Note: This 2009 post is a history lesson on Twitter. Back then, you had to use 3rd party sites to upload an image, which you then linked to on Twitter. Anyone viewing your Tweet had to click the link to go out and look at your photo. Since September, 2010, Twitter has allowed direct loading of photos and videos. People using Twitter now would never! We can also now click hashtags in Tweets rather than just pasting them in the search field to see what comes up. Sometimes it's fun to look back and see how things have progressed.
I recently had an email from Linda at Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast asking me about how to use Twitpic to post photos to a Twitter account.
Twitpic is one of a few sites that allow you as the Twitterer to post photos to your Twitter account. To use this service, go to http://www.twitpic.com/. You will now sign in to the service with your Twitter username and password. The next screen allows you to "Browse" your hard drive for photos. Choose a photo, and after you have added it, type in a message to go with the photo in the space provided, then click "upload". This will post your photo on Twitter, with a shortened URL. Your Twitter followers will click the URL and be taken to Twitpic to view the photo.
Another service with a few more features is TweetPhoto. To join the service is as easy as logging in with your same Twitter username and password. Again, same procedure as Twitpic, browse your hard drive and load a photo. Now, type in your message. Then, you can add tags to your photo. So for my photo of the Emma Crawford Coffin Races, I tagged it "emma crawford, coffin races, manitou springs". This way, people searching for any of those terms may find my photo. You then click "upload now", and voila! Your Tweet contains a URL for the photos.
These are both very easy and fun ways to add photos to your Tweets. Thank you Linda for your question!
Happy Tweeting!
Annie Buck
Pre-Development Manager
Acorn Marketing
