A twibe, or twitter tribe, is based on a website separate to Twitter called twibes.com. Essentially, a twibe is a group of twitter users. By ensuring their tweets contain a keyword, tweets by twibe members can be read by everyone in the twibe.
As an example, I have created a twibe http://twibes.com/JWs for twitter users who are Jehovah's Witnesses. By tweeting this URL, a tweeter joins the twibe. Thereafter, by including the letters JWs in a tweet, the tweet appears in the twibe tweet history, or timeline.
Once part of the twibe, a person can enter a tweet directly into the twibe timeline and have it appear only in that timeline, or have it ALSO included in their normal timeline, where it becomes visible to their normal followers as well.
So why use a twibe instead of just using normal Twitter hashtags? A hashtag is simply where a tweet includes a word or an abbreviation preceded by a # symbol, such as #JWs. Whilst it is possible to search Twitter by hashtags, a twibe offers a few more benefits.
- Tweets shown in the twibe timeline are limited to those made by twibe members, whereas a search by hashtag will show tweets by anyone using the tag.
- Some use a hashtag inappropriately and so skew search results, maybe filling the search results page with rubbish. Twibe tweets are deliberately aimed at the twibe and are normally all relevant.
- A twibe founder can remove a twibe member's tweets from the twibe timeline if they turn out to be off-topic or otherwise unacceptable.
- It is possible to post a tweet onto the twibe timeline by tweeting from the twibe homepage and not have the tweet appear in your own Twitter timeline. This can be useful in sharing information to the twibe in a private way.
- You do not have to follow someone to see their tweets in the twibe timeline. You just have to join the twibe to see all twibe members' tweets.
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