Twitter Info - MUST READ!!

FAQ – THE BIG PICTURE
What is Twitter?
More than just a social media site, Twitter is an information and communication tool.
How Can I Learn How to Use Twitter More Efficiently?
Besides information in this document, search for Twitter Tutorials on YouTube and find one that you relate to best, watch and practice before the next rally.
Why Did My Account Get Suspended Last Time?
Twitter has a limit to the number of posts you can make within one hour – 100. They also can detect if you are tweeting from multiple accounts based on your IP server number.
To avoid suspension (“Twitter Jail”) pace your tweet outs. If you have multiple accounts, use one for a while before switching to another rather than tweeting same messages from multiple accounts one right after the other.
If your account is suspended the system should reset within about an hour and you will be operational again.
Why are We Using Twitter?
With millions of daily users, Twitter is the optimal site available to share real-time information about the Justice For Michael Jackson cause and (in particular for the April 5th rally) to communicate news coming from fans at the courthouse to the masses.
What is a Hash Tag?
A topic with a hash symbol (“#”) at the front. (#Justice4MJ – it doesn’t matter if use caps or not, all track the same.) It helps to identify and organize tweets about a specific thread of information.
What is a Top Trending Topic?
It is a subject that’s being talked about on Twitter by the most amount of individual users actively tweeting at the moment. In essence, it’s popular. TT includes keyword subjects(for example, Michael Jackson) as well as hash tags.
Why is Top 10 Trending Important?
There are two important reasons to consider:
Real-Time Importance – It calls attention to the topic so that users who may not be aware of what's going on will be see hash on the list and be encouraged to click through. When they do they become informed and hopefully will re-tweet our news or post their own tweet comment about it.
Overall Trending Importance – it adds value to the overall trending statistics that analysts and media use to determine and discuss weekly, monthly and yearly trends.
Which Top 10 Trend List is Best?
The Worldwide List (versus national and regional top market city lists) is the default list that appears when users log on to their account. This makes it the most widely viewed by everyone using Twitter. It is also a trend list that media and internet analysts track and report on.
What is the Best Time to Trend Worldwide?
Based on results from the two rallies last week, the best time is between 11am and 4pm Pacific Time, spiking from 12:30pm until about 3pm. This timeframe encompasses the most active users from all time zones participating in the rally.
How Does a Keyword Subject or Hash Tag become a Top Trend?
It’s a numbers game. Mathematically, it has to do with the ratio between the number of people discussing the topic to the number of tweets on the subject or using the hash. TT subjects average about 1-4 tweets per person overall, making them “trendy” among all Twitter users.
Why didn’t #Justice4MJ Top Trend on Thursday 3/25? Were We Censored by
Twitter?
No, #Justice4MJ was not censored, blocked or blacklisted.
Twitter rarely blacklists trends and only does so when their system detects tweet topics and hash tags being overly used (spammed out) by automated machines, not by individual users.
How Did Switching Hash Tags Help Us to Trend?
By switching to a fresh hash tag and pulling back on the number of times it was used, we brought our user/tweet ratio down enough to trend to the Top 10 for several hours, rising as high as #3 at 1pm Pacific Time.
In a nutshell, it was new and “trendy” for that time period in relation to all topics being discussed on Twitter at that time worldwide among millions of users.

Overall Results From Last Week’s Rallies
Besides TT for a period of time on both days, the rally also contributed to the overall spike in the keyword/name trend “Michael Jackson” on Twitter last week.

Weekly Trend Lists Accomplishments for “Michael Jackson” week ending 3/27
• Top 10 Twitter Trends (keyword) - #7 <<<>
• Top 20 Hottest People (keyword) - #2
• Top 20 Hot Topics (keyword + hash tags) - #15

Besides the justice discussions instigated by the rallies, the general Twitter population also talked a lot about his music and that they miss him, and shared links to photos and videos using #MichaelJackson or just his name. The last time Michael Jackson scored high on top lists was February 1 in relation to the Grammy Awards. He also trended in October in relation to the This Is It film and song. He also obviously trended on June 25 and days surrounding the memorial and funeral. Best Practices for Twitter Rally Participants.

Based on what we have learned so far, these are my suggested strategy points to make the most out of our time on Twitter, to Top Trend and to also make an impact on the weekly trend statistics:
• Team leaders select new hash tag to be used exclusively for each rally. Do not use it before the rally to keep it fresh.
• Pace the amount of tweets you send out to keep ratio down and you out of Twitter Jail.
• If you are using multiple accounts, use them one at a time and rotate every hour rather than tweeting out from them one right after the other.
• Recruit more unique users among your friends and family who are not or do not want to participate in a rally. They can still help with one tweet. Approach it like a pledge drive -- ask people to tweet one time during the rally timeframe using the hash tag as a show of support for your love for Michael and your quest for justice. Same principle as asking people to donate money for a walk-a-thon. Ask them to donate a tweet.
• Push it to go viral among users who are tweeting about Michael Jackson but not the rally. To do this, go to #Michael Jackson and other related hash tags (in the search box on the right side of your Twitter screen) and follow people there who are not tweeting about the rally. Odds are many will follow you back, see what you’re tweeting about and join in. Their followers will see the tweets and possibly join.
• Tweet out links to your favorite Michael Jackson photos and videos and include both the #MichaelJackson and our unique hash.
• Don’t overuse multiple hash tags in one tweet. It’s okay to add one in addition to the event hash tag, though. Best ones to use are #MichaelJackson and #MJ at this point.
• Don’t worry about Hoaxers jumping on the TT bandwagon. When they add our hash to their tweets, it actually helps us. Every tweet about Michael Jackson helps overall. Stay focused on our cause alone.
• Cut-n-paste tweets are helpful if you do it in moderation. Don’t use them more than you used your own original content. If they are overused they will appear as spam to Twitter’s system and score lower, or land you in Twitter Jail.
• Re-tweeting other people’s tweets about the rally scores lower in calculations for TT however it does help on the overall weekly trends so it’s okay to do it, but do it in moderation. Don’t re-tweet more than you write original content.

A special thank you to Lisa Burks and Liz Pullen for the info posted here.

Make sure to join the April 5th Twitter For Justice Event!