Comments on: Twitter: No-one Reads Everything you Say (and that’s OK)

By: Michelle Dale

Michelle Dale — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:15:59 +0000

Thank you for this and other articles about Twitter (I read half a dozen of them while I was here!). I follow just over 50 people and have been refining that list actively only over the last couple of weeks. I now filter out those who RT every message in which they get a mention (I call them the ‘look at me!’ people) and those who consistently send more than 6 messages in a row, thereby ‘flooding’ my message stream. I can now comfortably scan all of my stream.

I still think I could be using Twitter better though. I see that I can group those I follow but how is this useful to me? I also keep hearing about Tweetdeck but what is it and how does one access it? Maybe these could be the subjects of a future articles?

Thanks again for such interesting and useful information.

By: Su

Su — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:40:47 +0000

Hooray! I’m so glad you’re getting into it Peter

By: PedroStephano

PedroStephano — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:14:35 +0000

I’ve only recently “got” twitter and I must admit that I started following people just because Bullet Points In Conversations appealed to me. eg @SuButcher just because my cousin-in-law is an architect – I had no idea then that you were such a guru – and would be so so generous with pointers for the noobies (thanks ) I’ve started using RT (retweets) as my way of saying “I like what you’re saying so I’m passing it on” – and sometimes I add a comment and sometimes not. I like the favourite tip – on busy days (like all of this week it seems) I build up a good sized stack of faves to look at over the weekend. I’ve started to build quite a suite of follows of all the various things that grab my interest, and have actually started unfollowing things that no longer as interesting. I think that this blog has effectively taken away “The Guilt Of Unfollowing Someone”. Also I’m not now so “keen” to check out MY followers – they can follow me for whatever deep or shallow reason that struck their e-fancy when they found me. But I do check out peeps and their profile and timeline before I follow them. Learning point for today’s lesson – I need to have a few more columns in my TweetDeck and stream them a bit better. Thanks for that tip.

By: Su

Su — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:08:57 +0000

Thanks Julie, thats very interesting, it is a challenge.
If you want to keep a larger stream for of people you’re following, but there are some for whom you absolutely definitely need to read what they tweet, why not set up a list for those?
It can even be a private list if you don’t want to share it. That way you can ensure you read every tweet in the list and dip into your stream too.
This would work well with news feeds too.

By: Julie Walraven | Resume Services

Julie Walraven | Resume Services — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:48:21 +0000

I keep shrinking my following and find I can hear much better. Even with Tweetdeck, there is so much noise. I continue to refine and change my Twitter strategies so it becomes more of a community and less of a noisy crowd. I learn more that way and I can be more helpful. If someone I follow says something interesting about someone else, I can always RT or respond somehow. .-= Julie Walraven | Resume Services´s last blog ..Relationships Matter =-.

By: Su

Su — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:17:23 +0000

Excellent, favourites – good point Matthew.
Hover over any tweet on twitter.com and you’ll see the star. Select it and those tweets you have ‘favourited’ appear in your ‘favourites’ stream (available on the right hand side of your home page).

By: Su

Su — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:15:25 +0000

Some good tips here Simon thanks.
I often think that reading everyones tweets all the time would be like listening in to everything they said, all day, every day – too much!

By: Su

Su — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:13:13 +0000

Thanks Sarah, Tweetdeck is great isn't it? They have a great lists directory now too, so we can all find great people to follow

By: Matthew Franklin

Matthew Franklin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:52:16 +0000

A very reassuring post!

I have justed reached a point where I am starting to review my twitter use.

I also scan my feed sometimes and have started to check fro DM’s or mentions only when busy. I think I need to set up some groups to help me filter the stream and get what I need at the time (work or play).

When busy I favourite tweets to read later, especially if they contain links.

By: Simon Thompson

Simon Thompson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:58:14 +0000

Reading a tweetstream is definitely a learned skill. I follow around 200 people and have developed a knack for scanning avatars and the style of tweet.

Some people’s tweets I will always read. Others depend on the time of day, whether there is a link, what my mood is or perhaps whether it feels relevant to my activity at the moment.

If someone follows me, I will always look at their tweets if I decide they are a real person, I’ll follow them back if I think they’re vaguely relevant to my life, work or interests. If they look like they follow lots of people in the hope of getting some followers back, I don’t bother (any more).

With loose acquaintances, it is worth sending an @message to someone you have just followed to remind them of your connection.

If someone’s tweets aren’t relevant to you, don’t feel any shame in unfollowing them. Similarly, you should try not to be too bothered that someone unfollows you.

My tweetstream is a mix of work, professional interests, media and copyright, personal stuff, and my slanted take on the world – I really can’t expect it to appeal to everyone.