This guide is truly for everyone. If you are new to computers and are trying out this new “Twitter thing” with no idea what you're doing, this is for you. If you are an expert social media mogul who is finally venturing over to Twitter, this guide is for you too.

A lot has been said about people who “get” and “don't get” Twitter, and for good reason. If you try Twitter out and don't get it, you might not ever try again. That would be a shame. As someone who originally didn't understand Twitter on my first attempt, I'm sure happy I gave it a second shot. Because once you “get Twitter,” you'll never go back. This is a guide that will help ensure you “get Twitter” the first time and enjoy it for a long time.

Step 1. Follow Your Friends.

A lot of skeptics think, “Why do people care what I'm doing” or “No one is following me, so why should I tweet?” Well the best way to combat this is to start by caring what OTHER people are doing. Not only will it give you immediate value in having a Twitter account, but it will help you understand the ins and outs of Twitter without doing a thing.

Your real life friends, family, and coworkers are always the best people to start following for two reasons. One, they will help you out and actually respond to your Twitter needs because they know you. And two, it opens up immediate entertainment to see what's going on in the lives of all your loved (or hated) ones in your life. Right off the bat you might find yourself laughing at your friends' new Twitter personalities.

Step 2. Follow your Favorites.

A big part of Twitter is the intimate connection you can have with your favorite celebrities, brands, or entertainment sources. At first, this seemed quite silly to me. Why do I care about the ongoings of some celebrity who doesn't know I exist? Well trust me, when you find the right one to follow, it's one of the best entertainment sources you'll find. I break up the Twitterlebrities into three categories: celebrities, companies, and news. Here's a little detail about all three.

Celebrities. Be it your favorite actor, musician, or comedian, it's astonishing the insight you can get into their personal lives from Twitter. Celebrities, just like you and I, are people who live day to day lives. And they tweet about their day to day lives. Like this recent tweet from Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), “I'm watching a massive car crash on set right now. Wow. pic to come.” A little while later, the picture was posted and it was amazing to see. Or follow them strictly for entertainment value such as comedian Rob Corddry (@robcorddry) who has posts like this, “Half-way through the LOST finale. Sometimes I want to punch Sayid right in his accent.”

Companies. By now, most major brands are on Twitter. Even better, more and more local companies are getting on Twitter. If you happen to find yourself a big fan of a local restaurant and want to know what their daily specials are, follow them on Twitter. If you always have to buy the newest fashion item from your favorite designer, use Twitter. And if you want the best deals on special flights (see: @jetblue)… you got it, find it on Twitter.

News. This is my personal favorite aspect of Twitter. Instead of checking my slew of websites that I would check every time I sat down at my computer, I now see all the headlines in one place. This isn't just limited to normal news sources like CNN (@cnnbrk), Fox News (@foxnews), and the BBC (@bbcnews). Sure, those are great Twitterers to follow and it's how people track world events as they happen. But if you are a fan of certain blogs, sports, or gossip sites, chances are they have a Twitter. Find them and you'll never miss a beat again.

Step 3. Setup your profile

Now that you've followed those that matter to you, it's time to setup who YOU are on Twitter. This should only take a few minutes, but it's perhaps the most important step. It's a big faux pas when you use the standard picture, a default background, and have no bio. Users see this as a red flag that you simply won't be an active user, and therefore won't follow you or accept your follows.  So here are the three necessary steps to fix that up.

First, upload a photo of yourself. Normally a headshot is best due to the small size of the avatar. If you don't want a personal picture up, it's still important that you upload something else to avoid that ugly default icon.

Second, change your background. Twitter provides a few options, but each one of these is seen so often it has become another sign of not being a true Twitterer. There are many sites that change your Twitter background for free. I am partial to www.TwitterBackgrounds.com as they have a large selection and a great auto-post tool. This means you don't have to be an expert to change your background. For those people who want more than just a free background there are tools that allow you to personalize a background with your own photos for a few dollars. And for the elite Twitterers, you can have a complete custom background designed from the ground up. This is highly recommended for companies and brands as it legitimizes your Twitter profile.

Last, and most simple, is to update your bio. You are limited to a few sentences about yourself and a link to other profiles. There is absolutely no right way to do the bio, which makes it the most fun. You can give information about yourself or simply joke around. If you happen to have a personal blog or another profile, it's highly recommended you put that link in too.

Step 4. Enjoy Tweeting

The last step to make sure you “get Twitter” is to figure out how to enjoy tweeting. My recommendation is to use it as a micro-blogging tool and not as a “status update.” What's the difference? Well a status update would be something like, “Going to the movies.” Whereas a micro-blog would be something like, “Just saw The Dark Night. Heath Ledger just made Jack Nicholson look like an amateur.”

Sure, it might take you a few extra seconds to think of exactly what to tweet, but soon enough you'll find that you love tweeting. It becomes addicting saying what's truly on your mind, not just what you're doing. Next thing you know, people will be following you more and more, interested in what's going on. You'll learn Twitter etiquette, have Twitter conversations, and share some amazing Twitter experiences. In no time at all you'll find yourself recruiting friends and family to join in and you can happily claim that you “get Twitter.”