Of Making Twitter Work For You

47 Comments
Twitter profile @Beatonm5 Award winning blogger

I logged into twitter about ten years ago, and I have never logged out. (Ok I have logged out but I have never really left)

Do you hear that, playing in the background, faint music…… voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say…

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here
You can log-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!

It’s such a messy, unruly place nobody quite understands it, not even its creators, it’s provocative yet addictive, it can be triggering and toxic, it can also be highly informative with real time insights and opinions on whats going in the world in general or any field in particular.

To check out my favourite Twitter Accounts of 2019 click on the button below:

Zim Twitter Accounts

I have been on this platform for so long I follow a ton of accounts, if I was your atypical social media influencer when I crossed 10K is when I would have unfollowed the whole internet and added tag DM FOR Promo on my bio.

When you have a Timeline with a Twitter feed from a lot of people, you cant possibly interact with a very tweet, you blink and the timeline refreshes with 100s of tweets. Twitter is a crowded room with everyone talking to themselves and @ each other.

For my sanity I navigate Twitter via curated Twitter Lists.

Depending on my mood and reason for browsing my twitter here are some of the lists I have

Reliable Sources

Twitter lists

Twitter is easily a hub of opinion and social commentary disguised as fact, so I identified a few tweeps who seem to tweet sensible grounded information and news. The list mostly has journalists who cover Zimbabwean media so scrolling through the feed can quickly give me insights on developing situations in the country. I tried to curate a list that had objective individuals and not the sensational seekers who just want to be quick with the story without verification or due diligence.

Home Brewed

This list has tweets of local artists and musicians from this teapot shaped country and a quick scan of that and I can see updates from my fave celebs.

Zimnoxion

This a list with my “Zimbabwean connections” for when I want to check in on whats going on in the Twimbos community.

Writing Community

#writingcommunity

Well that one is pretty much self explanatory.

I also have lists for Bloggers, African Bloggers, brands I want to keep an eye, people who watch the same TV soapies as me, people whose tweets make me laugh, people I met during some fellowship or workshop, I have a pile a lists. Not all lists are equal.

*Fun fact: you don’t even have to be following someone to add them to a list. So you can create a secret list of all the people you are stalking… I mean doing background research on.

Creating a twitter list

I am not saying follow my lists, I am saying go make your own^_^

If you have not curated your own lists you are just giving yourself an unnecessary headache and eventually you will think you need to not follow or unfollow, mute or block some people because your Timeline will become way too chaotic to keep up with, you cant read every tweet on the internet.

Hashtags

Hashtags are also your friends, use these to find content and tweets that you relate with, (for an author I recommend #amwriting or #writingcommunity to find tweeps who write) One my personal faves is #vss which stands for very short stories, most of my tweets are of this format and eventually grow into a story or serve as inspiration. My Twitter Timeline is mostly a draft folder of ideas. Wednesdays evenings I host a poetry event Hashtagged #AbWPE if you are of poetic persuasion do check it out.

Twitter Search

I usually search for my old tweets and have come to find that the search function is one of Twitter’s most powerful features. Twitter is like the Goggle of Social Media. There’s a lot of settings you can customise to narrow down a particular search field to find out whats being said by people near you about lets say a coup or protest or price hike or covid.

Twitter Search filters and advanced settings

Trending Topics

Twitter trends can also show you what people are tweeting about, you can set these based on people you follow or you can set a location

 Tweetdeck

If you are a Twitter power user, I recommend you check Tweetdeck.com it’s the official Twitter dashboard for multiple accounts and multiple streams of feed. With Tweetdeck you can easily scan through hashtags, lists or accounts and various other options and have everything under one tab of the internet which is useful if you are marketing or running a business or listening for your brand or simply trying to connect with fellow bloggers from across the internet.

Tweetdeck

Schedule tweets

And finally I don’t know if you noticed Twitter finally has a Schedule Tweet option (this option used to only be found in Tweetdeck and other 3rd party social media management) So you know what? You can schedule those blog promotion tweets to show up at a decent hour instead of while everyone is sleeping.

What I really want is an edit button.

Follow me on Twitter @Beatonm5

~B

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47 Comments

      4. That time I thought I had broken it down, looks like I might have to do a Twitter basics. 😂
        Do tell which part needs attention, let me see how I can clarify for you.
        ~B

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Everything 😂
        I kept reading cause I wanted to know more but I kept proving myself clueless 😂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Even with a ghost account you can still use it to keep track of some things, you do not necessarily have to even tweet from it 😂
      ~B

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      Reply

  4. Wow! Talk about using less than 10% of something’s capabilities. I didn’t even know you could make lists on twitter but then again I still need social media 101 guide.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Making lists will totally change your twitter experience, you should try it out. E.g Like try making a list for Bloggers you met during WinterABC. You are welcome.

      In some circles I low key do social media management 😂😂
      ~B

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      Reply

  6. I’m so amazed 😂 I’ve been on Twitter for a couple of years and most of this is news to me!
    The edit button is really all we ask for!
    Thanks for such an informative post. I’ll be curating my content using this now

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Hahaha but I understand their reasons for not giving an edit option it could cause malicious intentions like when someone tweets something it goes viral then edits the tweet to say something totally different.

      ~B

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  10. My head is a spinning but in a good way! You do have a wonderful way of explaining, I don’t Twitter. Soooo that being said it is nice to know there’s a way of organizing all the tweets. It’s also interesting to know there’s no way you can comment and keep up with it being so fluid it actually sounds overwhelming. Hence why I stay away. I can barely keep up with the 3 social media places I visit and enjoy! Maybe someday I’ll check out twitter! Or maybe I’ll do it soon and try lists and follow you for sure! You’re a wealth of knowledge and I enjoy your blog posts! 😁

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I totally understand, Twitter is wild, but it allows for great connectivity which is also both good and bad … and if you have noticed on news channels they even give feedback based on comments from tweets than any other social media site…
      hahahaha if you ever jump onto the twitter pond, do come and find me
      ~B

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You have me intrigued to check it out!! I guess it can’t hurt, if I feel overwhelmed I’ll just leave. Thanks, you are always inspiring!! ❤️ I’ll come find you if I do!

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  11. I’m a Twitter noob for sure. Thanks for letting me know that I can now schedule Tweets. I still use TweetDesk for that, though. I like it.
    Yes! Lists are so important. I have a couple of them, too. They make it a lot easier.
    The “packed room full of people wanting to speak” is a great analogy and it’s something that I don’t like all that much.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  13. Love this!! I am definitely coming back to this article for guidance once I sort out my school work and have some free time

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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