Saving Time with Twitter or I'll Follow you and You Follow Me
Before I started my twitter account, I believed this: "Like Facebook only a faster way to waste time." I'm still not sure I get it although I'm learning how to waste time connect with twitter.
Today I went through my dashboard to visit blogs I hadn't been to for awhile. I was procrastinating wanting to stay connected. Quite a few had twitter buttons. Aha! I follow & can now learn about their new posts through twitter instead of having to scroll through my dashboard. So yes, a faster way to waste time stay connected.
There's a lot I don't get about twitter. Like those who follow 10,000 people and somehow find my new account and start following me? He didn't look like a spammer. But, why? What's the benefit of following 10,000 people on twitter? So they'll follow you?
All this I'll follow you, you follow me, I'll friend you & you friend me, whether it's on twitter, Facebook or blogs has got me wondering:Are followers the new currency? *and btw I really really want to get to 275 here on my blog pleasepleaseplease*
Forget dollars, Euros or pounds. The new measure of success is our follower count. I'm waiting to hear this: "I want to be a millionaire hit a million followers by the time I'm thirty." (Correction: I won't hear it. I'll read it because it'll be a tweet.)
I'm barely on Twitter and Facebook. I'm constantly on my blog --which is an addiction I'm trying to resolve or at least balance with my life. I don't get Twitter or should I say I don't really know how to use it. I guess it's trying to make as many connections as possible.
Mary, Justine & christine, Like you guys, I love the blogging. If I can use twitter to make better & faster connections with bloggers (and up my follower count lol!) then I'm all for it. Although I know there's a lot more uses for it, I don't yet know what they are!
I don't tweet or facebook. I don't see what the big deal is. WHy do we have to let 800 people know we bought new blue shoes? I know I don't care.
I realize it's also used for other things and some writers have even had conversations with real live agents. But I'd rather blog. I like this way of social networking much better.
As for followers, I'd rather have 50 good 'friends' than 800 followers I don't know.
I'm still trying to figure out all the shortcuts to Twitter. It reminds me why I don't text much either, don't know the language. :) I'm sure there's a handbook somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.
I occasionally go into Facebook if someone "invites" me; but they do so much useless stuff, like Farmville. Like all of us, I have to prioritize. I don't have time for anything except my daughter, writing, church calling, and Blogger which I like the best. I really feel like I get to know the people behind the icons on Blogger. Facebook, okay, but Blogger's the best! Though I'm trying not to feel Follower mania. However, I have to admit it's fun to see a new face pop up. I follow back immediately!
Also, I'd rather spend some time getting a Shelfari icon set up, or a Goodreads. This is something else I haven't gotten into yet.
Just Blogger and the book thing could eat up one's time!!
LOL I don't do twitter so I can't really compare, but you're so right about the followers on blogger. Sometime I wonder what the point is if no one is actually going to read my posts. Wasn't the point of blogger to share creativity? Even if I don't comment all the time, I sure do read ALL of my follower's blog at least once a week. What's the point in WRITING a post in the first place if all you're after is to top up the didgits? No purpose in my opinion. The reason I want followers is so that more people are READING.
I've often wondered that too--how people find me, that is.
I definitely don't do the whole "you follow me, I'll follow you" anywhere--not Facebook (I only use it for my private life, college friends, high school, etc), not blogging (unless I feel a connection to that person and like their blog), and DEFINITELY NOT Twitter.
In fact, I only follow around 70 people. Most of them are through blogging. And some days those 70 people (and really, it's only 12 or so of them that tweet so much) clutter up my Twitter homepage so much that I wonder how those with 1000+ don't go crazy.
Jennifer, Thank you for being my 258th follower! I'm going to your blog and follow. Because yes if you follow me (and comment so I notice) I'll follow you lol!
I LOVE Twitter. It's basically a place to go to release those random thoughts that cross my mind when there is no one there in person to unleash them on. At least that's how *I* use Twitter.
I've just been reading an SF story in which thqt's pretty much happened - online popularity has become the only currency.
There comes a point, I think, where "follow you follow me" breaks down. You surely can't really follow 1000 people can you? Or 10,000? If your popular/interesting/amusing surely your number of followers will start to rise faster than the number of peopel you can follow.
By the way - did you see my post on automatically tweeting your blog posts? Can be useful!
I don't Twitter. Just the thought overwhelms me - but I was very happy to see your avatar in my comments this morning. I'm sorry I haven't been by more. Thanks for visiting! :-)
You crack me up, Karen. 10,000 followers?? Seriously?? He must be the guy that eternally ran for student office, but never got elected. When is the "CRUSH IT" for twitter users coming out? I feel so inclined.
I have a twitter but hardly ever use it, I took the plunge but after realizing it was even more confusing than blogger and facebook I gave up, there was nothing I could do! So you can't read my posts on twitter because I don't even know how to tweet properly!
I'm with you and all your followers... I'm on twitter but I don't really follow it. That being said, if we're all on twitter and not of us read the tweets, is there any point to it?
If a twitterer tweets but there's no one there to read it, is it really tweeting?
I don't think I play well with Twitter. If I were going to use it properly I'd need at least three different accounts - fiction, personal, and potentially *two* different logins to tweet on behalf of different projects at work.... I'd be spending the entire day just logging in and out of the darn thing!
Love Mise's comment above - very true - who is the leader if we are all followers?! I do like twitter but not sure how people who follow thousands ever see any tweets. Some folk are so prolific!
I find as I follow more people, I miss more from people I'd LIKE to see what they're saying... I KNOW there is a way around it... put them on a list or something... Generally if someone follows me though, I follow back, UNLESS, they are strictly a marketing whatever, or if they tweet more than about 3 times an hour--too often and they are clogging my feed.
Someone please explain twitter to me. I mean, I love to stay connected and be part of something larger than my own pitiful life, but where does anyone get the time?
I love love LOVE Twitter. I think it's a great way to network. For example, a recent book launch I went to was made up for 75 per cent of people from Twitter! It was great to put faces to names. I've also got some great interviews and opportunities though Twitter. But the trick is that you have to make the connection first on a personal level and use it for networking as a secondary function.
I'm on twitter - (as you know because we both follow each other, lol) - yet I rarely use it. There are some who utilise it really well with links to great publishing stories, but blogger is still my networking tool of choice.
I wish everyone with a twitter account a fun and happy time!!! I still don't get it - but then I don't get mobile phones either so I'm a bit of a fuddy duddy! :-)
Yay - nearly 260 followers and growing!!!! Fantastic!
When I first discovered Twitter, I was on all the time. I wasted so much time on there, it was scary. However, now, though I do visit every day, I don't post much. It feels too much like jumping into a conversation, unknown and uninvited.
But there are so many wonderful things I've found through Twitter, it's hard to stop.
I haven't tried Twitter yet. First I did Facebook, then I started a blog, and one of these days I'll try Twitter - I just need some time to get used to the idea. :)
I have an account for Facebook and Twitter, but never use them. I barely have time to blog sometimes and don't want to stretch myself further than I already am. I hope it works for you though, without becoming an addict! :)
Twitter takes somes getting used to, but it really is an awesome marketing tool. It's a way to build and reach a very large audience. The trick to twitter is searches and hashtags. That way you can filter to the things you are interested in (and find the people you should be connected to).
Unfortunately our number of followers on Twitter, Facebook, or even blogging can suck us into defining our worth, if we let it. More followers, more popular, better person. Yikes! Quality not quantity is an important value I need to constantly remind myself to avoid the vortex. I rarely tweet although my list count just keeps getting bigger!
I've been social networking a few years now and have come to think that those with fewer followers on FB/Twitter/Blog, etc., either have other priorities (all good, or eg: a real world life :) or are newbies.
On the flip side of that, someone with 1,000 followers? It could mean they have a good blog/Twitter presence, etc., Or just that maybe they are persistent. The value of their blog content or twitter feed, etc., is up everyone to decide on their own.
I'm like you. I'm on Twitter and very occasionally, I'll tweet something, but I just don't *get* it. All those hashmarks confuse me. lol
ReplyDeleteYou've got it! The more the merrier, right? I do FB and Twitter, but I'm rarely on there anymore. To busy connecting on blogger. ;-)
ReplyDelete~JD
I'm barely on Twitter and Facebook. I'm constantly on my blog --which is an addiction I'm trying to resolve or at least balance with my life. I don't get Twitter or should I say I don't really know how to use it.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's trying to make as many connections as possible.
Blogging is what I do most, I have no idea how to Twitter and Facebook is mostly for family and friends for me :)
ReplyDeleteBut, yeah, the more the merrier!
Mary, Justine & christine, Like you guys, I love the blogging. If I can use twitter to make better & faster connections with bloggers (and up my follower count lol!) then I'm all for it. Although I know there's a lot more uses for it, I don't yet know what they are!
ReplyDeleteCrystal, Another blogger fan! Especially because we're writers, I think blogs are just a lot more appealing and fun.
ReplyDeleteI don't tweet or facebook. I don't see what the big deal is. WHy do we have to let 800 people know we bought new blue shoes? I know I don't care.
ReplyDeleteI realize it's also used for other things and some writers have even had conversations with real live agents. But I'd rather blog. I like this way of social networking much better.
As for followers, I'd rather have 50 good 'friends' than 800 followers I don't know.
I'm still trying to figure out all the shortcuts to Twitter. It reminds me why I don't text much either, don't know the language. :) I'm sure there's a handbook somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.
ReplyDeleteMason
Thoughts in Progress
I occasionally go into Facebook if someone "invites" me; but they do so much useless stuff, like Farmville. Like all of us, I have to prioritize. I don't have time for anything except my daughter, writing, church calling, and Blogger which I like the best. I really feel like I get to know the people behind the icons on Blogger. Facebook, okay, but Blogger's the best! Though I'm trying not to feel Follower mania. However, I have to admit it's fun to see a new face pop up. I follow back immediately!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd rather spend some time getting a Shelfari icon set up, or a Goodreads. This is something else I haven't gotten into yet.
Just Blogger and the book thing could eat up one's time!!
LOL I don't do twitter so I can't really compare, but you're so right about the followers on blogger. Sometime I wonder what the point is if no one is actually going to read my posts. Wasn't the point of blogger to share creativity? Even if I don't comment all the time, I sure do read ALL of my follower's blog at least once a week. What's the point in WRITING a post in the first place if all you're after is to top up the didgits? No purpose in my opinion. The reason I want followers is so that more people are READING.
ReplyDeleteI've just been persuaded to try Twitter, but already I know I prefer blogging. With all this networking I've hardly any time for writing!
ReplyDeleteI totally get it. Finding a balance is difficult. I'm not sure I'm there yet, but I'm working on it.
ReplyDeleteAh twitter accounts, I poke mine every now and then to see if it's still alive, but for the most part I have no idea how to make it work.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered that too--how people find me, that is.
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't do the whole "you follow me, I'll follow you" anywhere--not Facebook (I only use it for my private life, college friends, high school, etc), not blogging (unless I feel a connection to that person and like their blog), and DEFINITELY NOT Twitter.
In fact, I only follow around 70 people. Most of them are through blogging. And some days those 70 people (and really, it's only 12 or so of them that tweet so much) clutter up my Twitter homepage so much that I wonder how those with 1000+ don't go crazy.
I'm just too surly for networking, I guess. :-)
I'm liking twitter more and more. It IS a faster way to see new blog posts and keep in touch. But I like texting too. LOL
ReplyDeleteSummer, that cluttering up the homepage on twitter is something I wonder about too. I mean, following 10,000?? (Too surly for networking LOL!)
ReplyDeleteJennifer, Thank you for being my 258th follower! I'm going to your blog and follow. Because yes if you follow me (and comment so I notice) I'll follow you lol!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Twitter. It's basically a place to go to release those random thoughts that cross my mind when there is no one there in person to unleash them on. At least that's how *I* use Twitter.
ReplyDeleteI've just been reading an SF story in which thqt's pretty much happened - online popularity has become the only currency.
ReplyDeleteThere comes a point, I think, where "follow you follow me" breaks down. You surely can't really follow 1000 people can you? Or 10,000? If your popular/interesting/amusing surely your number of followers will start to rise faster than the number of peopel you can follow.
By the way - did you see my post on automatically tweeting your blog posts? Can be useful!
LOL @ 'a faster way to waste time'. Just what we've all been looking for!! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't Twitter. Just the thought overwhelms me - but I was very happy to see your avatar in my comments this morning. I'm sorry I haven't been by more. Thanks for visiting! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up, Karen. 10,000 followers?? Seriously?? He must be the guy that eternally ran for student office, but never got elected. When is the "CRUSH IT" for twitter users coming out? I feel so inclined.
ReplyDeleteFollowers are definitely the new currency. I'll swap you fifty followers for a ride on my bus.
ReplyDeleteVery funny and true, Karen! The Internet will soon be a huge pied piper and if we're all following one another, is anyone actually leading?
ReplyDeleteI have a twitter but hardly ever use it, I took the plunge but after realizing it was even more confusing than blogger and facebook I gave up, there was nothing I could do! So you can't read my posts on twitter because I don't even know how to tweet properly!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you and all your followers... I'm on twitter but I don't really follow it. That being said, if we're all on twitter and not of us read the tweets, is there any point to it?
ReplyDeleteIf a twitterer tweets but there's no one there to read it, is it really tweeting?
CD
I don't think I play well with Twitter. If I were going to use it properly I'd need at least three different accounts - fiction, personal, and potentially *two* different logins to tweet on behalf of different projects at work.... I'd be spending the entire day just logging in and out of the darn thing!
ReplyDeleteI'm a new convert to Twitter too - and it IS faster, but also a massive time-suck, if you're not careful. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Twitterer. Never say, never, but right now I just don't have time!
ReplyDeleteLove Mise's comment above - very true - who is the leader if we are all followers?! I do like twitter but not sure how people who follow thousands ever see any tweets. Some folk are so prolific!
ReplyDeleteI find as I follow more people, I miss more from people I'd LIKE to see what they're saying... I KNOW there is a way around it... put them on a list or something... Generally if someone follows me though, I follow back, UNLESS, they are strictly a marketing whatever, or if they tweet more than about 3 times an hour--too often and they are clogging my feed.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem rather silly, doesn't it? If all the people I follow tweeted regularly, I'd never be able to keep up with the stream. ;)
ReplyDeleteSomeone please explain twitter to me. I mean, I love to stay connected and be part of something larger than my own pitiful life, but where does anyone get the time?
ReplyDeleteI love love LOVE Twitter. I think it's a great way to network. For example, a recent book launch I went to was made up for 75 per cent of people from Twitter! It was great to put faces to names. I've also got some great interviews and opportunities though Twitter. But the trick is that you have to make the connection first on a personal level and use it for networking as a secondary function.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I like the word 'great'. It's great.
ReplyDeleteI like Twitter, but mostly for the chats - they're great. I do a lot more lurking than chatting sometimes, but I've learned a lot through it.
ReplyDeleteI'm on twitter - (as you know because we both follow each other, lol) - yet I rarely use it. There are some who utilise it really well with links to great publishing stories, but blogger is still my networking tool of choice.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish everyone with a twitter account a fun and happy time!!! I still don't get it - but then I don't get mobile phones either so I'm a bit of a fuddy duddy! :-)
Yay - nearly 260 followers and growing!!!! Fantastic!
take care
x
When I first discovered Twitter, I was on all the time. I wasted so much time on there, it was scary. However, now, though I do visit every day, I don't post much. It feels too much like jumping into a conversation, unknown and uninvited.
ReplyDeleteBut there are so many wonderful things I've found through Twitter, it's hard to stop.
I'm on Twitter now and so far it's people I know.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth does anyone keep up with 10,000 people?
I gotta get on Twitter. I just keep putting it off. I guess I need a shove. :(
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried Twitter yet. First I did Facebook, then I started a blog, and one of these days I'll try Twitter - I just need some time to get used to the idea. :)
ReplyDeleteI have an account for Facebook and Twitter, but never use them. I barely have time to blog sometimes and don't want to stretch myself further than I already am. I hope it works for you though, without becoming an addict! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't Tweet or use Facebook - just can't seem to get my brain around either.
ReplyDeleteXX
Hey, Karen--I've got an award for you over on my blog!
ReplyDeleteTwitter takes somes getting used to, but it really is an awesome marketing tool. It's a way to build and reach a very large audience. The trick to twitter is searches and hashtags. That way you can filter to the things you are interested in (and find the people you should be connected to).
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately our number of followers on Twitter, Facebook, or even blogging can suck us into defining our worth, if we let it. More followers, more popular, better person. Yikes! Quality not quantity is an important value I need to constantly remind myself to avoid the vortex. I rarely tweet although my list count just keeps getting bigger!
ReplyDeleteI've been social networking a few years now and have come to think that those with fewer followers on FB/Twitter/Blog, etc., either have other priorities (all good, or eg: a real world life :) or are newbies.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side of that, someone with 1,000 followers? It could mean they have a good blog/Twitter presence, etc., Or just that maybe they are persistent. The value of their blog content or twitter feed, etc., is up everyone to decide on their own.
It's a weird, weird networked world out there...