Facebook is easy. Everyone gets it, and nearly everyone is utilizing it at this point. Despite what the old stodgy naysayers always predicted, it seems social media and the abundant use of social media by everyone and their brother is here to stay - and Facebook is a huge part of that. How else are you supposed to keep track of everyone you went to high school with?

But, the social media landscape doesn't end at Facebook. Twitter, as you've surely heard, is also very popular - but it can be a little intimidating for newcomers. There are a few rules, restrictions and etiquettes that can seem baffling to the non-tech-savvy or those simply trying to keep up with the social media-ing Joneses.

Here are a few tips and helpful insights for getting started on Twitter.

• The easiest way to access Twitter is by visiting twitter.com. Once there, signing up for an account is self-explanatory. Twitter profile names all feature the "@" symbol. For example, the Weekly Volcano is @weeklyvolcano on Twitter. The Ranger and Airlifter are on Twitter at @JBLMNewspapers.

• Simplicity is at the heart of Twitter's beauty and appeal, but can also be difficult to embrace for newcomers. The most important thing to keep in mind is Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters, meaning anyone who posts a Tweet needs to be economical with their word choices. The fact that Tweets are kept to 140 characters or less means your Twitter "feed" (the compiled Tweets of everyone you're "following") becomes a collection of quick bites of information - which can be extremely useful when utilized with care.

• Who you follow determines what Twitter will be for you. In all honestly, Twitter can be almost whatever you want it to be: a real-time source for the latest news, a medium for online banter between you and your friends, a source of entertainment or a way to keep tabs on your favorite sports team. The key is being selective in who you follow. If you want news, for instance, search and follow news sources you trust - newspapers, individual journalists, etc. If it's entertainment you're after, follow your favorite actors, actresses, musicians, bands, etc. Or, follow all of the above, and organize them in Twitter "lists." The important part is being selective and organized in who you follow, or your Twitter feed can start to feel like a mish-mash of pointless updates about what Ashton Kutcher ate for breakfast - which serves humanity no purpose whatsoever.

• Communicating through Twitter with other users is easy by utilizing profile names. For example, anytime @weeklyvolcano appears in the body of a Tweet the folks who run the Volcano's Twitter account see that Tweet. This allows anyone to ask questions or communicate with anyone else on Twitter, and also allows a user to reference someone and have them realize it.

• Learn to love the hashtag - the "#" for those new to the game. Twitter.com provides an explanation online that should prove helpful to newbies:

Definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.

Hashtags: Helping you find interesting Tweets

• People use the hashtag symbol # before relevant keywords in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets to show more easily in Twitter Search
• Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other Tweets in that category
• Hashtags can occur anywhere in the Tweet
• Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics

For instance, one might Tweet:

"This Tweet is about #hashtags" or "Learning how to categorize my Tweets. #hashtag"

As Twitter.com points out," the third party site hashtags.org offers an overview of popular hashtags used on Twitter. Find out about trends, look at small, pretty graphs, and search to see if the hashtags of your fantasies exist."