Last week I told you about a little whitepaper I'm writing for SC's Republican legislators, all in tweets. Here's the rest of the document.

If you're new to this whole game, it might just help you a bit.

What to Do

Begin at the beginning. Set up an account with an easily-identifiable name, like jimdemint or greshambarrett.

Try to use your name or whatever handle you use for your domain or Facebook page. Branding is everything.

After that, keep everything pertinent and simple -- a short bio, a link to the campaign Web site and a good picture for the avatar.

Remember, people who are clicking your bio link are coming directly from twitter, so why not personalize the link?

A twitter landing page on your website with a twitter specific message is smart strategy.

For your twitter background, it's advisable to have an Internet firm knowledgeable about the medium.

Like everything else with a campaign, a good background doesn't have to be expensive or gaudy, just done well.

After that, you're ready to go. Post an introductory tweet and hit the ground running. There's no time to start like the present.

The easiest way to be followed is to follow. Start by following the other Republicans on twitter in your area.

One of Twitter’s newest releases is the list functionality. Many people are creating all kinds of lists.

For example, I created a list called sctweets, which showcases all SC politicos on twitter.

Find a good list and follow everyone on it. They will most likely follow you in return. A great place to start.

Keep in mind that people following tweets have become at least a little sophisticated about how candidates and officials use Twitter.

So, if a staffer is tweeting instead of the candidate, it's a good idea to show that in the message. Be honest.

Some candidates have begun using "[*]" before the message, while others use the longer "~staff" after the message.

Either way, making the difference will get you in good graces of both the public and the press.

People want to know when they're really hearing the candidate, and that the candidate isn't being excessively handled.

As in the Book of Twitter, "Follow as thou art followed." People are paying attention to you, so it's good to pay attention to them.

That doesn't mean you have to follow all your followers, but filter out who are your constituents and who post information relevant to you.

That includes everyday people, along with news outlets, bloggers and reporters.

By following others, it shows that you are paying attention to what they say, or at least that the campaign is.

Again, it helps -- a good way of keeping tabs on news, views and rumors that are going around.

Make sure that when you have an event, post it with enough time for people to go, and put up a link to the Web page announcing it.

To reiterate, use hashtags when you can, depending on the event or issue. It will help people not already following to find your tweets.

When you can, interact with people when they ask questions or when important issues are being discussed.

If you're an elected official, by all means tweet during debate on an important bill. Let people know what's happening in real time.

Since transparency is the word of the day, it'll certainly be good for you, and good for your constituents.

Just be sure to keep the tweets simple and clear. This will also assist reporters in reporting your side of the story.

I use a 70 / 30 principle. Talk about issues 70% of the time. Talk about your life 30% of the time.

People could care less that you’re watching Lost, but it does connect you on a more personal level.

Remember, it’s not always about you. More people will follow you if you give them useful information.

Try to give people inside information that they can’t get in other places. Give them a real reason to follow you.

What Not to Do

Consider this the opposite of the previous section. First, don't go along following no one. It simply doesn't look good.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill isn't big on following, and though she does interact, it makes her look like she doesn't care what others say.

Don't make Twitter into a one-way vehicle. You might as well just send out news releases and emails.

Twitter, at its heart, is an interactive medium. People will stop following if it's just the same thing over and over.

Candidates and elected officials are insanely busy -- that's a given. Between a job, the position and a family, it's hard to find time.

However, people will similarly not pay attention if everything is coming from the staff. There has to be a good mix from the principal.

Stay away from excessive hashtagging. Not only does it limit your message, it looks desperate. One or two hashtags are enough.

Don’t lose your cool. Whether it be politics or sports, Twitter can devolve into schoolyard arguments like anything else.

But unlike anything else, it's public and viewable worldwide. Stay to your guns, but always take the high road.

In reference to it being public, by all means, do not protect your tweets. Even if you're not currently running for office, it makes...

… it look like you have something to hide. That's never good for someone interested in public office.

In that vein, don't let your staffers tweet indiscriminately. Bloggers and reporters are locked in and looking for faux pas tweets.

Though few candidates or officials do this, it stands to be said – don’t tweet spam. Too many tweets over too short a time will irritate.

Getting Advanced

By now, if you are figuring out Twitter, you've figured out Facebook. Both allow you to post photos.

You don’t have to tweet just from twitter.com. There are many smartphone and desktop applications that do amazing things.

Try tweetie.com and tweetdeck.com. Those are by far my two favorites.

There are several different programs that host photos, most are wedded to one program or another.

For instance, in Twhirl, you click the photo button, upload the picture from your computer or phone, and it goes out.

The most popular program is known as Twitpic. You can use a program that directly uploads photos to it, or do it from twitpic.com.

It's a very simple way to instantly share pictures from an event. People can't attend? No problem. A camera snap and it's up in seconds.

Most Twitter applications, and Twitpic, are geared to be as user-friendly as possible. For the confused, just read the directions.

For videos, Twitvid operates in a similar fashion. You can upload a short video from a phone, computer or directly record from a webcam.

Don't be discouraged by the nature of the beast. It's really not all that different from sending an attachment in email.

Don't forget the other social networks. Namely, that would be Facebook and Google Buzz. Both can be linked with your Twitter account.

Going through your Facebook account and linking it up with your Twitter account is a relatively easy process.

Just go through, allow Facebook access to your Twitter account, and voila -- what is tweeted shows up on Facebook.

Once you do so, even people who don't use Twitter, but are Facebook friends, can still follow along with your tweets.

Google Buzz is a little like Facebook, in that you have to set up a Google profile.

The good news is, a well-created Google profile will show up on a search.

Once Buzz is linked up with Twitter, all tweets from a period of time are grouped together.

Since a lot of people use Google to search, and Google applications, it's yet another way to connect to voters.

Also, it helps that the tweets are grouped, since people who aren't paying attention to Twitter all day can catch up pretty quickly.

Top Secret Tips

Like was said earlier, and needs to be repeated, don’t discount a good background for your Twitter page.

The more professional it looks, the more legitimate you look. It would be a bad idea to cut corners to save money.

Again, that doesn't mean splurging -- just spending the right amount for a good job. Like anything else, you want the bang for the buck.

Another good idea is to ask questions. Don't just respond to others -- get them to respond to you. Find out what they think.

In addition to finding out what your constituents think, it undoubtedly helps them connect with you and the campaign.

You should also remember that it's not entirely about you -- it's about the voters.

Don't make your twitter feed all about yourself. Give advice about what's going on.

Talk about what can make your district/the state/the country better, and how to get involved.

Shorter

This plan was supposed to be 10 pages. As you can see, it doesn’t even measure up to seven complete pages. That’s not an accident.

Every bit written in this piece was done in less than 140 characters.

Twitter, like the best journalism, is best when it distills many words to just a precious few.

There's no reason to use more words to express yourself when you can use less and say the same thing. That's the beauty of Twitter.