This month marks Twitter’s eighth birthday, with the prolific social media site registering over 230 million active users in its short life.

It’s the site where Ellen Degeneres shared her epic Oscars selfie (which broke records with over 3 million retweets) and Justin Bieber (50 million followers) and Barack Obama (41 million followers) vie to take top spot from Katy Perry, who leads the charge with over 51 million followers.

If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

Twitter’s undeniable staying power and popularity prove that if you’re still not quite on the bandwagon, there’s no time like the present. Here are some failsafe tips for increasing your Twitdom in, fittingly, 140 characters or less.

Tag it up

Follow

Find your niche

Keep it regular

 Be funny

 Be responsive

Don’t be a hater

Give shout-outs

Don’t be dull

Flash your face

Short and sweet

Pimp your profile

Time your tweets

Have fun!