Transcript:
In my last post, where I spoke in a web video about a research study on Twitter usage, I said I'd share with you how I go about managing tweets. This information is helpful because, if you're on Twitter, you'll gain more and more connections ("followers"). As your followership grows, that signal-to-noise ratio inevitably creeps lower and lower. (Higher the noise --> the lower the overall ratio.)
How do you read it all?
With over 1,300 connections and counting, a question I often hear is, "How do you read it all?"
Now, I don't think for a second that anybody truly believes you or I actually get around to reading every single tweet that scrolls across our screen. Rather, the questions I believe they're really asking are:
1. Do you really get any value from Twitter if you're not reading all the messages?
2. And, secondly, if there is value, then how do you keep everything straight so you continue pulling the gold nuggets?
My answer, of course, to the first question is: Yes! Yes I do.
But, let's be honest. My saying that I get value from Twitter is sorta like your mom saying, "...of course you're beautiful. You're beautiful to me!"
She's vested.
So, you kinda have to take me with a grain of salt when I say, "...of course there's value in Twitter. There's value in it for me!"
Like mom, I'm vested.
So, admitting that my perception of value may be colored by my vested interest, I won't ask you to take my word for it. Instead, extrapolate from the value points I'll share below. In the meantime, I'll ask you to pretend for a moment that there is value.
With that done, that second question sorta becomes academic.
How do you keep everything straight?
Well, the quick answer is: you can't. Not without some kind of supporting technology.
The thing is, if you're passing even just a hundred followers and you're still trying to manage everything using the default view on Twitter web, you're gonna have a hard time keeping up.
For my part, I use desktop software called Tweetdeck. Aside from it being available as a free download, it allows me the ability to set up views (which Tweetdeck calls Columns) that can be configured with keyword filters so only certain messages show up.
You can also sync the columns across installations on various platforms. That means the configuration you set up on your PC in the office will be available to you from a similar installation on your laptop.
Four views I use to manage the Twitter-stream.
Given that Tweetdeck is my software of choice, here are the columns I set up.
1. At least one Group-type column for "Friends". Tweetdeck allows you to define a column so that the only messages listed in it are those from specifically identified people on Twitter (tweeps). I have one of these columns which I've loosely labeled Friends. In this column I have no more than about 25-50 people -- very manageable -- who fit the following criteria:
- Actual friends with Twitter accounts,
- Family members and relatives who have Twitter accounts,
- Work mates and colleagues,
- People I've met at a live tweetup, meetup or other live networking event,
- People I've met at conferences and associations with whom I've worked or exchanged business cards and want to keep up with,
- And, finally, other personalities or celebrities who may hold some interest for me in some way.
(I'm a little finicky with that last bullet. Celebrities whose tweets I track today may be axed next week for no other reason than, I'm tired of them. Ahh, Hollywood is, indeed, a heartless beast.)
Value tip: By keeping a column that filters postings from tweeps I've exchanged messages with, I've been able to help, and make connections, between first-degree contacts in my network. Also, by keeping in touch with folks I've exchanged messages with, I find myself being less and less a "wall flower" whenever I attend live local networking meetings.
2. One column for Mentions. This column is so I'll know whenever my name shows up in a tweet. It's important for me to know whenever someone mentions me, specifically. I want to have the opportunity to be Johnny-on-the-spot and get back to them with a thank you for any kind words or retweets they were kind enough to include me in.
3. One Search-type column for each keyword or hashtag you're interested in. Of these, I have three. Yours should obviously be configured to match your own interests. As a point for discussion, the three I've configured for my setup include:
- #TwOrCo. This is a hashtag for a fairly active group of tweeps in my county (Twitter Orange County). Whenever I, or others, in our county want to get the word out about an event, activity...or dang-near anything else, we post a tweet that includes the characters #TwOrCo. With this column I can quickly scan whenever something gets posted with relevance for my region.
- #eLearning. Similar to the tag above, my #eLearning column filters tweets related to the topic of eLearning.
- #SMCOC. Same song, different tune. This one's for a local group of social medians in the Orange County chapter of the national Social Media Club.
Value point: By keeping my finger on the pulse of postings in these hashtag groups, I've been kept apprised of professional meetups. These events have allowed me to enjoy the benefit of meeting well-connected and knowledgeable business colleagues.
4. Keep a "Universal" list that you can filter in ad-hoc fashion. This one's simply the unfiltered "All Friends" list. It streams posts from every one of the tweeps you're connected to. It's typically the one column people refer to when they ask, "how do you read it all?"
You can't possibly read all these. That's not really the point. Instead, what I recommend is to occasionally scan or browse this column to see if there are any interesting/re-tweetable posts that may help your friends and other network connections.
Also, every now and again, I also recommend using the column's ad-hoc filtering feature to find posts with words like: "help", "charity", "abduction", stuff like that.
The value here is that, by filtering for posts with those kinds of words, you'll be able to see:
- if there is someone who is asking for help with information that you might be able to give either directly or through a retweet to your network;
- if there is someone who is seeking to support a worthy cause (i.e., "charity"),
- if someone needs to get the word out through a series of retweets on an amber alert-type of event. (i.e., "Abduction.")
Obviously, the ad-hoc filters are endless and are bounded only by your ingenuity and willingness to help and make connections.
Did I miss anything? What other ideas do you have about organizing the tweet-stream?
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