This is a 4 part series on how to use Tweetdeck for beginners.  You will need an existing Twitter account to be able to use Tweetdeck, if you do not have a Twitter account then sign up at Twitter.

What is Tweetdeck?

Tweetdeck is a Twitter application which allows you to stay in touch with your followers.  What I like about  Tweetdeck is that it allows you to see a lot of different information at once.  Download Tweetdeck if you have not already done so.  (Windows users only).

Tweetdeck download and setup

Tweetdeck requires you to insall Adobe AIR for it to work.  It will ask you to click “yes” to continue and follow the instructions.  Once installed it will open up and ask you to add a Twitter Account, insert Username and password.  You will then be asked if you want to create a Tweetdeck account or to skip this option.  I recommend to create a Tweetdeck account.  You are ready set to go.

Turn Off Notification Sound

You will want to get rid of the annoying notification sound which plays everytime someone Tweets.  The first time I downloaded Twitter I struggled to find the off button and ended up uninstalling the software and tried something else.  I did not like the other platforms so I tried Tweetdeck again and was determined to get rid of that annoying sound.

Click on the icon in the top right corner which looks like a spanner.  In the general tab you will see a list of options which you can check or uncheck.  4th from the top is the option to “play notification sound”  uncheck this.  You can look through some of the other options and select which ones you want to use.  close settings.

What you see

Back to the main section.  You will see is 4 columns:

All friends:
This is all the tweets of people you are following.  When you tweet it will show up in this column.

Mentions/Replies:
This is where followers are replying to your tweets,  retweeting your tweets, or giving you a mention.

Direct Messages:
Are personal private direct messages from your followers, in otherwords nobody can see these messages but you.  If you reply to someone or send a DM  your reply message displays in this column.

TweetDeck Recommends:
This is something new to Tweetdeck which I am not familiar with and not sure if I will need it.

Adding Facebook

Do you want your Tweets to update on Facebook automatically, then this is what you need to do.  On the menu bar to the left there are little square boxes with menu options.  The very last one on the right is a box with an F.  Click this box.  You will notice a new column shows up and a Facebook request for your login details.  Once logged in all your friends updates show up in the Facebook column.

Send a Tweet

Before we end off today, let’s send a quick tweet.  You do this by going to the top menu bar with the little square boxes to the left.  Click the first box,  with the balloon chat symbol.  You will see a drop down openswith the question:  What are you doing?  Type in your message and hit return.  If you are using a hyperlink, then you need to shorten the URL.  Insert the URL in the box area below your tweet message then click the first square box to the right which looks like two arrows pointing at each other.  The URL will automatically shortened and inserted into your tweet.  Happy with your message?  Hit return and you just sent your very first Tweet.

The next post we will look at how to work with other functions.

How to use Tweetdeck –  part 2
How to use Tweetdeck – part 3
How to use Tweetdeck – part 4