Whether you're thinking of joining the Twitterverse or already are a seasoned Twitter member on your iOS or other device, your Mac can be used to create and manage a Twitter account.

This article will discuss creating a Twitter account through the Twitter website and managing your Twitter account with an app called NightOwl, also called YoruFukurou.

Creating a Twitter Account

If you do not yet have a Twitter account, go to Twitter and activate the Sign Up link.

Find the heading "Join Twitter Today." Just below it are edit boxes to enter your full name, your e-mail address, a password, and a user name. It may be necessary to Tab and Shift + Tab through the edit boxes because VoiceOver may not read the user name edit box correctly. Twitter offers some suggestions for a user name just below the user name edit box. After all information has been entered, activate the "Sign Up" button.

NightOwl

Once you've created a Twitter account or if you already have an account and are not yet using NightOwl, download the free app from the Mac App Store.

When NightOwl is first launched, it is necessary to sign into your Twitter account. If you have more than one account and want additional accounts to show, open NightOwl's preferences with Command + Comma and go to the Accounts tab. Activate the Add button and sign into your other account(s).

NightOwl's System Preferences

There are many options for customizing your Twitter feed; here are a few of the most useful. In the General tab, if you check the box labeled "Enable real time streaming" then new tweets will display immediately. If the box is not checked, activate the "Auto refresh" button within the same tab to set how often your Twitter feed is automatically refreshed. There is a pop-up button to set how many tweets are displayed when NightOwl is launched.

The Accounts tab has two sub-tabs: General and Notification. If you have more than one account, they will be listed in a table. Each account can have its own settings. If you want to add your initials or a tag line at the end of your tweets, check the "Insert footer text" box and then enter your text. The Notification sub-tab contains checkboxes that control what sounds NightOwl will play. For example, you can have NightOwl play a sound every time a new tweet is received.

In the Text Input tab, there is a pop-up button for choosing which key combination will send a tweet. The default setting is Return. Additional options are Control + Return and Command + Return. In the same tab, there is a checkbox where VoiceOver will say "'Show Candidates Automatically' Autocomplete." Make sure it is unchecked. NightOwl can offer user names and hashtags, but this feature does not always work well with VoiceOver.

In the Notifications tab, go to "Enable sound effect" and make sure the box is checked. This is the main sound control. If not checked, no sounds will play. There's also a volume slider to control how loud the sounds will play.

NightOwl Controls

There are several ways to interact with NightOwl. From the top of the main window, use VO + Right Arrow and you'll encounter various controls including a tool bar, drawer, and an Action Menu. Another option is the menu bar. NightOwl has the standard File, Edit, and View menus plus menus labeled Tweet, Timeline, and Tools. Many menu items also have keyboard shortcuts that provide an easy way to navigate NightOwl.

Finding Twitter Users to Follow

Before you can receive their tweets, it is necessary to select the people, teams, companies, etc. that you wish to follow. Type Command + U and VoiceOver will prompt you to enter a user name and will also say that you are in a combo box. If you know the Twitter name you want to follow, type the user name and press Enter. A list of their most recent tweets will be displayed. Typing VO + Spacebar will bring up a list of people and organizations you may want to follow. Typing Enter on any of these choices will also bring up a list of their tweets. If you do not know the user name or if the person or organization you want to follow isn't in the list, try a Google search. Type the name plus the word "Twitter." Frequently their Twitter user name is one of the first results.

If you decide to follow someone or something, go to any of their tweets and VO + Left Arrow four times until you hear the word "Drawer" and interact with it. Find the "User Action Menu" button and activate it. Then find the Following Status submenu and open it. Finally, activate the "Follow" button. The option to stop following a Twitter account is also in the User Action menu. If you want to follow American Foundation for the Blind on Twitter, look for @AFB1921.

The Timeline and Other Tabs

The main window in NightOwl is your Timeline. All tweets from the accounts you are following are displayed here. Tweets can be read with the Up and Down Arrow keys. Make sure QuickNav is turned off. It is not necessary to interact with the list. After a tweet is spoken VoiceOver will say something like 15m or 3h. This indicates how long ago the tweet was sent.

Additional tabs are Mentions, Direct Messages, and Favorites. Command + Right Arrow and Command + Left Arrow moves through the tabs. With this method, VoiceOver does not speak the name of the tab. Use VO + Home (Control + Option + Fn + Left Arrow) to get to the top of the window to hear a tab's name. There are additional navigation options and keyboard shortcuts in the Timeline menu.

Interacting with Tweets

The Tweet menu provides a long list of commands and their keyboard shortcuts. Here are some of the most frequently used commands:

  • Reply: Enter
  • Reply All: Shift + Enter
  • Send a direct message to the sender: D
  • Retweet someone's tweet: Command + Shift + V
  • Retweet the tweet and add a comment: Command + Option + V
  • Open a link in a tweet: L.
    • Option + Up Arrow moves to the top of a tab; Option + Down Arrow moves to the bottom

If you want to see a list of tweets from a specific sender, focus on one of their tweets and then type Command + 2. Only their tweets will appear in the window. Get back to the main Timeline with Command + 1. View an entire conversation by first focusing on any tweet and then typing Command + 3. Only tweets referring to that conversation will be displayed.

Sending a Tweet

The keyboard command to start a new tweet is Command + N. Your tweet cannot be more than 140 characters including punctuation and spaces. Check how many characters you have typed by pressing VO + Right Arrow twice. You will hear "Character Count" and how many characters are left. If the character count is over 140, there will be a dash plus the number of excess characters. Get back to your tweet by using Command + Left Arrow twice.

Hashtags

Many news, television, sports entertainment companies, corporations, and individuals employ hashtags. A hashtag consists of the number sign (#) placed before a word or phrase. The hashtag is used to indicate trending topics and makes it easier to find related tweets. For example, a news program might ask people to tweet their opinion of President Obama. They would say to use the hashtag #Obama.

Conclusion

It is possible to set up a Twitter account on the Twitter website and manage it with NightOwl. NightOwl has many useful options. Check out Alex Hall's excellent podcast.

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Author
Janet Ingber
Article Topic
Product Evaluations, Reviews, and How-To's