How do you use Twitter?

Filed under Proactive Writer.

BubbleCow TwitterTwitter has become one of the pillars of any writer’s online platform. Yet, over time, the way people use Twitter has changed.

My (@bubblecow) approach is to try and add as much value as possible to my followers. I do this by using Social Oomph to send out regular tweets throughout the day. I also use Tweetdeck to keep track of my followers.

The past few weeks have seen me experimenting with private Twitter lists. My approach is to produce many small lists of people, each with their own theme. I then follow these closely, interacting where possible. The aim being to get as much out of a small number of key people as possible.

How do you use Twitter? Has it changed since you first signed up? How do you follow large numbers of people and still get value? How do you decide to RT?

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  • Anonymous

    So true Gary… Twitter’s Lists Feature is one of the best things they have come out with. It really helps organise people and hence increase conversations. Am following the same approach.

    Aside – Have you tried Hootsuite, it has a dashboard like Tweetdeck and scheduler like SocialOomp all in one. It also allows for facebook and other networks posting for free.

    Cheers
    ~F

    • garysmailes

      Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      I use Tweetdeck on my desktop for the @bubblecow account but do use HootSuite for my @garysmailes. The main reason is the app for my G1 android phone.

      Do you use private or public lists.

      • Anonymous

        I use a mix of both public and private lists.

        Public – Lists that I’d like to share with friends or if the list would be helpful others

        Private – Lists that are personal. (e.g. I have a spam list :D )

        What do you think… Would it be better to have lots of lists or just a few?

        • garysmailes

          I am experimenting with lots of very small lists. The idea being that I can pull out a few key people and get value from what they are saying. For example I have a Media Hacks list that contains just the guys from media hacks. http://www.mediahacks.org/

  • freya3377

    So true Gary… Twitter's Lists Feature is one of the best things they have come out with. It really helps organise people and hence increase conversations. Am following the same approach.

    Aside – Have you tried Hootsuite, it has a dashboard like Tweetdeck and scheduler like SocialOomp all in one. It also allows for facbook and other networks posting for free.

    Cheers
    ~F

  • garysmailes

    Thanks for taking the time to comment.

    I use Tweetdeck on my desktop for the @bubblecow account but do use HootSuite for my @garysmailes. The main reason is the app for my G1 android phone.

    Do you use private or public lists.

  • freya3377

    I use a mix of both public and private lists.

    Public – Lists that I'd like to share with friends or if the list would be helpful others

    Private – Lists that are personal. (e.g. I have a spam list :D )

    What do you think… Would it be better to have lots of lists or just a few?

  • garysmailes

    I am experimenting with lots of very small lists. The idea being that I can pull out a few key people and get value from what they are saying. For example I have a Media Hacks list that contains just the guys from media hacks. http://www.mediahacks.org/

  • http://www.Leigh-Anne-Lindsey.com/ Leigh Anne Lindsey

    Well – as a new tweeter for less than a week – it’s like I’ve become Alice and the hole is really, really deep – fascinating, confusing, enlightening. BookBuzzer so far is my fave for writing info – but all these other tools…really? I’m going back to my writing….

    • garysmailes

      Thanks for taking the time to comment…Twitter can be very confusing. My advice would be to take it slowly and focus on building a few meaningful relationships. I have thousands of followers but still struggle to interact in a meaningful way with most of them. I focus on sending out high value links and keep my fingers crossed that people that need help will come to me. What’s your twitter name?

  • http://www.Leigh-Anne-Lindsey.com/ Leigh Anne Lindsey

    Well – as a new tweeter for less than a week – it's like I've become Alice and the hole is really, really deep – fascinating, confusing, enlightening. BookBuzzer so far is my fave for writing info – but all these other tools…really? I'm going back to my writing….

  • garysmailes

    Thanks for taking the time to comment…Twitter can be very confusing. My advice would be to take it slowly and focus on building a few meaningful relationships. I have thousands of followers but still struggle to interact in a meaningful way with most of them. I focus on sending out high value links and keep my fingers crossed that people that need help will come to me. What's your twitter name?