Twitter keeps students informed on trending topics, information

The prominence of Twitter in the life of a college student is on the rise. Many people use Facebook as their primary social network of choice, however, Twitter provides some things Facebook cannot. Twitter offers a simple interface and a high level of privacy.

There are plenty of insightful or humorous accounts to follow as a UCF student.

Derrick Davis, a junior communication sciences and disorders major, says his Twitter feed is populated with friends and parody accounts.

“I primarily follow my friends to keep up with them. After my friends come parody accounts,” Davis said.

The Orlando Magic Twitter account (Orlando_Magic) provides news, photos and promotions about the basketball team. The UCF Party Tutor account (UCF_PartyTutor) promotes UCF area food and drink specials and tweets quirky comments.

Eating Orlando (@EatingOrlando) tweets about good eats in the Orlando area, sometimes even accompanied by a mouthwatering picture.

Ted (@itsrealTED) is a parody account that posts obnoxiously hilarious tweets just like the crude stuffed animal himself. Boasting a large number of followers (around 730,000) Ted is one of the fastest-growing Twitter accounts.

Total Frat Move (@TotalFratMove) parodies Greek life in general and even retweets people using the hashtag #TFM. A sample tweet from them is “Testing out the pledge’s sea legs before Labor Day to ensure that he’ll be a quality sober boater #TFM.”

It is important to understand how Twitter works and how to successfully harness the opportunities it has to offer.

“The key to successful tweeting is to relate with your followers. The more you relate with them the most attention your Twitter seems to get,” Davis said.

Jorg Ruis, creator of Twitter Counter and owner of Twitaholic, says the most effective method of tweeting is “engagement that will grow your followers, strengthen relationships on which you can build and expect a certain return from. This works just the same as building a new group of friends when you’ve just moved.”

Relating to your followers and building a strong base is crucial to obtaining a significant following, Ruis said.

Hashtags are a way of archiving tweets that are relevant (or sometimes hilariously not) to a specific topic. By using a hashtag, you can find tweets relevant to your interests.

For example, tweeting using the hashtag #Orlando will yield results pertaining to information or events taking place in the Orlando area.

If you have a specific audience you’re trying to reach, utilizing hashtags in your tweets will archive your tweets with similar tweets. As a result, there is a potential for you to connect with people or accounts that share the same interests as you.

A decent amount of media, such as pictures, videos or articles also contribute to how effective your tweets are.

A balance between quality and quantity is also to be noted while tweeting.

Ruis says that not all users and companies understand how to use Twitter. “They think it’s about sending information and not listening to people, while actively trying to build a relationship.”

Ashley Gasbarro, a junior biology major, said she checks her Twitter regularly. She follows promoters and organizations for updates.

“I would retweet them to get them acknowledged,” Gasbarro said.

If you’re unsure what account to follow and you want to discover new things going on in the Orlando area, change your trending topic from “worldwide” to “Orlando.”

Various Orlando news sources have Twitter accounts and are also great ways to get quick updates on local information. Some local accounts include @OrlandoSentinel, @UCFNews, @UCF, @WFTV and @CFNews13.

Whether you’re a college student looking for entertainment or news, Twitter is a social media outlet with plenty to offer.