What is a Tweet?

Users of the microblogging site Twitter periodically post short updates about whatever they're doing or thinking about. These little updates are called tweets. A tweet can be 140 characters at longest.

Because of the length constraints, tweets often contain hashtags and TinyUrls. A hashtag is a word with the # symbol in front of it. Putting a # in front of a word broadcasts your tweet to people with specific interests. For example, including #Norah Jones in your tweet will connect you with other Twitter users who are also interested in Norah Jones. TinyUrls are shortened Web addresses. Websites likeTinyUrl allow you to make a very long Web address very short so that you can include an external link in your tweet but still have room for a short message to go with the link.

Where Can I Learn More?

This short article explains hashtags and hashtag commands in more detail.