10 “Gotta Have” WordPress Plugins for Your Blog.
One of the quickest ways to make blogging easier on yourself is to use WordPress plugins. From automating tasks like backing up your blog articles to guarding your site from spam, plugins enhance your website and help you maintain a top notch blog. Luckily for us all, WordPress makes installing and using plugins as simple as a few button clicks.
There are literally thousands of plugins available, but the ones I've listed are ones I use over and over for many reasons. Some are optional depending on your level of blogging or code expertise (and will be noted in the descriptions below), but most of these plugins can be used on any blog to immediately improve things. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on plugins please leave me a comment below!
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Akismet:
Akismet is a spam control plugin. Installed by default on all WordPress blogs, Akismet shouldn't even be a question. It's ridiculously accurate in separating spam from real comments and it just works.
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All in One SEO Pack:
If you're looking to increase the search engine friendliness of your site, start with this plugin. Coupled with some smart markup (read: HTML) and decent content, your blog will start seeing the love it deserves from Google, Bing, and other search engines. There are some great customization options available, too.
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Exec-PHP:
In a nutshell, this WordPress plugin lets you add PHP code inside of posts. If you're even slightly tech-minded, or if you want to add more functionality to your posts, the Exec-PHP plugin is a no brainer. If you don't plan on using PHP I wouldn't worry about this plugin; but if you do this is a must have.
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FD Feedburner Plugin:
Get your RSS feed out there with more panache with a Feedburner account (easily logged into with your iGoogle account). This plugin replaces the default feed and uses the Feedburner feed instead. Once you've set up your Feedburner account you can customize it with a ton of options that will help spread your blog around and gather interest to your site.
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Google Analytics for WordPress:
This plugin automagically puts your Google Analytics code on each page/post as appropriate. It's a great way to get some basic stats and easily integrates with your website. There are plenty of free analytics packages out there, but this one is really simple to get started with and monitor.
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Google XML Sitemaps:
When you update your blog this plugin makes all the necessary updates so Google can parse your site more easily. Highly recommended, especially in conjunction with the "All in One SEO Pack" above!
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Permalinks Moved Permanently:
If you ever rethink how you've categorized posts or decide to update posts on the back-end, there's a good chance that you'll eventually run into a problem with broken permalinks. This plugin is a great go-between that helps you out while you're finding the broken links because it tries to find the update permalink and send them to the right page, all seamlessly.
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PS Disable Auto Formatting:
The PS Disable Auto Formatting plugin lets you get rid of the automated formatting that exists in WordPress posts. Take control of your blog's posts and sculpt the markup as you wish. There are a few minor things to update and/or remember when using this one, but if you want to control your HTML in a post it's a great plugin to have.
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WordPress Database Backup:
Don't get caught with your pants down! If your WordPress ever gets corrupted or if you get hacked, make sure you have a backup with this plugin. It can be configured to automatically backup your content so you can repair if/when necessary.
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WordPress Gravatars:
So you've read my Gravatar post and want to hook up your blog readers, have you? Just install the WordPress Gravatars plugin and you'll be on your way. This plugin makes it really easy to have your commenters feel like a part of the blog.
One more thing to note: To make sure your WordPress blog runs as efficiently as possible, be careful how many plugins you install and use. Too many plugins can actually slow things down on your website.
Is the Apple iPad a Game Changer?
I've got a new post on my Posterous site regarding the newly-announced Apple iPad with the initial details of the Apple iPad and some quick thoughts on it. The short version: The Apple iPad is everything I thought it would be and more. And at a lower price, too! I'm pretty sure I'll be getting one since they look so damned useful.
The new iPad looks like the perfect mix of netbook size and laptop capability, and IMHO it's got the potential to be a real game changer in several areas.
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Netbooks:
I've predicted the demise of netbooks before, and even if Apple haters completely ignore the iPad, I'm still convinced that the future of netbooks is coming. Soon.
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Kindle:
Is it even a question that Apple is positioning the iPad to be a Kindle killer? With the iBook app and current (or future) deals with publishers of books (and textbooks?), newspapers, and magazines, the iPad has much more to offer the digital bibliophile than the Kindle.
I wonder what the future of the Mac Air and the iPod Touch are, considering how the iPad sits between the two. Is there still room for either when the iPad is essentially Mac Air-Lite or an iPod Touch++? The Air and the Touch both have features the iPad doesn't, but who knows what people will flock to? Time will tell.
Future enhancements like a camera, Flash capability, multi-tasking, phone capability, and maybe even a radio tuner would be great, but even as it is now this looks like a really smart jump in the right direction for ultra-portable computing. Apple has really knocked it out of the park with the launch of the iPad. I have to admit that I'm saddened that there's no multi-tasking out the door and the display is only 4:3 instead of 16:9, but it's only version 1.0 and I can live with that for now. And if the rumors of multi-tasking being in the iPhone 4 OS are true then hey... no worries.
Oh, and once they do get a camera on the iPad I can start padcasting. 
I'll be using the iPad as my home blogging tool and general Internet goofing around machine. I can write, update my blog, and whatnot on one small machine and that's all I need it for. Personally I'm leaning toward the 64GB WiFi model, which is a steal at $699USD. Before the announcement today I didn't think a 3G model would be available, but I figured the 32GB Apple iPad would be around $899, so I'm very pleasantly surprised by the price. (I can use the $200 I'll be saving on the extra 32GB of storage and accessories like the cover and keyboard stand.) The least expensive model is the 16GB WiFi for only $499. Apple has really aggressively priced this to gain users. More info on iPad tech specs at the Apple site.
#Hashtag 101 – What They Are & What They Do.
When used in a tweet, a hashtag is a word, or words, which have been prepended with a hash symbol (#) to assist in organizing information about them. For example, if you wanted to create a hashtag out of the word "Twitter", you'd type it as "#Twitter" (no, they aren't case-sensitive). See how simple it is? With the addition of one character, a new hashtag is born.
By using hashtags, a tweet is given additional metadata that can flow inline with the 140 characters used in it and increase it's searchability by people interested in the topic. But it's not all fun-and-games. Adding too many hashtags isn't helpful, and it's actually kind of spammy. While there's no upper-limit on how many you can use, a ballpark number would be 3-4 hashtags per tweet (plus or minus a couple).
So what does all that mean for the average user? Well, simply put, if you want to gain attention to a particular topic or if you want to make it easier for others to find the things you're tweeting about, adding a hashtag would be the way to go. Hashtags are also calculated into Twitter's trending topics, which are the most active topics of discussion occurring at any given time. The more of a particular tag that are tweeted, the more likely it is to become a trending topic.
If you're interested in finding out more about hashtags and which ones are currently trending topics you can do it in two relatively easy places:
Use Twitter itself. Trends are located on Twitter search (below the search field). If you're logged into Twitter, there's also a "Trending Topics" area on the sidebar, directly underneath the "Lists" area. And... if you're one of the lucky ones, Twitter has recently pushed a new "location-based trends " test to approximately 1% of it's users in the same place as the existing trends within the Twitter sidebar.
A third-party site that's been set up to actively monitor and display hashtags. There are plenty of resources online, and I've got a few examples of ones I've previously used below:
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hashtags.org:
A great starting point for finding trending topics, hashtags.org provides a simple interface to search for tags. Make sure to follow @hashtags to have your hashtags tracked.
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wthashtag.com:
This site uses a wiki to track trending topics and allows viewers to add a definition to the tags. WTHashtag.com lists active tags, categories, and even has it's own search bar that you can install.
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monitter.com:
monitter.com lets you select up to 3 hashtags to watch in real-time. It also has an option to let you choose the distance from a certain area (10-100 km or miles from a specific city, state, zip code, etc.) and only see the hashtags from that area. I like to use monitter.com to find local folks who are interested in the same things that I am based on their keywords or hashtags.
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whatthetrend.com:
Another website that shows hashtags in real-time, whatthetrend.com has a nice, clean page that displays the trending topics in a simple list format. Another great feature is that the hashtags are not only defined, but they can be redefined if necessary.
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hashtags.org:
Do You Want a Custom Blog Comment Avatar?
If you're looking to spice up your blog comments a bit, sign up for a (free) Gravatar account. Many websites have an option to display the avatar of your choosing wherever you comment on a blog (based on the email address you use to comment), and it's a great way to add a little something extra when you post. Gravatar plugins are available for most (if not all) major blog software platforms, so there's a heck of a good chance you'll be seeing your new Gravatar the first time you make a new comment.
Setting up a new Gravatar account is easy. Just follow these steps:
Go to http://en.gravatar.com/site/signup/ and enter your email address.
Check your email for the activation email sent by Gravatar.com. Click on the link in the email. (Be careful of line-wrapping if you choose to copy+paste the URL instead!)
Enter the username you want to use, as well as a password. When you choose an available username and click "Signup" your account should be created.
Now you just have to select a picture to associate with the email you signed up with. Follow the directions listed on Gravatar.com.
That's it. Everything else is hands-off for you. And the next time you are on a Gravatar-enabled website and leave a comment with your selected email address, your Gravatar will show up in the comments. Enjoy!
Update: Diana Adams also has great post on Gravatars at Bit Rebels.
Image copyright http://Gravatar.com/
How I Use Twitter Lists.
Twitter lists are a great way to help organize your tweeps into categories, or lists, that you define. Getting started with Twitter lists is easy, but how you use them every day is another story. There are probably as many ways to use them as there are people who use Twitter, but today I'm going to focus on showing you how I use lists.
I've broken down how I use Twitter lists into 4 sections, and I'll go into detail with each of them below.
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Filtering people into lists:
When Twitter lists made their first appearance, I decided to use mine like an email filter. I took a look at the people I was following at the time and started setting up categories based on a few general topics or interests and grouped together everyone who was an easy fit into one or more of my new lists.
These lists allow me to view tweets based on what different people tweet about, generally speaking. For local tweeps talking about local events I check out my NW Tweeps 01 list. If I'm looking to join a conversation regarding development, design, or blogging I go to my Dev Design Blog list. You get the idea.
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Finding new & interesting people to follow:
I used to follow a bunch of other people's Twitter lists, but in the end it didn't work out for me. I found it difficult to sort through all of the different tweets on all of the different lists and make any sense of things as they were. There were too many of one kind of tweet and not enough of others and that made it a big time-killer. My solution? Use other people's lists as a starting point to find new people to follow instead of following their entire set of lists.
Now when I'm looking at someone else's list I look for who the most active tweeters are, see if they look like someone I might be interested in following based on my very exacting criteria (/sarcasm), and then follow them if they do. Lather, rinse, repeat.
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Creating secret societies known only by me:
I'm a nice guy. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. But if I'm being honest... I have a favorites list. There are people whose tweets have a higher priority than others do for me, personally, and it's the one list that goes beyond topics or interests like the other lists because it's filled with personal friends, influential tweeters, and the like.
Creating a private Twitter list allows you to keep your cards close to your chest and still be in the game. Whether you're looking to keep your close friends behind the door like I use it, peruse Santa's list of naughty girls (or boys if you prefer) without your co-workers seeing it, or even if you just want to follow the whole "... and keep your enemies closer..." maxim, private lists are the way to go.
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Read but don't necessarily follow:
Sometimes I find that I don't want to follow someone anymore, for various reasons; but I also don't want to unfollow and forget about them either. Or maybe I've never followed a particular tweeter at all, but I want to keep tabs on what they're tweeting because they look like they might be interesting but I'm not 100% sure. Either way, their addition to one of my Twitter lists is essentially a reminder service for me. One list where I do this a lot is my Movies Comedy Music Etc. list.
There are a lot of celebrity accounts on that list, as well as improv groups, theaters, etc., and for the most part I don't need (or want) to catch up with all of them every day. In that case I can use the list to drop by whenever it's convenient for me and see what the latest news is for each of them.
And there we go, my personal Twitter list usage guide. If you've found any of this interesting or you have any questions regarding something specific, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP.
A Valid Twitter HTML Widget.
I was a bit surprised when I found out the (now older and difficult, if not impossible, to find anywhere on Twitter) Twitter HTML widget didn't validate. They've got an empty <ul> (e.g. without any <li>'s) in their code, and that makes the W3 HTML validator cranky.
The fix (in bold below) is simple enough:
<ul id="twitter_update_list"><li style="display: none;"></li></ul>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://twitter.com/javascripts/blogger.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/YOUR_USER_NAME.json?callback=twitterCallback2&count=5"></script>That's it! Easy peasy, Mac-n-Cheesey. Just make sure to also replace "YOUR_USER_NAME" with your actual Twitter username. And keep in mind that this is clay... I didn't do anything fancy to any of the resulting HTML, there's no CSS to style the return all prettified and whatnot. I leave that up to you.
If you want to talk about this Twitter HTML widget fix, please feel free to leave a comment here on the blog. You can also follow me on Twitter to talk about it, or just say "Hi".
Image by halfbrown.
You Don’t “Get” Twitter? Neither Did I, Until…
A lot of people don't "get" Twitter. I know I didn't when I first signed up, which is why I tweeted a handful of times and then forgot about the account for over a year. It felt so pointless to me at first, and 140 characters to get a thought out there seemed like nothing when compared to the open-endedness of of a blog post (which, when I first signed up, I had been doing with some regularity for about 5 years). That's probably why a large percentage of people who try out Twitter end up quitting within the first month of signing up. Oh sure, there's not official number on that (Twitter is notoriously quiet about their actual numbers), but the guesstimates by people more in the know than I am all seem to point to that as a fact.
So why did it take me so long to finally get to using Twitter regularly and falling in love with it? Well, after reading more about how people were using it, lurking a whole lot, and doing some thinking about the Twitter phenomenon I finally "got" it, and I'll try to explain Twitter to you as I understand (and use) it: Twitter is a social networking tool. That's it. I'll break that down, because people are always talking about social networking as if we all took that class in 8th grade and are intimately familiar with the concept.
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social:
For all intents and purposes, "social" means "people". Specifically social means people who want to interact with other people (whether they know them or not), and there's a million reasons why they want to interact with them. Maybe it's a new mother reaching out to other first-time moms, or a small business trying to get it's message out there. It could be the iPhone app developer releasing his latest version to the iTunes app store or even the intern in a big company who's trying to keep sane working for her third new boss this week (and it's only Tuesday). Each of these people has a story they want to share.
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networking:
If social means people, then "networking" means "connecting with" those people. And by connecting I mean engaging. Interacting. Mixing it up, if you will. Twitter's like a dance we're all attending, and in order to cut a rug we've got to cross the room to ask that pretty girl to dance. If you're not networking, you'll never "get" Twitter. And I don't mean networking in the job-fair-at-the-airport-hotel sense of the word. I'm talking about putting yourself out there and making a connection with people. Whether it's one person or 1,500, you're making a connection, and possibly a friend. Maybe even a difference.
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tool:
The real tool in this scenario is whatever you use to connect to Twitter. It could be the "What's happening?" form field we all put our 140 characters into and then press the "update" button. It could even be Tweetdeck, or Hoot Suite, or your Blackberry. Whatever you're using to make those connections, that's your tool. That's what's getting you out there, and without it you wouldn't be able to do any of the social networking mentioned above.
No one can make you make the connections with other people, and that's what I see as the stumbling block for most people who give up on Twitter. My suggestion on getting started the right way? Do a search on Twitter for your city's name, or maybe even a hobby you're into. Start browsing through the people who are talking about those things, or any other topic you're interested in. Take a look at the profiles of the people who are talking and see who already "gets" Twitter (read: they're talking to other people), and follow them. Start up a conversation. Ask them a question. Interact with them, because that's what Twitter is about. Finding a connection with someone and interacting with them.
And if you or someone you know don't know who to start with, feel free to follow me on Twitter. I'm easy to talk to.
Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sepblog/ / CC BY 2.0
The “Half Plus Seven” rule.
Have you ever heard of the "Half plus seven" rule? It's a relationship "rule" that describes a set of parameters for age differences in a relationship to make it "socially acceptable" (quotes added for ironic effect).
The saying has been around for a while... Wikipedia references it, and Urban Dictionary has an entry for "Half Plus Seven", too. If you're feeling particularly angsty (is that even a word?!) about the half plus seven rule, don't fret. Your friends at XKCD discuss the relative size of half plus seven dating pools for you. Fear not, little camper.
Is an age gap any wider than half plus seven really that uncomfortable to people? I guess I see things a bit differently since one of my best friends is happily married to a younger woman, and add to that the fact that I've known many couples in a (ahem) May-December romance that works out great, so it doesn't bother me at all.
It's funny that most of the vitriol that I've read online regarding this subject concerns older men and younger women together; but the idea of a Cougar or a MILF seems (more?) acceptable. That seems like some sort of reverse discrimination if you ask me.
I believe that the most important issue is whether or not a couple is happy, if they communicate well, and they genuinely care for each other. I don't care if a 40-year old woman is dating a 23-year old man, or if a 60-year old man is married to a 37-year old woman; which also happens to be the cut-off for a 60-year old according to the half plus seven rule.
Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/simply_steff/ / CC BY 2.0
10 Essential Twitter Etiquette Tips.
Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as Twitter etiquette, and whether you're a complete newbie or a Twitter addict, there's a good chance you're making a few mistakes (socially speaking). Every online community has unwritten rules of usage and/or proper behavior, and using proper etiquette on Twitter will keep you from being blocked, booed, or banned.
Instead of learning things the hard way like I did, you can check out this list of 10 tips on Twitter etiquette that I've come up with during my time on the service. A lot of them are common sense and apply to other areas of life, too (much less other social networking sites). I hope you find them useful. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/halfbrown.
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Don't plagiarize:
If you see an interesting tweet, regardless of whether or not it's from someone you're following or a random post you found online, don't try to pass it off as your own, that's bad Twitter etiquette. Like most web-based communities, Twitter self-polices itself very well, and naughty boys and girls are made examples of swiftly and surely.
Make things easier on yourself and retweet (you may have seen it written as "RT" on Twitter) your find for proper attribution. Not only will the original poster be thankful, but it also helps make you part of the community.
Not sure how to RT? Don't worry, I can show you how to properly retweet on Twitter.
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Easy on the tweets:
Unless you're churning out consistently interesting links, useful information, or insights into your soul, you should keep your tweet stream to a sane amount every day. Believe me, no one wants to hear about the 5 times you went to the bathroom or learn that the reason why you're going so much is because of the big lunch you had at the mobile burrito truck (there's a reason they're called a "roach coach", kids).
Something along the lines of a half dozen or so tweets is probably good if they're of the "blah blah blah, pay attention to me" variety, but there's no hard/fast rule about this. If you're pumping out 30-40 interesting tweets a day you're not going to have much, if anything, to worry about.
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Too many links, whether sausage or website, aren't good for you:
It's very tempting to add more than one URL when posting, but try not to. Any more than 1 link, maybe 2, is begging for confusion in your 140 characters (and for the love of Pete, use a URL shortener like Bitly). If you have multiple links you should think about splitting them up into multiple tweets.
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Let us know you're joking:
Written communication like tweets, IM's, and email can't convey the subtle inflections that the spoken word can. If you're trying to be humorous make sure to let people know it by adding a smiley face ":)", an "LOL", or a well placed "j/k". Remember that the written word always reads about 3 times more harsh to others than it does to you and re-tool your content appropriately.
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Get to know your followers:
You'll have a much bigger impact on your followers if you can find out what makes them tick, learn their (online) personalities, and deliver the content, information, or entertainment they want. The only way you'll do this is by listening to what they have to say in their tweets, their blog posts, etc.
By all means jump into the pool with the rest of the Twitter community, but once you're in the water wade in the shallow end for a while until you get a good feel for how the rest of the folks are swimming. You don't want to belly flop your first time out.
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Know when (and when not) to DM:
Direct messages are a great way to send someone information you don't want publicly available like a phone number or private email address. DM's tend to feel more personal, too, so be sure to not abuse your followers with too many messages. No one wants a stalker. And resist the urge to use an auto-DMing service since they're really easy to detect and it's usually thought of as spammy, and is a huge no-no in the realm of Twitter etiquette.
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One message = one tweet:
Your followers are more than likely going to be hit with a lot of tweets during the course of a day from the group of people they follow. Don't unnecessarily add to the mix by re-posting the same tweet multiple times in a short period of time. It's rude, it's spammy, and it's a waste of everyone's time.
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Keep private things on the DL:
Throwing a naughty little soirée with some friends? Making plans for a special date with your significant other? Maybe you're organizing a get together for after-work drinks with your co-workers to talk trash about the new HR Director? Great! But don't spill too many details on Twitter, otherwise you just might open the door for a real buzzkill by having unwelcome party crashers show up. Tweetups are one thing, but make sure you want to actually have an open invitation out there before you tweet about it.
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Would you want your grandma to read your tweet?:
Even if you have a protected profile, you still have followers who read your tweets, and those people can copy+paste what you write in an email. Never post anything you wouldn't want a beloved family member, your boss, or a local sheriff to read.
Examples of things to keep on the QT are embarrassingly graphic details of your love life, the who's who of your KOS list (those of you who PVP in online games know what I'm talkin' 'bout), or especially what you think of your boss or your job. Things posted online live forever, and there's no way to take them back. Ever.
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Not everyone will read (or follow) this list of Twitter etiquette tips:
You should know by now that the Internet is chock-a-block full of idiots, naysayers, and contrarians. Don't get spun up by their posts and then sucked into a flame war because they're a nut looking to get a rise out of someone. Either ignore them or block them. Problem solved, and you don't look like just as big an idiot for falling prey to their brand of crazy.
That's it. Ten simple rules to make your life on Twitter easier. For the most part you can consider these Twitter etiquette tips more of a guideline than actual rules of the road and of course they can be fudged a bit every now and again, but be careful when doing so. The last thing you want is to be That Guy (or girl) and find yourself in the hot seat by something you do or say.
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln
Happy Twittering!
Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/carrotcreative/ / CC BY 2.0
How to (Properly) Retweet on Twitter.
A "retweet" on Twitter, sometimes called an "RT", is the most common form of promoting content written by someone else and sharing it with your followers. Any great link, information, or insight is potentially retweetable, and there are a few courtesies and conventions on how to do it properly.
There are many reasons for you to retweet compelling content, not to mention creating retweetable material of your own. Examples include attracting more followers, increasing your personal relevance among your followers (depending on the content of the original tweet itself), and even being placed on a one or more Twitter lists. I've personally seen all 3 of those examples happen to my @halfbrown account after posting content on Twitter. Increased followers and popularity is all about great content (unless you're a celebrity, in which case your existence alone on Twitter can get you followers), and retweeting that content helps everybody.
There are two common ways to properly retweet, and each method is detailed below:
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Using the Twitter RT:
Twitter added their own retweet functionality in late 2009 to mixed reviews, and love it (or at least have a "glass half full" view of it) or hate it, it looks like it's here to stay. To retweet using the Twitter-supplied way, simply mouseover the tweet you want to RT and look in the bottom right-hand side of the tweet. You should see 2 options, "Reply" And "Retweet". (See the graphic below for an example.)
Just click on the "Retweet" link and a confirmation saying "Retweet to your followers?" will appear. If change your mind on the retweet, simply click the "X" to close the confirmation, otherwise click the "Yes" button to retweet it. When you click "Yes" the tweet is sent out to your stream like your other tweets, but shows up as being from the original tweeter user (their profile's avatar is used, etc.) with text at the bottom showing it as retweeted by you.
The up side to using the Twitter RT method is ease-of-use and automated attribution of the original poster. The down side of using it is that you can't add any additional comments. I like to use this method of retweeting when I don't have anything to add to the mix and just want to quickly pass the info along to my Twitter followers.
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Creating a manual RT:
Before Twitter added their retweet functionality the only way to RT was to do it by hand. It's a little more complicated than the Twitter RT method, but it gives you more control over what's shown and how it displays. The basics are simple:
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Find a compelling tweet to send to your followers:
Chances are good that if you have real followers who like what you usually have to say, they'll be interested in most things you'd want to retweet.
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Copy+paste the content of the tweet into your status update field:
Sometimes you'll need to strategically trim a few words to get under the 140 character limit. Just try to stay as true to the original content as possible and no one should mind. If you have room left over, feel free to add your own commentary or maybe a relevant hashtag. The former will help increase your engagement with the original tweeter, and the latter will expose you to a few more folks searching for that hashtag who otherwise may not have found you.
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Retweeting etiquette calls for crediting the original tweeter:
This usually in the form of an "@" which, when prepended to a Twitter username, auto-links to that person's Twitter page. Prepend the previous step with the following: "RT @username ", where "username" is replaced with the username of the person who originally tweeted the content. Make sure to add a space after the username so the original poster will get properly linked and credited!
The upside to using the manual RT method is the control you have of the content (adding hashtags, comments, etc.). The downside of using it is the potential for broken or missing attribution of the original tweeter and sometimes having to change the original content to conform to the 140 character Twitter limit. I like to engage with my followers and the original tweeters, so I prefer to use this method.
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Find a compelling tweet to send to your followers:
Regardless of which method you use, as long as you’re retweeting quality content and you give credit where credit is due, a good retweet has a lot of value to you, your followers, and the person you're retweeting.
Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/creativecommons/ / CC BY 2.0
