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Twitter Dictionary
A guide to help you understand Twitter chatter and slang.
Last updated: Friday November 06, 2009
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social messaging tool that lets people stay connected through brief text message updates up
to 140 characters in length. Twitter is based on you answering the question "What are you doing?" You then
post thoughts, observations and goings-on during the day. Your update is posted on your Twitter profile page
through SMS text messaging, the Twitter Web site, instant messaging, RSS, e-mail or through other social
applications and sites, such as Facebook.
Twitter Dictionary: Understanding Twitter Chat and Slang
As with any new social medium, there is an entire vocabulary that users of the Twitter service adopt. Most of
the Twitter-based terms and phrases are used to describe the collection of people who use the service, while
other terms are used in reference to describe specific functions and features of the service itself. Here are
more than 20 words and phrases that are associated with the Twitter social service:
@reply: The @reply means a Twitter update (tweet) that is directed to another user in reply to one of
their updates. A @reply will be saved in the user's replies tab. Replies are sent either by clicking the
'reply' icon next to an update or typing @ username message (e.g., @user I saw that movie too!).
BiggerTwitter: An app (or add-on) that can be used to post tweets longer than 140 characters on
Twitter. BiggerTwitter works by placing a link in the tweet.
Blackbird: The name of a Twitter client for BlackBerry smartphones.
dweet: Slang term used to describe a tweet send by a user who is drunk.
Fail Whale: On the Twitter site, the Fail Whale is an image of a whale held up by birds and nets. This
image shows that Twitter has been overloaded or failed.
follower / fallowing: On Twitter, blogs, and other social media sites, a follower is someone who
subscribes to receives your updates. On the Twitter Web site "following" someone means you will see
their tweets (Twitter updates) in your personal timeline. Twitter lets you see who you follow and also
who is following you. Followers are people who receive other people's Twitter updates.
hash tag: A hash tag or hashtag is a way of organizing your Tweets for Twitter search engines. Users
simply prefix a message with a community driven hash tag to enable others to discover relevant
posts. One commonly used hash tag on Twitter is #followfriday where users network by providing the
names of their favorite people to follow on Twitter.
mistweet: Slang term used to describe a tweet that you later regret having sent.
PocketTweets: The name of a mobile Web-based Twitter client for the iPhone. You can use it to see
the latest tweets from your contacts or to update your status remotely.
: Abbreviated as RT, retweet is used on Twitter to show you are tweeting content that has been
posted by another user. The format is RT @username where username is the Twitter name of the
person you are retweeting.
Twaffic: A slang term used to mean "Twitter traffic".
twalking: Slang term used to describe someone who is walking while they tweet (a Twitter message)
using a mobile device.
Twebay: Slang term used to describe selling (or promoting) an eBay item on Twitter.
Tweeple: A slang term used to mean "Twitter people" and is used to refer to Twitter users.
tweet: Describes a Twitter update. A tweet is basically whatever you type into the Web box to answer
that question, using 140 characters or less. People tweet personal messages, random thoughts, post
links, or anything else that fits in the character requirements.
twewbie: Short for "Twitter newbie" it is a slang term used to describe someone new to Twitter.
Twidroid: The name of a full-featured Twitter app designed for use on Android mobile phones.
Twishing: Twishing is a combination of the words Twitter and phishing. It is the act of sending a
message to a Twitter user in an attempt to obtain his or her name and password. The message may
instruct the recipient to visit a Web site where he or she is asked to log in. The Web site, however, is
bogus and set up only to steal the user's information. See "Beware of Twishing" in the Did You
Know...? section of Webopedia for more information on Twishing.
Twitosphere: An expression used to describe the 'world of Twitter'.
Twitter Sparq: The name of the first advertising service for Twitter. Sparq provides a self-service
interface that lets advertisers quickly set up the ads. The ads appear on the right-hand column on
Twitter as Tweet Now. When someone clicks on the link, it automatically populates the tweet box with
the advertiser's message. This can include a link, as well as an option for the user to customize or
add to the message.
Twitterers: Refers to people who send tweets on the Twitter service.
Twittermaps: A mash-up that lets Twitter users update their locations on a Google Map and send a
tweet with it.
Twitturly: The name of an online Web service that tracks Web addresses (URL) that are being
tweeted about the most on Twitter.
Twittworking: Short for "Twitter networking" it is a slang term used to describe Twitterers who use
Twitter to network.