Want to get started on Twitter?

Twitter users have developed short-form syntax to make the most of 140 characters. Here are the fundamentals.

• Mention

  Once you've signed up and chosen a Twitter username, you and others can mention an account in your Tweets by preceding it with the @ symbol, eg: "Glad your shipment arrived @janesmith!"

• Retweet

  When you see a Tweet by another user that you want to share, click Retweet below it to forward it to your followers instantly.

• Message

  If you want to privately Tweet to a particular user who's already following you, start your Tweet with DM or D to direct-message them, eg: "DM @joesmith234 what is your order number?"

• Hashtag

  Users often prepend # to words in their Tweets to categorize them for others eg: "Check out our new products for the Fall: http://t.co/link2 #fallsale" Think of hashtags as the theme of your Tweet. Users can then click on a hashtag to see other similarly-themed tweets and find yours in search.