TALK IS CHEEP, SO GET TWEETING!

This week, Twitter did something for the very first time – they made a profit. Founded 12 years ago and with hundreds of millions of users, the darling of online chatter has made a number of changes that have helped get them in to the black.

Originally 140 characters was the maximum length of a tweet, this is now 240 and has allowed new users to get to grips with using the service more quickly. Also, Twitter has changed the way the timeline works. The screen you see when you sign-in now has slowly improved, showing more relevant content and less babbling.

If you’re new to Twitter, there’s never been a better time to jump in and have your say. Whether you’re watching a political debate on TV or a rugby match, there is a conversation going on about it, on Twitter. When you sign in you’ll see a timeline of tweets in the centre of the window but on the left side of the screen are ‘Trends for you’. Start there and see what catches your eye.

These hashtags or topics allow you to search and see the flow of tweets, often from the debaters or players themselves, before or after a game.

Hashtags usually stay relevant and you can catch up when you next log-in. So if you search for #IrishRugby today, you’ll get live comments and chatter about the ladies’ match in Donnybrook, or scroll down and you’ll see comments from yesterday’s Italy game.

Twitter’s had its share of fake news and trolling controversy, but it remains the biggest town hall debate in the world. If you’re a first-timer, don’t be shy. If you think it’s offside jump in and say so, the world is listening.