
   Image shows you are following Bio-Link.

4. If you click on the icon next to Following, any posts shared by users following Bio-Link will not appear in your timeline. For more about retweets: http://bit.ly/whatisretweet
5. All posts to Bio-Link will now appear on your Twitter homepage (timeline).

Privacy settings

Before beginning to use Twitter, go to Settings (link is in the upper right corner). Review your settings to be sure they are set the way you want them.

Following and Followers

Bio-Link will now be listed as a "person" you are following. In the upper right corner under your name, the number of the people you are following is listed with a link. Clicking on the "following" link will take you to the list of those who you are following. This is one way to get back to Bio-Link's timeline.

On Bio-Link's timeline (http://twitter.com/bio_link), you can see who Bio-Link is following as well as who is following Bio-Link.

How to "Tweet"

On your home page (timeline), there is a text input field called "What's happening?". This is where to type your message (your "tweet"). Your message will go to everyone who is following you.

Tweets can't be more than 140 characters. The number 140 will count down as you type your message.

Image of text input box to post your message (your "tweet.")

For more information: http://bit.ly/postatweet

What is a hashtag? (#)

Placing a hashtag (#) before a word in a tweet provides a way to easily search for incidences of that word. The use of hashtags emerged from the community of Twitter users to provide additional context as well as metadata. If you search for #biotech, you will find all tweets that placed a hashtag before the word biotech. If you save your search, a link to it will appear in the right column.

Image of search box.

Image of search result. Click on "Save this search" if you want to return to it at a later date.

Image shows one saved search.

For more information:

http://bit.ly/hashtaginfo

http://twitter.pbworks.com/Hashtags

Time-saving tips and other recommendations

• If you have a mobile phone such as an iPhone, download one of the free Twitter applications. TweetDeck is one of many free mobile Twitter applications. Using a mobile phone application can help save time staying up-to-date while waiting in line at the grocery store, etc.
• To access Twitter's Help Center, go to: http://twitter.com/help/start. Type in a search phrase or browse their categories and popular topics.