May 26, 2009

University of Dayton head men's basketball coach Brian Gregory has joined the latest social networking phenomenon -- Twitter!

With the launch of Gregory's official Twitter account, UDCoachBG, fans can receive instant updates, or "tweets," directly from Coach Gregory via the Internet or on their mobile phones.

What Is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers).

The service is free to use over the Internet and mobile phones.

How to set up your Twitter account:
1. Visit www.twitter.com and click "Get Started."

2. Enter your name and email address, and choose a username and password.

3. If you would like to send and receive Twitter updates from your cell phone, click "settings" in the top right of your browser window and then click on the "devices" tab.

4. Enter your phone number as instructed (for U.S. phones, you will need to enter "+1" before your area code) and click the box that reads "It's okay for Twitter to send messages to my phone."

Twitter does not send third-party texts to your phone; you are ONLY accepting text message updates from people and groups you choose.

Users must create an account to join Twitter. Once logged in, fans have the choice of following other users, and they can activate their mobile devices to receive tweets as other users, including Coach Gregory's account, post them.

How to receive Coach Gregory updates:
1. Visit twitter.com/UDCoachBG and click "follow" under the photo.

2. To receive updates to your cell phone, click the link that says "Device Updates OFF" and switch the button that pops up to "ON." You will now receive text messages from Coach Gregory on your phone.

Who Twitters?
Anybody and everybody. From Shaquille O'Neil and Arnold Schwarzenegger to MC Hammer and Demi Moore, Twitter has become the communication tool of choice for microblogging and social media.

Now if fans want to know what's up with coach Gregory while they are at home, at work or on the go, he will be right at their fingertips. The account listed above is the only Twitter entity that is officially sanctioned by the University of Dayton Division of Athletics and Coach Brian Gregory.

For more information on Twitter including how to send your own messages, please visit DaytonFlyers.com/Twitter.html