Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called “tweets”. I rarely meet a Twitter user who doesn’t want more followers. Therefore, I’d like to share with you how I have built my own follower count to more than 240,000 followers since I began with Twitter.

• Practice strategic following. By this I mean, follow people in your industry. 【小题1】. If they retweet (转发信息) you, it means you will be introduced to their followers.

• Be generous in linking to and retweeting others. 【小题2】. The more you link to others, the more people will be thankful to you in return. And that’s exactly what must happen for you to grow your follower count. You need others to introduce you to their followers.

• Avoid too much promotion. Yes, you can advertise your blog posts, products, etc. on Twitter, but be careful. 【小题3】. If you do, others will hate you. Not only will you not get additional followers, you will annoy your existing followers and many of them will unfollow you.

• Don’t use an auto-responder. I used to use Social Oomph to thank everyone who followed me and provide a link to my “Beginner’s Guide to Twitter”. I thought I was being polite and helpful. 【小题4】. Avoid it.

Finally, don’t worry too much about the numbers. If you follow the advice I have given above, the numbers will take care of themselves.【小题5】 I didn’t build my following overnight and neither will you.

If you’re new in a school or you are shy, making new friends might seem like a challenge. Luckily, you can overcome (克服) that challenge by following the tips below.

【小题1】. You’re more likely to be friends with someone if you have something in common with them. Try to find clubs or groups based on your favorite hobbies and then join them to meet like-minded people. Also, pay attention to people who spend their free time doing the same things you love to do.

Introduce yourself to new people whenever possible. 【小题2】, it can be inviting to just sit there quietly, especially if you’re shy. However, you and the other person will both be more comfortable after a simple introduction. Make eye contact with the person, smile, and try to seem warm and relaxed instead of nervous or anxious. 【小题3】. If there is music playing, for instance, try saying something like, “I love this song, don’t you?”

Give other people some space. 【小题4】, even if they’re your friends. Don’t expect too much of their time and attention. Be there for them when they need you and continue to extend invitations, but don’t feel upset if they turn you down because they are busy or need some time alone.

Overcome your fear of rejection. One of the biggest difficulties to reach out and make new friends is the fear that we will not be accepted. Try not to take it personally if someone does not accept your invitation. Understand that the rejection may have more to do with who the other person is than it has to do with you. 【小题5】.

Have you wanted to try an e-book? Has the cost of e-books stopped you? Well, there are e-books that you can download.【小题1】Others share information about where to find free or discounted e-books.

There are several reasons some e-books are free. In some cases, the book’s copyright(版权)has come to an end. In other cases, writers offer books for free to grow a readership. 【小题2】The writer hopes you will like the first book enough to buy those that follow. Similarly, Amazon is filled with free books, with a list of the top 100 free e-books. This list changes constantly, based on how well the books are “selling” and whether they become or remain free.

When you find a free e-book you want to read, get it right away. 【小题3】 If you wait too long, you may discover the book now has a price attached.

【小题4】 They offer free e-book files to download directly from the sites. These files could have bad software designed to infect your computer. It is best not to download e-books, or any file, from an unknown site．

Some free e-book sites offer referral(推荐)links to other websites. 【小题5】 These referral sites help you find free e-books of interest to you. They also let you know when an e-book is free or goes on sale.