Twitter 101

Who to follow

Watch the video (3:52).

Now that you've created an account, it's time to start finding other Twitter users to follow! What are your interests? Do you plan to follow only people you know or a little bit of everything, from celebrities to news to some of your favorite companies?

When you follow people on Twitter, their updates appear in real time on your Twitter timeline (also known as your stream). As you begin to follow more and more people, you might benefit from strategies and apps that can help you manage this flow of information.

Watch the video to learn more about finding and following people on Twitter, as well as ways to manage your timeline.

Finding people to follow

Because it's such a big part of the Twitter experience, figuring out who to follow (and how to find them) can be overwhelming at first. Luckily, Twitter gives you several different ways to connect to the people you know, the information you want to know, and more. It's all about following and receiving updates from the accounts that interest you; therefore, everyone's Twitter stream will be different.

The #Discover tab in the top navigation bar is the best place to find new people to follow, regardless of your interests. Select the #Discover tab. Several options will appear in the left navigation pane, which you can use to find people to follow.

The #Discover tab

• Who to follow: Find suggestions based on the accounts you already follow (if you added any during the signup process). In this example, @AliaJones' suggestions reflect the unique contents of her Twitter stream: accounts related to fashion, local businesses, travel, and activities.
  Who to Follow
  
• Find friends: Find people you know by searching your social or professional contacts. Just select any service you use, and sign in when prompted to give Twitter access to your personal connections. In this example, @AliaJones is about to search her Gmail contacts for friends and family who also use Twitter.
  Find friends
  
• Browse categories: Find accounts based on what interests you. Pick a topic—any topic! Browsing is a good way to discover some of Twitter's most popular, prolific users.
  Browse categories
  
• Find users by name: Find anyone by entering their name or user name. You can even enter brand names like CNN, Google, or Barnes & Noble. However, if the individual you're looking for has a common name or chooses not to list his or her name publicly, you may have trouble finding this person in this way.
  Finding users by name

Similar to the above, you can use the Search bar at the top of the page. Just select the People button in the left navigation pane when the list of search results appears.

Following and unfollowing

To follow or unfollow someone, just click the Follow or Following button that appears next to the person's name or on their profile page. Easy to use and practically everywhere you look, this toggle button lets you decide who appears in your Twitter stream and—if you change your mind—who doesn't.

The Follow and Unfollow buttons

Notice the icon next to Oprah's name? This icon, called the Verified Badge, is used to identify accounts that legitimately belong to celebrities and other well-known Twitter users.