Are you a Twitter illiterate?

Using Twitter sounds so simple. Type out no more than 140 characters — the maximum allowed in a single tweet — and hit send. That’s all, right?

Not quite. Twitter’s interface may look simple, but it is not, and its complexity has turned off many people who tried the service. Still, in the few years since it started, Twitter has quickly gained users. People and organizations of many have flocked to Twitter to share information and thoughts.

In a prospectus released for investors last week, the company said its worldwide monthly users grew to 232 million in the third quarter, up from closer to 200 million early this year. But those numbers are a far cry from those attained by Facebook, a top rival. Facebook has more than a billion users.

Will Twitter become a platform used by the masses? Maybe the best way to answer that question is to use the service yourself. Here’s a primer.

Set up an account

Signing up to Twitter is simple. Just choose a username, known as a handle, and a password. Most people try to use their name or a variation of it as a handle, like @BillGates. Try to keep it short. You don’t want your handle taking up too many of the 140 characters if someone mentions you in a tweet.

Next, give other Twitter users some sense of who you are. People who don’t know you but find themselves interested in your Twitter feed will want some clues about whether they should “follow” you — meaning add your Twitter messages to the ones that they see in their unique feed. Unlike on Facebook, where people connect with their friends and family, on Twitter most people follow others with similar interests or professions.

Start by adding a profile picture to your account. A headshot, cartoon, image of your puppy — anything is better than the default egg, which screams Twitter newbie.

And fill out your bio. Use the 160 characters available for your bio to explain who you are and try to give a sense of what topics you will tweet about. You can also include a link to a Web site, maybe of the company you work for or a personal site.

Build a community

Next, find people to follow. The Twitter messages written by accounts you follow will show up in your feed, also called your timeline. It’s easy to get deluged with tweets, so be selective about which accounts you follow. You want your timeline to feel alive with smart, interesting, informative and entertaining tweets. But remember that “unfollowing” an account is only a click away, too.

Decide what topics you’re most interested in, and then search by name for writers or commentators on those topics. You can also search by topic or geographic area on https://twitter.com/search-advanced.

Once you find an account that tweets regularly on a topic you’re passionate about, see what that account follows. To see everyone a person is following, click on the person’s name and then click “Following.”

Once you’ve found people to follow, engage them. Send them a link to an interesting article. (To save character space when sending a link, use a Web address shortening service like Bit.ly.) Interact with them: respond to their tweets by hitting “reply,” mention the articles they share, show that you like a tweet by hitting the “favorite” button. When all else fails, try a compliment.

Learn the language

To engage with people, it helps to know some of Twitter’s insider language and etiquette, which is a big part of what can make the service confusing for new users. “RT” means retweet; it is used when repeating what someone else said. If you want to add commentary, place it before the RT.

Understand symbols

Twitter users often add hashtags, like #Brooklyn or #SuperBowl, to enable others searching for that topic to find their tweet. They work well in specific instances — during events like professional conferences, for example, when you want to know what others are saying about a panel.

An important technical rule governs the use of the “@” sign, which is the beginning of every account’s handle. If you start a tweet to someone with “@,” only that person and those who follow both of you will see the tweet. This is so you can have a semi-private conversation with that person without cluttering up others’ timelines. To make the tweet appear in the timelines of everyone who follows you, add a word or character before the “@” sign, even just a period.

Tell others

And finally, the best way to build your community is by telling people that you’re on Twitter. Add your handle to your business card, your e-mail signature and, when possible, the bottom of your correspondence.

—nytimes.com