What you’re holding in your hands is a set of guidelines. A collection of protocols which describe an approach to another protocol, something we call Twitter.

The amazing thing about this particular protocol is that it’s being defined daily. By you. Twitter was inspired by the concepts of immediacy, transparency, and approachability, and created by the guiding principles of simplicity, constraint, and craftsmanship. We started small. We built something out of love and a desire to see it flourish throughout the world. We defined a mere 1 percent of what Twitter is today. The remaining 99 percent has been, and will continue to be, created by the millions of people who make this medium their own, tweet by tweet.

I leave you now in the capable hands of a documentarian, storyteller, and practitioner of a new protocol of communication. Listen, learn, and most importantly, define it for yourself.

-Jack Dorsey Creator, Co-founder, and Chairman of Twitter, Inc.
San Francisco

Foreword to the book 140 Characters: A style guide for the short form (2009, Wiley). Available wherever books are sold, and on iTunes App Store.

The following is an excerpt from 140 Characters, page 9.

There’s the story you wanna tell, and the story a reporter wants to hear, and somewhere in between is the story that gets told.

-@realizing

Real reporting can take place within social networks. There are two key principles to remember.

First: Public Twitter and Facebook updates are a part of the permanent record, and all searchable content is fair game for journalists.

Second: A direct relationship with your social sphere is fundamental; keep it independent of the media outlet that employs you.

Keep your professional identity as a reporter independent and portable because jobs can come and go. You will want to retain your readers during times of change.

Additional caveats apply to journalism. This list is not comprehensive, but is rooted in experience with corporate blogging and investigative reporting.

Ten tips, in order of importance:

1. Own your smartphone and a great set of mobile apps.
2. Determine your employer’s social networking policy. If they don’t have one, write up a policy of your own and submit it.
3. Check sources and attribute-[shakes fist] check sources!
4. Think twice before posting: once for your source and once for your editor.
5. One drunken, angry tweet could ruin you.
   

   some things can’t be said in under 140 characters. especially after some champagne.

   -@jack

6. Jokes can almost always be taken the wrong way; expect this.
7. Never discuss a story before its time, or tweet about something before it happens.
8. Be as clear as possible with your sources about when you expect your story to post so they know when and how to promote it.
9. Avoid writing about colleagues or the workplace.
10. Follow other journalists: @jennydeluxe, @michaelbfarrell, @mat, and the rest.

“Oh look, I sent you a link.” “Oh, I sent you a link, too.” “That’s great, we’re journalists!”

-@mantia

You think you want to be a Twitter journalist? You’ll need to check your facts, provide a truly unique perspective, and most of all lead with action. Do this with fairness, accuracy, and more than a single source, and you will always have a job.

I’m excited to announce that John Wiley & Sons have agreed to publish the book 140 Characters!

I’ve already begun to work with Shannon Vargo over at Wiley, to bring this work to print and digital download.

In addition, my company DollarApp is producing a companion application which should ship by the time the book appears in print this Fall.

This arrangement would not have occurred without the help of Erin Malone & friends at William Morris Endeavor, and Adam Jackson at the Internets. I’d also like to thank Jon Varese for encouraging me, and thank YOU for reading and commenting on this site!

The book is currently in development, but you may view a brief excerpt on the new About page.

Stay tuned!

[Note: I actually wrote this 2 years ago, but here it is reprinted almost word for word.]

Getting overwhelmed with junk on Facebook? Annoyed by random spam targeting you? Tried Twitter for a while and now you think it’s about to Jump the Shark already?

Ease back on the throttle there, Fonzie. Twitter is no different than Facebook or Flickr or Blogger except in its immediacy and constant freshness, which accelerates everything. Every social Web app goes through the same cycle. You just have to master it, and not let it master you.

As I’ve experienced them over the last 3 years, here is the cycle:

12 Stages of Social Media

1. Curiosity
2. Interest
3. Novelty
4. Excitement
5. Inviting Everyone You Know
6. Optional: Inviting the Wrong Person (skip to 9)
7. Massive Use / Addiction
8. Slight Abuse / Accidental Use
9. Annoyance / Frustration
10. Cutting Way Back
11. “Going Dark” / “Taking a Break” / “Going Private”
12. Acceptance / Renewed Curiosity

When your best friend from high school announces the birth of his baby boy on Twitter, you can’t tell me that Twitter is dying. For moments like these to be shared, you just have to tune in properly.

My advice to you: skip to Step 10. Try Jaiku or Facebook for a while, if you absolutely must escape. Get a better tool to deal with the deluge, or just create another account and live there for a while. (Update: There are 12 Antidotes as well, contained in the forthcoming book 140 Characters.)

Twitter does not jump sharks. People use Twitter to jump sharks. The Death of Twitter is a Myth, people. You ain’t seen nothing yet.