So you have signed up with Twitter account and uploaded your profile picture.
You've even tweeted your first tweet.
Pretty soon you'll be hooked.
Or maybe you are a Twitter veteran, with scads of followers hanging on your every word.
Either way, make sure you aren't overlooking one of the best features that Twitter has to offer...
The ability to create your own Twitter background!
Twitter has a number of pre-designed backgrounds you can choose from, but they really aren't anything special.
Besides, why settle for standard when you can completely customize your own background to fit your own needs and personality?
Look at it this way. Twitter is inviting you to make your page look however you want (within terms of service, of course).
This means you can select color schemes similar to your blog if you wish.
You can include text that tells more about you and even display urls for your sites.
You can make it professional. You can make it silly. Be clever. Or be ridiculous. It's your background, so I encourage you to make it your own.
I've had a number of custom backgrounds created over the past few years, and I even recommended a service called TwitArt.com in the first edition of my book Twitter Power.
However, I received well over a dozen complaints from people regarding the service and support at this company and was forced to retract my endorsement. They have been removed from the upcoming second edition of Twitter Power.
Since that time, TwitArt.com has come under new management. I have not used their service and can not speak to the quality. But I did want to let you know that there are different people in charge.
Regardless, I have discovered a new company that does custom Twitter background design (and more), and wanted to introduce you to them.
The company is called TweetPages.com, and it is owned by a gentleman named Matt Clark.
I was intrigued by the design of Matt's site and asked him to create a Twitter background for me.
Matt is the first person I have seen design custom Twitter backgrounds designed for multiple resolutions.
Here is my current Twitter background that Matt designed. Click it to see it full-sized.
Not only is the design clever, but I appreciate the thoughtfulness put into designing a background that will look good regardless of the browser or screen resolution it is viewed at. Matt designs with the most popular resolutions in mind, so most viewers won't have any of the images covered or cut off.
I opted for a more "silly" look on this background, but if you'll visit Matt's site you will see examples of the work he has done.
AND, because I am now an affiliate of Matt's, I was able to get him to provide a 10% off coupon code to save you money!
Once you find a package that suits you, simply enter coupon code TWTPWR to receive your discount.
As an aside, I enjoy Matt as a person. Having spoken on the phone with him, I have had an opportunity to understand his philosophy of life and business. I think he's coming from a real good place and I recommend doing business with him.
To demonstrate this, I have embedded one of Matt's videos below. It speaks directly to an issue that I believe is very important. And in his own creative manner, Matt states it quite elegantly.
Check it out and be sure to check out TweetPages.com!
Hi Joel
Another good post!
The video is great and we will all do well to take heed!
Roland
Thanks for introducing us to Matt's service. Will hop over.
Greatly appreciated the video too. Great wake-up call!
Janice
Thank you for the recommendation.
I checked out your profile at 1280 x 800 and 1920 x 1200 and it looks much better since it was designed to look good at various resolutions. Many times at 1920 x 1200, I loose the right side of many peoples Twitter profiles.
I especially enjoyed the video. Says a lot about the connected society, priorities, and focus.
Clay
thanks for the updated info. i was just listening to the audio of your book and taking notes while i'm driving on your suggestions. i will check out matt's site.
also, loved his video! applies to everyone i know with a cell phone!
Thst video rocks. It's on the button though, it's a real challenge unplugging at times.
You were right on about Matt and Tweetpages. I have known Matt for over 25 years and he is without a doubt the most creative, honest, and genuine person you will ever want to know. I strongly endorse his business because he will give you a great product and excellent service. In addition he has a top notch team working with him in Stephanie and Bailey.
Another awesome post Joel,
tweetpages is a MUST for anyone, i have got an awesome background done, that completely lists all my social media sites etc.
Shaqir