I’m not going to go on and on about why I started Twittering a week or two ago. I’m starting to think in 140 characters or fewer.
The reasons (Oprah’s not one of them) are less interesting than Twitter itself. So far, I’m liking it a lot.
I’m also seeing that it’s a monster you have to manage.
Yes, Twitter can be a big time suck. Like Facebook, left unchecked, it’s a massive distraction from productive work.
The trick: Make Twitter work for you.
In the spirit of sharing that typifies Twitter, here are my own tweet rules.
1. I don’t tweet often—three or four times daily, spread out over the course of the day.
2. I don’t post anything about my more trivial activities. Does anyone really want to know where I had lunch? Not even I care.
3. I don’t “follow” people who tweet constantly. I (usually!) don’t check Twitter a lot, so I like to see different people tweeting when I do.
3A. I don’t follow people who use Twitter as a text messaging service. It feels like lurking around a conversation where you’re not welcome.
4: Each rule has exceptions. Some I follow are tweeting fiends, but I know and like those folks. It’s cool! (Where do you find the time?)
So why tweet and be tweeted? Two things.
1. Twitter’s a great news feed. I follow MinnPost, Bloomberg, MPR, and the WSJ. You feel in touch with the flow of a day.
2. Information is good; knowledge and wisdom even better. Pick your follows right, and you’ll soon feel new neurons forming.
2A. My favorite tweets link to neuron-stimulating articles and blogs. Talking to you, Infrastructurist. And you’re far from alone.
In short, Twitter’s best use (hat tip to Jay Rosen) is not “lifecasting” but “mindcasting,”
If all this sounds intriguing, sign up and follow me. You can “unfollow” generebeck (or unfollow Twitter entirely) if it turns out to be a waste of time. Nothing to feel uncool about. Maybe quite the contrary.
Like I say, to make Twitter worthwhile, you can’t let it control you. No easy task. But the price of freedom is eternal mental vigilance.
UPDATE (6/2): I now see how wrong some of this blog was. E.g., The text message ref. Not how it works. These aren’t rules, just ideas.
Tweet your way. PRT @bloisolson: There are no rules. Just hang out and see if you find an angle.
Comments