ReTweeting is a phenomenon that has taken the Twitter world by storm. The retweet was not in the original functionality or feature of Twitter. It all began when somebody added the letters "RT" to somebody else's tweet and posted it as their own. This then went viral, every one started doing it, even to the point that there are now services that use retweeting as their primary function.

If you are not a Twitterer, you may not be familiar with the concept of retweeting. Basically, when someone updates their status on Twitter, that is called a tweet. When someone likes that status and wants to share it with others, they will add "RT" (for ReTweet) and the user's name typically and post the same update. This is usually done with Tweets containing links. This provides lots of exposure, tons of traffic and might even go viral.

Tweetmeme is one of those ReTweet service providers. You insert their ReTweet button onto an article page that lets a reader easily tweet a link to that article on Twitter. The Tweets are counted and are listed as ReTweets. Similar to other social buttons like Digg, Stumbleupon, etc. The effect is that the more retweets that are registered on that button, the more interesting the content looks at first glance.

Why is this? Well supposedly, if a user sees the article has 2,000 tweets, as opposed to 2, they can assume that a lot of people found the article interesting or informative, and of Good quality. They will then most likely continue reading.

A ReTweet button on your blog post or a RT on Twitter can provide a lot of attention for your blog post, brand or article. There is also the ability for promotion and marketing. Allowing others to do the marketing and promotion for you. ReTweets are viral by nature. A good article and blog post can potentially earn tons of traffic through the RT method.

Pros

• Retweets are viral
• Retweets show up as top-level items in FriendFeed
• A ReTweet is shared with all your followers
• Retweets typically give credit to sources
• ReTweets can lead to more followers and build relationships and communities
• Retweets can say a lot about the quality of content especially if there are many RT’s
• Retweets can lead to further conversation
• Retweets can be good for branding
• Retweets can easily be shared across multiple networks, like Twitter, Friendfeed, Facebook, etc.
• Retweets can provide followers with additional value in quality content

Cons

• You can’t provide a list of your retweets by themselves. You might be able to do that with a service like Tweetmeme.
• Many people consider ReTweeting as “noise” on Twitter
• Twitter's 140 character limit is a serious hindrance to RT’s
• Some people consider retweeting to be like copying other people's work for your own gain

 

Some people to follow and ReTweet

@Techcrunch - Technology related, and most of you know about it

@Lifehacker - Tech tips and tricks.

@problogger - All about blogging, the best blogging tips and news.

@smashingmag - Best for designers.

@mistygirlph - Web design, blogging related tweets.

@coppyblogger – Blogging, Blogging tips

@danielScocco – Daily Blog Tips

@Mashable - Social media, and tech related tweets. Most of them twitter related.

 

Conclusion

It all boils down to quality content. The old "content is king" cliché. The web has evolved, there is so much out there, so much rubbish. Amongst all that garbage there is still quality. If you provide something interesting, people will share it.

Like this article, go on RT it. After all it is about ReTweeting. But seriously I think you should. Lets see how many RT’s I can get out of this.

What are your thoughts on ReTweeting?

 

Robert Bravery is one of our www.MyByte.co.z.Thought leaders to subscribe to the Thought Leaders RSS feed click here http://snurl.com/md27j.Still not registered on www.MyByte.co.za ? Join the online network that connects the entire ICT industry in one room –virtually. Simply click here http://www.mybyte.co.za/signup.php its simple and it’s free! Register on Mybyte in October and stand in line to win an Acer Aspire Netbook in October