ITW, I just hate it when you're right!

[Keroin]

Twitter is actually pretty cool and it's really helping with the non-profit group that I chair.

Darn you!!!!

 

[intothewoods]

Twitter is actually pretty cool and it's really helping with the non-profit group that I chair.

Darn you!!!!

Oh em gee - I've never been in a thread title before! At least not that I can remember.

Twitter is cool. I mean, I see the negatives but, at the end of the day, Twitter is just cool.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I don't know how to use it. I mean-- I have an account and occasionally I retweet something but that's not using, I don't think

 

[Kojote]

I don't know how to use it. I mean-- I have an account and occasionally I retweet something but that's not using, I don't think

Make that two.
I'd really love to get a grip on that for promoting my stories a bit, but I just... look at the stufff and don't even know what to post to whom in which way. And in so few words...
And what the hell is this retweeting, anyway?

 

[intothewoods]

I don't know how to use it. I mean-- I have an account and occasionally I retweet something but that's not using, I don't think

I use it to crack jokes. I find myself hilarious.

It's good for connecting with communities -- so if you're into cooking you might follow chefs that you like, food bloggers, etc. You can search #vegan for example if you swing that way.

What are you into?

Make that two.
I'd really love to get a grip on that for promoting my stories a bit, but I just... look at the stufff and don't even know what to post to whom in which way. And in so few words...
And what the hell is this retweeting, anyway?

There are a lot of writers tweeting about the art of writing on twitter. You just have to poke around to find them. Search #storytelling or #writing.

 

[Netzach]

Use hashtags, don't worry too much about whether you're spamming your things too much and keep doing it.

 

[Keroin]

Oh em gee - I've never been in a thread title before! At least not that I can remember.

Twitter is cool. I mean, I see the negatives but, at the end of the day, Twitter is just cool.

Ha! You're a star, baby.

Well, it has really let us network and reach people without shelling out advertising $$, and when you're a non-profit arts organization that is HUGE. Such a bonus. I spend about 15-20 minutes per day on social media, so that's not bad. And along the way I am discovering groups and businesses I never knew existed. It's also cool that we can use this platform to promote local talent and businesses. Living in such a remote and geographically wide area, this is a phenomenal tool for connecting the literary community.

So, here I am...tweeting. Never say never.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

So, here I am...tweeting.

I found the pic! Your yellow dress has ... grown.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x95/Sir_Winston54/Tweety.png

 

[catalina_francisco]

I was tweeting a few months back, more connecting with people I knew...but since getting into the renovating, time online has decreased heaps.

Catalina

 

[eastern sun]

Can I ask how you're using it so effectively, Keroin? I have a new arts organization and just got a facebook page. I am clueless as to how to use twitter professionally.

 

[Keroin]

Can I ask how you're using it so effectively, Keroin? I have a new arts organization and just got a facebook page. I am clueless as to how to use twitter professionally.

Well, I'm still new too, but my first goal was to tweet about as many literary events in our region - readings, launches, workshops, etc. So I scoured the internet and also sent out emails to everyone I knew asking for news. I didn't have a ton of luck but I found a few and, here's the key, I started 'following' people.

Once you start following others, you get to see what they tweet and, by extension, what the people they follow tweet, etc. Once that happened, I started to pick up more and more tweet-worthy news and read about new people and organizations I could follow. Also, once I started following others, they started following me, which means my tweets now reach a progressively larger audience.

Now, we also have a website, where our Twitter feed is visible, and a Facebook page (I often post news on both Twitter and FB). For artists and arts organizations, that means three platforms where we can promote them, which increases the likelihood that they will choose to follow us on Twitter.

The other thing I would say is important is consistency. I try to tweet and post on FB at least once per day, even if I'm busy. I want our name to be out there all the time. If I'm super busy, I may just re-tweet from someone else and drop a writing quote on our FB page, or something similar. I do try to make sure I'm putting out useful and relevant content and this actually gets easier as my list of people I follow grows.

It does take some time, so if you have an event or something you want to promote, I'd suggest you start tweeting and building your network very early. And follow, follow, follow.

ETA: Twitter has some tutorials on their site, to help you learn the ins and outs.

 

[Kojote]

ETA: Twitter has some tutorials on their site, to help you learn the ins and outs.

Yeah... But...
What you write helps a lot better to understand just the basic principle. So thanks for that. One or two things begin to actually make sense in my head now.

 

[Etoile]

It kind of astonishes me that I've been on Twitter since 2006.

 

[Netzach]

The way I use it is to drive traffic to my sites. So, despite the wisdom to be mostly personality and partly spam, I say about 40 percent witty brilliant things that come to mind, keeping it positive and superficial, and spend the other 60 percent dropping links to my inland internet empire. And I use those hashtags on the spam.

I do follow industry relevants, and I do participate in "follow fridays" - which more respectable industries might look silly doing, but you can always find a hashtag relevant reason to tell your followers to follow some of your follows. A little weekly outbound love pays off. Also do @talk to people.

 

[Keroin]

SO! My non-profit group now has a dedicated social media person, so that takes a load off me.

BUT! I started a personal Twitter acct and now I am tweeting as me. This is a lot more fun because I can just follow whoever the heck I want and make silly comments when the mood strikes.

I'll toss this out, if you're a Litizen who "knows" me, and you tweet, and you'd like me to follow you or vice versa, please feel free to pm and we can exchange Twitter addresses. Believe me, I won't "out" you - I completely respect your privacy. I'll say upfront that I won't talk openly about pron on my tweets and I don't seek out pron-related stuff to follow. Not being a prude, it's just that I'll be using Twitter mainly as a vehicle to promote my writing, which is not erotic fiction. So I have to watch my P's and Q's out there in cyber world.

Also, If I don't have any kind of history with you here on Lit, please don't be offended but I won't give out my personal info. Safety first!

 

[Etoile]

I have the same name there as here, if anybody wants to add me, they're welcome; if I can figure out who you are or you say hi, I'll probably add you back. I have a few Lit folks on there already.

 

[Recidiva]

It's replaced news for me. I subscribe to Reuters and Al Jazeera and such and I can pay attention when it goes berserk, but otherwise mostly ignore it. Aaaaah.

 

[intothewoods]

SO! My non-profit group now has a dedicated social media person, so that takes a load off me.

BUT! I started a personal Twitter acct and now I am tweeting as me. This is a lot more fun because I can just follow whoever the heck I want and make silly comments when the mood strikes.

I'll toss this out, if you're a Litizen who "knows" me, and you tweet, and you'd like me to follow you or vice versa, please feel free to pm and we can exchange Twitter addresses. Believe me, I won't "out" you - I completely respect your privacy. I'll say upfront that I won't talk openly about pron on my tweets and I don't seek out pron-related stuff to follow. Not being a prude, it's just that I'll be using Twitter mainly as a vehicle to promote my writing, which is not erotic fiction. So I have to watch my P's and Q's out there in cyber world.

Also, If I don't have any kind of history with you here on Lit, please don't be offended but I won't give out my personal info. Safety first!

I followed you - I was going to FB you the other day but I wasn't sure how you felt about that! I was also talking about you to a writer friend and I said, um, we're sort of "online friends." She's a blogger so that was enough for her, thankfully!

ps I'm sorry but I think I'm hilarious on twitter.

 

[Keroin]

I followed you - I was going to FB you the other day but I wasn't sure how you felt about that! I was also talking about you to a writer friend and I said, um, we're sort of "online friends." She's a blogger so that was enough for her, thankfully!

ps I'm sorry but I think I'm hilarious on twitter.

HA! Oh feel free to FB me. It's all good. Also, when we launch the novel, I'll likely be "outing" myself here anyway.

What I won't do to sell a few copies.

And you're following me?? Now I have to go look at my followers! I didn't see you in that crowd of...8.

ETA: You sure it's me? I don't see you on the list.

 

[intothewoods]

HA! Oh feel free to FB me. It's all good. Also, when we launch the novel, I'll likely be "outing" myself here anyway.

What I won't do to sell a few copies.

And you're following me?? Now I have to go look at my followers! I didn't see you in that crowd of...8.

ETA: You sure it's me? I don't see you on the list.

It says pending - and that's you in the avatar!

 

[Keroin]

It says pending - and that's you in the avatar!

OK, weird. But you're following now! (And vice versa )

 

[midwestyankee]

OK, weird. But you're following now! (And vice versa )

Oooohhh....it's getting downright incestuous in the intersection between Lit and Twitter. Go, set theory!

And the food is good, too.