On Using Twitter

This is, of course, my opinion, and I suspect that many long-time Twitterites will agree with my assessments herein, but this is something that I had been thinking about writing for some time.

I originally was not a fan of Twitter. Twitter had originally been a “throw away” service. It got slammed (and still is in some corners) by a lot of people asking “who cares what you’re eating?”. 140 characters of me time made public was narcissistic and basically useless. I thought the same, which I now realize was due more to my instant dislike of anything “trendy” for trendiness’ sake, and less because the service was inherently flawed.

At some point, though, it moved beyond the gee-whiz stage when it was picked up by celebrities (who are the ultimate narcissists anyway) and even news outlets. It spilled over into all manner of industries who recognized it as a way to get their brands into people’s faces without spending a dime on marketing.

 

Twitter is an Onion

To the Twitter noob, wading into the established sea can be confusing: why would I want to, or how can I find people worth following?. The key thing to understand, IMO, is that Twitter works on two levels: The broadcast, and the community.

Broadcasting is done by most celebrities, public figures and many companies. Sometimes they can’t help it; celebrities have a brand to push (themselves) and let’s face it: it could be a real PR nightmare if they respond to individual fans who may or may not be psychologically unhinged. Companies who broadcast are simply doing it wrong. They see Twitter as a way to spam consumers. People who only follow these kinds of accounts are going to get bored, will think that Twitter is only for shallow updates, and will quickly walk away.

The community level, however, is where the real action is at. This level requires some real work on the part of the user, because Twitter is like a garden: it takes time and effort to cultivate, and you’re constantly ripping out weeds. If you can get to this level as a new Twitter user, you’ll be pleased with what you find.

 

Habits of Highly Effective Twitterers

How can someone get started with Twitter? What does one look for, and what does one need to avoid? Here’s my take:

1. Scrutinize people who broadcast: Notice I didn’t say unfollow. Some broadcasters are worth following. For example, if you have a favorite news website, but don’t want to hit the site every 10 minutes or use RSS…follow them! Other accounts, like @ShitMyDadSays or @FakeAPStyleBook are designed to broadcast absolutely hilarious things. But avoid following people who do nothing but throw out quotes or other inspirational garbage. Once you get into a decent community, you’ll find all the inspiration you need.
2. Start with lists: Twitter offers lists which are compiled by users and adhere to a theme. Check out http://listorious.com/ for a search engine that allows you to search by topic or users. With lists, you know that the people you follow all share at least a common bond surrounding a topic. Beware, though! Just because someone is on a specific list doesn’t mean that they only talk about that subject.
3. Friends and Family: Get your friends and family into Twitter. Yeah, most people use Facebook for that kind of connection, and most people who run both Twitter and FB draw a line between the two. To paraphrase a quote that was floated around Twitter a while back: Facebook is for people you went to high school with; Twitter is for people you WISH you went to high school with. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start a core group of mutual followers amongst your friends and family. Twitter is more portable then FB, with desktop and mobile clients for any OS and any device.
4. Watch for Follow Friday: Follow Friday – or #FF – is when Twitterers throw out a list of some of the people that they follow in the hopes that people who follow them can find new people to follow. It’s an application of six-degrees of separation: Chances are if I am following you then I might be interested in following people that you are following.
5. Hijack Conversations: This is a double duty point. Sometimes you’ll see people replying to the same person over and over. Follow that person! Also, if you feel that you have a point to contribute to the conversation, jump in and introduce yourself. If you’re not a total dickweed, you can make new friends.
6. Out and about: If you’ve ended up on a blog that consistently provides great posts, follow them if they have a Twitter account. Not only will you get updates of their content, but you’ll also have a direct line to their author.
   

Pitfalls

What about the shady side of Twitter? Spam happens. Keyword spam happens a lot. Often times you’ll receive notification that you’re being followed. Always check the profile of new followers! If they’re a broadcaster, especially a broadcaster of junk like “Get more followers! Here’s how!” or other repetitive filth, block em.

Blocking is your friend, but like any weapon, use it wisely. With Twitter, you control your end of the conversation, both in what you say and who hears it. Because it’s conversation by election, you have the right to block anyone you like. Now, that’s counter to the idea of “free speech” if you’re squelching people who disagree with you, but know that everyone has this power. It can be both abused and also used as an equalizer. If you’re a douchebag, you will be blocked, and if you block too many people, you’ll be back at square one with no followers. Spammers, however, are fair game. Block away!

 

How To Use It

So once you have a well cultivated garden, what good is it? It’s very good, actually. The biggest myth about Twitter is that it’s one way only. 140 characters isn’t a lot, but it can be used for conversations if you become good at getting your point across with as few words as possible. There’s really no better situation to illuminate the benefits of Twitter then when you’re 20 Tweets deep into a real conversation.

Another benefit of Twitter is what is unofficially called the “hive mind”. You’ve got all of these people that you follow (and who hopefully follow you!) and you’ve got a specific question about a specific topic. You could search for it on the web, and hope you get a relevant answer…or you can ask about it on Twitter. Chances are someone out there knows the answer, or can point you in the right direction! This also works for recommendations for all kinds of things like books and movies.

Twitter is a powerful tool, and rewards those who can punch through it’s shallow layer to find the expanse of community beneath. The key is that you have to work on cultivating your follow list. Twitter isn’t about your follow:follower ratio, since for those who work hard to get as many followers as possibly negate it’s value immediately. Instead, if you can find a place in a tight-knit community, your follower count will represent people like you who share the same hobbies and ideas as you do. It becomes far more social then most other social networking tools out there today.