Twitter is a powerful tool for connecting with people, both professionally and personally. But it’s also a tool that can be overwhelming for new users and underutilized by regular users.
John Phillips, a fellow Professional Writing alum, recently blogged about how he uses Twitter. He does a fantastic job of breaking down his approach to networking with tweets, starting with what to post and who to follow. It’s a great read for people who are new to Twitter and need an idea of how it can be used. It also has some reminders for avid Twitter users on how to best utilize the tool.
The tip that resonated the most with me was John’s advice about following vs. followers. As someone who uses Twitter as one way to keep up with people overseas, I have to pick and choose who I follow. While it would be great to see all the useful tweets from some of the top industry Twitterers out there, I simply can’t keep up when I’m already at least 12 hours behind the conversation. By being selective about who I follow, I’m able to do the same as John: avoid information overload and keep my Twitter experience meaningful.
Check out the rest of the tips over at John’s blog, Tales of a Designer, and join in the conversation about how you use Twitter.
