So I spent the weekend learning about Twitter. I've heard it all: "It's a time waster." "It is social media a writer must be a part of." "Don't be annoying." "It isn't all about you, promote your followers." ... Anyway, when there is something I don't understand, or even worse feel like I'm being left out because of my own ignorance, I kick into overdrive to figure it out. After boiling down the essentials, these are some basic things I've learned.
1) Just like blogging it is about building a community. In other words, it's not just about you.
2) While you might think everyone that follows you may be interested in what you had for breakfast, most of us are not.
3) Don't clog the twitter feed with personal conversations. That's what DM (direct messaging) is for.
4) If you can't say it in less than 140 characters, blog or Facebook. Following an ongoing conversation on the twitter feed is too much work.
5)Tweetdeck is an awesome way to see it all at once and participate effectively.
Here are some great resources:
Twitter Basics Part 1 [Stephanie's first part of a 3 part series.]
Just for laughs!
What bugs you about twitter? What's the worst tweet you've seen lately?
