Twitter - John Doherty

Today I was taking part in an online webinar, which in the SEO world means that a hashtag trail will be set up to follow the discussion, as well as to ask questions usually. Every Thursday there’s #seochat, for SEOmoz webinars it is usually #mozinar.

Today I decided to use my iPad, and Tweetdeck as I have taken to using it more and more over Hootsuite, to follow the discussion. I set out to create a column (which is a great feature) that would only show me tweets with “#mozinar” included. I clicked the Add Column button to add a column and tried to type in “#mozinar”. Because of the sometimes-clumsy iPad typing, I actually typed in “#mozinae”.

Oops. *head slap*

The next problem I had was deleting the column! I could not figure it out for the life of me, so I had this stupid “#mozinae” column next to my “#mozinar” column the whole time, just laughing at me for being an idiot.

I want to help you out by giving you the simple instructions of how to delete a column in the Tweetdeck iPad app.

Steps to deleting Columns in Tweetdeck iPad App

Step 1: Hold your finger on the header of the column. It should be named according to your custom label. In my case, it was labeled “#mozinae”.
The columns will become smaller and show separately, much like pages opened in the iPad Safari app, if you are familiar with that. A little red box with an “X” will appear in the top right corner of the column.
Click that little red “X”. The column will disappear.
All you have to do to return to your regular viewing schedule is double-tap with your finger anywhere on the screen. Your columns will realign and the world will make sense once again.

Happy tweeting!

The SEO industry is active on Twitter. Most CEOs, CTOs, and independent SEOs are on Twitter, talking and sharing interesting articles that they or their friends have written. For the beginner SEO, Twitter is an essential lifeline, yet it is one to be used cautiously and wisely, at least for a while.

How To Use Twitter

If you have not used Twitter before, start lowly. Use this tool as an opportunity to see into the minds of the well-known faces of the industry. Using some tools available (many good ones are available through @oneforty, a Social Media resource site), you can find the leaders of the industry and follow them (tip: CEO of begins with SEO, ends with -moz, and a type of water…) to find out what they are talking about, what they are reading, and what they are writing.

How Not To Use Twitter

This advice is often given in SEO circles: don’t spam people. Don’t set up an automatic Direct Message to be sent to your followers. It’s not genuine. Don’t time tweets to recycle all of your old posts with a million hashtags, hoping to be followed by a lot of bots that aren’t even human and can’t ready what you are saying.

How To Use Twitter, Part Two

Engage in the conversation. Early on, ask a few questions. Later, feel free to challenge some of the speakers on what they say, especially if you do not understand. Many are quite nice and will answer your questions, especially Wil Reynolds (@wilreynolds). Use this carefully, but use the opportunities you are given as a tool. Once you have gained a following and have the respect of some of the greats in the industry (which is something I am still working on), you will probably find yourself in a good position to move forward as an SEO.