NH Web Design Blog

Tweeting vs. Blogging

I was originally drawn to Twitter because of its simplicity. I could write a post in less than 5 minutes and it was fun. Tweeting also seemed much easier than blogging. But this trendy tool became an emotional roller coaster ride for a while.

I was reminded of this when I asked the writer of a great tutorial blog if he was on Twitter. He responded:

I don’t know if I have time to have a Twitter account. From what I have heard, it ends up taking over your life.

He was right. I admitted to myself that, for a short period, Twitter had taken over my life. I was obsessed with it like so many others. But I have since gained a healthier perspective on it.

My Twitter Journey

I started Tweeting in February of 2009 and hopped on that emotional ride. First, I was struck with Twitter mania (frequent daily thoughts of Twitter that gave me an adrenaline rush). Then I had bouts of Twitter phobia (fears of posting something I would later regret), and finally Twitter fatique. ( I was completely worn out from it.) If you’ve ever felt the Twitter mania and subsequent obsession, Tim Ferriss has 5 Great Rules that can help you keep your Twitter Use Under Control: How to Use Twitter Without Twitter Owning You – 5 Tips.

My Twitter phobia started after I signed up for Qwitter. This service e-mails you when someone stops following you on Twitter. I woke up on some perfectly normal days to find Qwitter emails in my inbox. One set of Qwitter emails came after I tweeted my condolences to the people in Italy (following the horrible earthquake in April). I think it was because I included the word “prayers.” I was insulted, but couldn’t explain to the people around me that I was just annoyed with my “Qwitters.”

I had also been asking some questions on Twitter and was discouraged when I received no responses.

What a total waste of time, I thought, trying to console myself. I began to suffer from Twitter fatique. Laura Hale describes this fatigue well in I’m Growing Tired of Twitter.

Retweeting

I didn’t Retweet at first. This was one of my mistakes. Retweeting seemed like plagiarizing to me. But, I learned that when you Retweet (repeating someone else’s post and giving them credit), it is actually a high form of praise. The key is to give credit by mentioning the person’s Twitter name in your post. See Tweetiquette for Beginners or the Ultimate Guide to Retweet For Twitter Users to learn more about Retweeting and responding to others on Twitter. When I started Retweeting, I became more connected in the Twitter community. It was a good move.

Twitter Followers

I have my Twitter preferences set up so that I get an email when someone starts to follow me. I don’t follow everyone who follows me, and feel that this is one of the best decisions I’ve made regarding Twitter. James Richardson explains my philosophy well in Twitter Nuke. He says:

Twitter is about being social through interaction, making genuine connections, and learning from one another. If someone you are following is not in any of those categories, then ask yourself this one simple question: Am I using Twitter the right way?

Choosing Not To Follow Others

When people sign up for Twitter, they are given the opportunity to upload a profile picture and write a very short biography about themselves. I rarely follow people who have the default brown profile picture shown here and no biography listed. I am suspicious of them. Some are spammers.

I admit that I was about to follow one media specialist, then changed my mind. She had a great profile picture and an interesting biography. But when I checked her tweets, I learned that 80% of them were about wine or beer or stopping at the local pub. This did not seem like a good business decision on her part.

I also don’t follow people who engage in high pressure sales, tweet in foreign languages, or discuss very specific topics like golf. I’m sure some are great people, but I have chosen to make my Twitter timeline meaningful to me. I don’t auto follow. I pick and choose. So when I read my Twitter timeline, I see people who write about topics that interest me and others I consider funny, witty, or inspiring.

Unfollowing Others

I admit it. I’ve unfollowed people before. I stopped following one perfectly nice web development guy with a friendly profile picture. I just didn’t understand his tweets. I unfollowed someone else because he was posting constantly and filling up my timeline. I saw his profile picture 6 times in a row and I just grew tired of him.

Writing a Good Tweet

I am still learning about good tweets vs. bad tweets, but I agree with Harry McCracken. He suggests not answering the question “What are you doing?” in Twitter. What I Know About Twitter.

The best Tweets tend to make an observation, take a stance, or crack a joke–none of which fall under the umbrella of using Twitter to tell the world what you’re doing.

My Next Step

My next step along my Twitter journey is to work on my connections with those I’m following. According to Dan Hollings in Twitter be Nimble, Twitter be Quick, if you don’t know Jack, try these Twitter Tricks:

It pays to be interesting to your followers, but it pays more to be interested in your followers.

I will also participate in #FollowFriday. It is a ritual of tweeting Twitter member names that you recommend other people follow. This is done every Friday. However, I am going to use the approach of this first example. Here the twitter user explains why people should follow @writerdad.

Even though, this second example adds my Twitter name @Crimson_Designs in his list of recommendations, the writer just throws it in with a bunch of others and doesn’t explain why. He makes posts like this all day every Friday. My name is just one out of hundreds. I don’t think the guy has a clue who I am.

I will continue to use Tweetbeep, to notify me via e-mail whenever someone mentions my Twitter name. I also just found Twellow. It is a search directory and includes a fantastic tool called Twellowhood where you can click on a map to find people near you. It is currently available for people in the United States and Canada. I tried it out and found people living in New Hampshire who use Twitter.

I found one interesting twitter member who is only 8 miles away from my studio. I was so excited about finding this person and discovering the usefulness of this new tool, I had the sudden urge to share my news. And, you guessed it, I posted it on my Twitter account.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 3:25 pmand is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.