Follow @hbcstudent on Twitter!!

Some of you may be familiar with Twitter, but many of you probably are not. What is Twitter? you may ask:

"Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" -from the Twitter.com homepage.

Basically it's a way to get information out to a lot of people very quickly. It's even easier to use than text messaging once you get used to it. So, I want you all to sign up!!! You can receive updates about events, payment deadlines, and other last-minute information without making a phone call or checking your email. By signing up for a Twitter account and following @hbcstudent, which is the twitter account that I will use for the youth ministry, you can receive text message updates and reminders about what's going on in the youth ministry.

Here's how it works:

1. You go to www.twitter.com and sign up for a twitter account. You start this by clicking the "Get Started- Join!" box on Twitter's homepage.

2. Enter your full name, e.g. "Dustin Knoedler"

3. Enter your username- this will be the name you use to sign in to access your Twitter account. I recommend using your full name, so it will be easy for people to find you, and so that you don't forget what your sign-in name is. So, if your username is "DustinKnoedler", your twitter page will be www.twitter.com/dustinknoedler, which is my personal twitter page.

4. Enter your password.

5. Enter your email address. This is where Twitter will send you notices to let you know that more people are following you or about important account updates. They do not send spam!!!

6. Enter the text from the spam-bot filter, then click "Create my account."

7. Add your mobile phone number to your twitter account if you wish to receive text messages from anyone else on twitter. This step will be necessary if you want to receive mobile updates from @hbcstudent. Click on the "Settings" tab from your twitter homepage. Then click the "Devices" tab. Enter your mobile phone number and turn mobile updates "on."

8. From your twitter account, you can search for friends, your children, or, most importantly, hbcstudent. Search for "hbcstudent" to find the youth ministry twitter account, then click "Follow." Then click the "Device updates" tab and turn the device updates "on." You should now receive text message updates from "@hbcstudent."

Twitter takes some getting used to and you only learn by using it more. Your account can easily be managed from the Twitter website. Twitter also has an extensive "Help" section on their website which should answer any questions you may have.

Please note that standard text messaging rates apply to all tweets (A text sent or received using Twitter). Twitter is a completely free service, so just be aware of your text message plan with your cell service provider.

I think this will greatly enhance our ability to keep you informed of what's going on in the youth ministry, so if you have a cell phone with text messaging, please sign up via the steps outlined above. I know a few of you are already using Twitter, so thanks!!!