twitter is the "next big thing."

[dearmama22]

Have you heard about this? Supposedly twitter is the "thing" for 2009 and it's suppose to attract and keep a lot of readers on your blog.

I personally don't think I'll have twitter. I don't really like it and I have no idea what I would even twitter about.

What are your thoughts on it?

[allgirls]

I have it on my blog...I forget to twitter, I guess I'm a twit..or maybe I'm twitless...I think it's best for people who are always on their mobile devices...not so much for me on my desktop a couple of times a day.

[fullofgrace]

Oh I love Twitter now that I use TweetDeck and can organize all the people I follow into groups. Currently I have columns for: direct messages, replies, friends/family, geek love (tech things, gaming), books/literary info (authors, agents, editors, publishers). I completely did not get the appeal until using it. It is perfect for those on desktops! It lives on my iMac.

TweetDeck allows the tweets to come through real time, so it is like Instant Messaging, just without the commitment. LOL

There are other Twitter applications that make Twitter more real time, too. http://twitter.com/downloads

[ceilydhmama]

I'm so-so. I've gotten several story ideas though and connected with a few editors who have since assigned me work - so it does work. It is a bit fiddly and time consuming though.

[hollyvangogh]

My inner Luddite HATES it. Between Facebook status updates, blogs, etc. I think we (as a society) already talk about ourselves enough, kwim? Nobody needs to be *that* informed about what I'm doing every minute of every day.

My inner Geek is mad at my inner Luddite because she won't let her play.

[fullofgrace]

ITA. I follow friends/family no matter what they share (even if TMI ). The other groups are those with either fabulous info or pure fun. The mundane 'brushing my teeth now' ? Nope. LOL

There is a hysterical video on Twitter. I must go find it and link it.

[fullofgrace]

Aha! Found it!!

http://current.com/items/89891774/tw...h_twitters.htm

[ceilydhmama]

This was my fav:

Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink

• Newspaper to be available only on messaging service
• Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...dia-technology

[dearmama22]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

My inner Luddite HATES it. Between Facebook status updates, blogs, etc. I think we (as a society) already talk about ourselves enough, kwim? Nobody needs to be *that* informed about what I'm doing every minute of every day.

My inner Geek is mad at my inner Luddite because she won't let her play.

That's how I feel too

[HarperRose]

I enjoy Twitter. I like it better w/ TweetDeck! Much more organization.

[dearmama22]

Originally Posted by aoife

Aha! Found it!!

http://current.com/items/89891774/tw...h_twitters.htm

that's funny!

[Phantaja]

I think that it's weird.

[dearmama22]

Originally Posted by ceilydhmama

I'm so-so. I've gotten several story ideas though and connected with a few editors who have since assigned me work - so it does work. It is a bit fiddly and time consuming though.

how exactly does it work? Like, someone saw something that you tweeted that they thought was interesting/funny so they contacted you?

[allgirls]

Oh, now that makes all the difference! What would I do without your techie brilliance?::

[momma-molly]

I'm on facebook, so twitter is kind of redundant to me. However, I think it would be a really cool way to keep your readers connected to you on a personal level - especially if you have a more informational/educational blog.

Does anyone know how to get your twitter updates to show up on your sidebar?

[ceilydhmama]

Originally Posted by dearmama22

how exactly does it work? Like, someone saw something that you tweeted that they thought was interesting/funny so they contacted you?

Let me see if I can outline this.
When I started on twitter I tried to follow the advice of a friend to have a goal. So initially, my goal was to promote the sustainable living blog I write for www.Granvilleonline.ca. I followed any 'green' people I came across, then went through any new person's lists and looked for other green people.
I found that I began stumbling across editors and when I did, I followed them. When ever an editor followed me back I'd read their feed and try to find things to either retweet or @comment on. I also began sending out a DM that essentially says "Thanks for the follow (something interesting and relevant) - with the one mag I made a joke that they must be the tech savvy little sister publication of the main mag. When they respond and I find out who the heck they are - sometimes they have their name sometimes just the mag name I ask if they are accepting pitches (but only if I have a good pitch ready to go). On another occasion - the person followed me and asked me for a story on something I had recently blogged on.

I'm trying to keep my follow list under control and have started dumping people who chitchat too much. I'm now looking for story leads and contacts only.

cheers,
Diane

[midnightwriter]

The first time I heard about it, about a year ago, I was certain it was a parody of facebook. Boy was I wrong. Authors are twitterising their novels. Everyone is on twitter. I'm still adjusting to facebook

[fullofgrace]

Originally Posted by momma-molly

I'm on facebook, so twitter is kind of redundant to me. However, I think it would be a really cool way to keep your readers connected to you on a personal level - especially if you have a more informational/educational blog.

I actually set up my Facebook so now it hooks to Twitter. When I update on Twitter, it updates my Facebook status at the same time. I have friends in Facebook who don't have Twitter accounts and vice versa, so it's much easier for me to only have to update once.

Does anyone know how to get your twitter updates to show up on your sidebar?

http://twitter.com/widgets Helps you create one for blogs, etc.

[allgirls]

Originally Posted by aoife

I actually set up my Facebook so now it hooks to Twitter. When I update on Twitter, it updates my Facebook status at the same time. I have friends in Facebook who don't have Twitter accounts and vice versa, so it's much easier for me to only have to update once.


http://twitter.com/widgets Helps you create one for blogs, etc.

Wow..now updating fb and twitter at the same time would be convenient!

[fullofgrace]

It's pretty neat. I added the Twitter app to my Facebook - http://apps.facebook.com/twitter/ At http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/editapps.php (think that should work to pull up everyone's own FB - if not click Settings at the top right of a page and choose Edit Applications), I clicked edit setting next to Twitter. At Wall, I allowed Twitter to publish stories and at Additional Permissions I allowed it to update my status, etc.