Monday, October 20, 2008

How Do You Twitter?

I’ve been on Twitter for a while now. I’ve pretty much gotten it down. I’ve gotten good at keeping my messages under 140 characters without much of a problem. I know how to reply, how to send direct messages, how to find people to follow.

I tweet several times a day. I try to spread re-tweets out since I know people sign on at different times and by the time a follower signs on, your first or second tweet about a subject or blog is long gone from their view. I tweet about my blog, new things on my site, other blogs I stumble across and like, my co-op blog, publishing news, writing tips, and occasionally I tweet something personal.

I’ve noticed some folks tweet mostly about personal stuff, like what they ate for breakfast, whether it’s rainy or sunny, where they are as they type, and so on. Some folks talk about a blog or site, but don’t give the URL so followers can visit.

What about you? How often do you tweet each day? I probably do anywhere from 5 to 10. What do you tweet about? How much time do you spend finding people to follow? Do you use Twitter for socializing or business?

How do you Twitter?

24 comments:

  1. I tweet as often as I can. I started out only tweeting about promotion, but now have been following what other tweeters write and commenting to them. Also, making more personal comments at times.

    Morgan Mandel
    www.morganmandel.com
    http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

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  2. That's something I learned rather slowly -- to reply to other folks' tweets.

    Thanks Morgan.

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  3. I try to keep the personal stuff to a minimum, and I'm using more direct messages to respond to other tweeters. I rarely spend time looking for new people to follow, because I don't want the list to become so big that I miss posts from people I really care about. But I seem to get new followers every day.

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  4. I like your approach LJ. I need to use the direct message feature more.

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  5. Helen,

    I mostly tweet about interesting blog articles and always include the URL so other interested folks can go read too.

    I tweet everyday, but usually only once or twice a day with 2-3 messages each time. I don't look for new people to follow (don't remember how). I used to respond to other people's tweets, but I found this gadget for my blog that allows me to read and tweet from my blog page. Problem is, I can't reply/respond/direct message from there, so I lose that.

    Charlotte

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  6. I've never tweeted. I need to check it out.

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  7. That's interesting Charlotte. I have a widget that shows my three most recent tweets on my blog (2 most recent on my site), but yours sounds as though you're seeing other people's tweets to you on your blog and then you can respond from there.

    Hmm.

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  8. I think you'd find tweeting fun and valuable, Brooke. It's a good way to make friends and promote your blogs and podcasts as well.

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  9. I couldn't really see the purpose at first and I ended up turning off the phone updates. Haven't visited in a while. I'll have to check it out again.

    With me, I have my phone all the time, but my computer access is limited these days because I'm soooo busy. Maybe I'll turn the phone updates on again and see if I can get the hang of it. :-)

    Keith

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  10. I was on Twitter for a while but quit. Keeping up with blogs time-consuming enough. Twitter is about 95 percent content-free, as far as I'm concerned. Not worth it.

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  11. Hi Keith. I don't know that I would want phone updates. Seems like so many tweets would come in that having them come in via the phone would be annoying and distracting!

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  12. I guess, Kitt, it may depend on what you're using Twitter for. If you're looking for content, then you have to be very selective about who you follow. If you're wanting to put your content out there to others, then you try to follow as many as you can that seem as though they'd be interested in what you have to say.

    I admit, though, that there are certain people that I follow who have more tweets that I click on or reply to than others.

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  13. I use netvibes so that I can see the blogs I'm interested in and Twitter (I can actually tweet and reply from there.) It saves me a lot of time.

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  14. I tweet probably five times a day.
    cmr

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  15. I tweet two or three times a day. I'm a little frustrated that my work computer is blocking my tweeting during the day because much of my tweeting has to do with the library, books and authors.

    And, I follow tweeters in the book world, authors, publicists, and publishers, because that's my interest. I've had a couple good relationships come about because of twitter.

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  16. It's interesting to find this subject here today because I just joined Twitter yesterday. :) I just got the edits for my new novel back and I thought it would be fun to Tweet my way through it, letting my blog readers (and perhaps new Twitter readers) in on the editing process, what comments my editor made, etc.

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  17. Karen -- I think that would be interesting.

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  18. Lesa,
    That's usually the kind of tweeters I try to follow as well -- just throw in some fellow editors.

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  19. I tell ya what, Chris, on busy days like today 3 times is about all I can tweet, too. Man, I'm still racing.

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  20. Christine, I have never heard of netvibes. No clue what it is!

    'Course, there is plenty I am clueless about.

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  21. I get a good deal of traffic to my blog through Twitter, and that has really made it worth it for me. If a woman blogs and no one hears her, does she make her mark?

    As for the content - I liken it to swimming in a school of fish vs. sitting in the surf. When you swim with the fish, they're all around you, so sooner or later you're going to absorb bits of information. I would have been clueless about Joe the Plumber, cupcake blogs, and Google Reader had it not been for Twitter. If you just sit on the shore, all you'll get is a bit of dead seaweed every now and then!

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  22. I tweet throughout the day, often keeping up with other writers. Now that NaNoWriMo is starting up, a lot of my twitter friends are sharing plotting and writing tips. I use twitter to promote my friends good news, good causes, my blog and to promote worthy pages for the company I freelance for. I also get a little personal from time to time to keep things light and friendly. I love networking, but a lot of times it feels impersonal.

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  23. I have resisted Twitter. My time is limited, and I don't enjoy chatting. Perhaps wrongly, I associate Twitter with chatting, and as much as I've heard about it and as many invitations as I continue to get, it doesn't have any appeal for me ... at least not yet.

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  24. Lillie,

    I totally understand what you're saying. You have to limit your time to what you feel is best for you.

    I do believe that some people come to my blog because I tweet. But even that doesn't mean Twitter if the best thing for me to be doing. Especially now when I am really crunched for time.

    But it is easy to do, doesn't take much time, and so I plan to continue as long as I continue feeling this way.

    Some authors see it as a way to promote themselves and their books. But, gracious! There's only so much time in the day.

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