Twitter provides a simple double-O graphic as the default image for users. You are going to replace that with a photo of you.

Select a headshot of yourself that clearly shows your face, and is not a full body shot.

Avoid grainy images or taking the photo yourself. The perspective of a camera aimed down the arm toward the face is not a good choice. Pointing a camera into the mirror to take a photo is not a good choice either.

Have another person take your photo against a neutral background, and focus on your face. Give a nice smile and that’s it.

You want your followers to connect your tweets with your face.

Don’t skip this step by substituting a photo of your pet or kids, or your favorite sports team’s logo. Build a brand that is about YOU.

Background Design

Twitter offers a handful of background designs for your Twitter page. You can select from their default options, or tweak the color schemes to suit your tastes.

You can also build your own. Try Mashable’s how to for specific instructions. For now, choose one of the options that Twitter provides since this option is one of taste, and not one that impacts your activity.

Mobile

Twitter was built on the premise of being used mostly on cell phones.

Click the Mobile tab to set up your cell phone to access the service. Check with your cell phone provider to find out if or how they charge you for text messages and tweets before proceeding. If you have a high volume or unlimited text messaging plan, this should not be an issue.

Notifications

After you complete the set up process on your phone, Twitter will send a code via text message. Send that code to 40404 in the US, 21212 in Canada or +44 7624801423 in all other parts of the world.

This sets up your phone to send and receive tweets. Remember, though, that once you start following a lot of people, you will not want your phone going off every few minutes with updates. To prevent that, send the word “stop” or “quit” to the Twitter number for your part of the world (as noted in the paragraph above).

Twitter also provides a variety of notifications to you via email or cell phone when certain actions happen.

Among the choices available, opt in for when you receive a direct message from any follower. If you are not checking Twitter on your computer or phone regularly, this alerts you immediately to tweets that probably need your attention. You can reply from your phone or computer.

You can choose to allow selected users’ tweets to update your phone as they’re posted if you prefer. Simply send the message “on [username]” to the Twitter number. All tweets by that user will now appear on your phone as they are posted.

I recommend experimenting with this approach. You may have certain follows that you want to tweet with throughout the day when your phone is your only means of access. Having this feature on full-time will become tedious and time-consuming if you have too many updates coming through. Turn it on and off at will, based on your preference. The users you select for this feature will not know you are changing your settings.

I’m looking for comments and feedback by those who are actively interviewing, and to hear what’s happening with you, what is working and what isn’t.