Home > Store

All a Twitter: A Personal and Professional Guide to Social Networking with Twitter

Add To My Wish List

All a Twitter: A Personal and Professional Guide to Social Networking with Twitter

By Tee Morris
Published Jul 6, 2009 by Que.

Book

Sorry, this book is no longer in print.

Not for Sale

Description

Sample Content

Updates

More Information

Description

Copyright 2010
Edition: 1st

Book
ISBN-10: 0-7897-4228-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4228-5

Make Twitter work for you–right now!

Twitter! Everyone’s talking about it. Its membership grew over 700% in just one year! Now, learn how to make the most of Twitter–in your personal life, your business, everywhere!

All a Twitter delivers quick, smart answers to the questions everyone’s asking about Twitter: What’s it about? What’s it good for? Is it worth your time? How do you get started? Where can you find great Twitter feeds to follow? How can you build a worldwide audience for your own Tweets?

You name it, Tee Morris answers it–and shows you exactly how to do it, step-by-step, in plain English. No experience? Looking for something new to do with your Tweets? No problem: this is the Twitter book for everyone!

Covers all this, and more…

• Setting up your Twitter account and getting started in minutes

• Creating great Tweets: making the most of the 140 characters
Twitter gives you

• Using Twitter to make connections, exchange great ideas, and
uncover hard-to-find resources

• Building a Twitter audience–and using it to build your business

• Tweeting to recruit, promote, and coordinate volunteer organizations

• Mastering Twitter etiquette and avoiding beginner mistakes

• Swapping Tweets on your browser, on your desktop, and on your phone!

• Finding tools that make Twitter even more efficient

• And much more…

informit.com/que

allatwitterbook.com



Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Setting Up Twitter

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 2 and Index)

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Welcome to All a Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

This Book Is Written by a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .1

This Book Focuses on Building a Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

This Book Is for Users of All Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

This Book Follows a Logical Progression with Twitter . . . . . . . . .3

This Book Is Written in More Than 140 Characters . . . . . . . . . . .4

What to Expect from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Going Beyond the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

We’ll Always Have Twitter… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Imagine That! Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Bird House Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

1 What Is Twitter (and What It Is Not) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

A Brief History of Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .9

First Forums,Which Begat Blogging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Proceeding with Podcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

The Rise of Social Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

What Is Twitter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Twitter’s Role in Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

What It Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

What You Should Do to Make It Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

What Twitter Isn’t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Twitter Is Not a Chat Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Twitter Is Not a Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Twitter Is Not Like Facebook,MySpace, or Other Social Networks .. . . . . . . . . . .22

2 Setting Up Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 25

Registering on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Setting Up your Twitter Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

What’s in a Name? (Quite a Bit, Actually!) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

The Importance of a Good Avatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Protecting Updates: The Good and the Bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Making Twitter Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Changing Your Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Receiving Tweets on Your Mobile Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Staying in the Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Giving Your Twitter Home a Redesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Building the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Following Someone at Random on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Following Someone You Know on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Following Someone That’s Following You on Twitter . . . .48

3 Talking on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Writing a “Tweet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Editing Your Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Posting Your Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Following Followers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Following @Mentions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Replying to a Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Replying to a Direct Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Your Twitter Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Your Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

4 Working Beyond the Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Installation and Setup of Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

What I Like About Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

What I Don’t Like About Twitterific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Installation and Setup of DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

What I Like About DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

What I Don’t Like About DestroyTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Installation and Setup of Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

What I Like About Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

What I Don’t Like About Twhirl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Installation and Initial Setup of TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Setting Up Groups in TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

What I Like About TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

What I Don’t Like About TweetDeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

5 Terrific Twitter Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Mr.Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Starting with Mr.Tweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Shorten URL Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Is.gd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

SnipURL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Twitter Tools for WordPress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Installing Twitter Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Configuring Twitter Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

TwitPic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Uploading Pictures on TwitPic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Using TwitPic with Twitter Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

6 Tracking Twitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Twitter Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Bit.ly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

TweetStats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Twitalyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

Hashtags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

7 Twitter to Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Twitter for the BlackBerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Blackbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

Twibble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Tiny Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

TwitterBerry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136

Twitter for the G1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

Twidroid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

TwitterRide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

8 iPhone, Therefore iTweet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Tweetie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

What I Like About Tweetie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

What I Don’t Like About Tweetie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Twittelator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155

What I Like About Twittelator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

What I Don’t Like About Twittelator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

TwitterFon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

What I Like About TwitterFon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

What I Don’t Like About TwitterFon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166

9 The Trouble with Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

The Double-Edged Sword of Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

The Fail Whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Lost Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172

Followers Dropped Without Consent or Knowledge . . .173

Twitter Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

When Twitter Is Used as an IM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

When Things Get Too Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

Hi…My Name is Tee and I Have a Twitter Addiction . . .177

Remedying the Noise in Your Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179

The Outsider’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182

10 Getting Personal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Staying in Touch with Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Call Me When You Get Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

What Are You Doing This Weekend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

Sharing with the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

TwitFic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Tweet-by-Tweet Commentary and TwitReviews

(No Spoilers Please!) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191

Trademark Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Solidarity (J.C. Hutchins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

11:11–Make a Wish (Heather Welliver) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

News from New Zealand (Philippa Ballantine) . . . . . . . . . .196

Follow Friday (All of Twitter) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Rick Rolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198

Becoming Part of the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199

11 Taking Care of Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Identity Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202

Using Twitter to Market Your Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

Build Your Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

Observe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Engage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Twitter for Nonprofits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212

Using Twitter to Market Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Using Twitter Tools to Promote Your Blog or Podcast . .217

Using Twitter to Market a Product or Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218

Becoming Part of the Community: Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

12 ANTI-Social Media: The Dark Side of Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

To Follow, or Not to Follow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Why Would I Want to Block Someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

Guaranteed Drops and Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Spammers and Twitterbots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Tweeting in L33t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Automated Direct Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233

Incomplete Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

Few To No Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

Selling Your Twitter Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

Automated Twittering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

A Broad Definition of Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Retweeting Isn’t Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Tweeting Famous Quotes Isn’t Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Circulating Links (Especially if the Only One You’re Circulating Is Your Own) Isn’t Participation . .. .239

Concerning Weblebrities, Celebrities, and Gurus . . . . . . . . . . . .240

Weblebrities: Life on the A-Listserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Celebrities: A Peek at the Life of a Hollywood Star . . . . .243

Fast Times at Twitter High: How CNN, Ashton Kutcher, and Oprah Completely Missed the Point . . . . . . .246

Gurus: Snake Oil Salesmen 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248

13 Why I Am on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Professional and Personal Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253

A Deeper Appreciation for the Real World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254

I Believe in Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256

A Tools for Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Adding Media to Your Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .260

Adding Organization to Your Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Tracking Your Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Network Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262

Simply for the Fun of It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263

B Twitterspeak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Twitterspeak That’s Just Plain Fun… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266

Twitterspeak That’s Just Plain Annoying… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266

Twitterspeak That I Hope Never to Hear Uttered Again… 267

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 269



Updates

Errata

Download the errata

Submit Errata



More Information



InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Privacy Notice

Overview

Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information

To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information

Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security

Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children

This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing

Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information

If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out

Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information

Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents

California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure

Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

As required by law.
With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact

Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020

Email Address