What I’ve Learned About Twitter a Year Later

 

Just the other day on Twitter, I saw a tweet stating how long someone had been on Twitter. The link took me to the site where you type in your Twitter name and it tells you when you joined Twitter and how many days ago you started. I was quickly informed that I started using Twitter on February 1, 2009.

I have always found Twitter very hard to explain. It is one of those things that either you know about it and use it or you just don't get it. Not that I'm any smarter than anyone else, but Twitter has so many intangibles that are "experienced" the longer you use it and that makes it very difficult to explain.

For me, my Twitter experience has started and stopped multiple times. I would grow frustrated from the growing "spam" following me or the lack of actual Twitter users in my geographical area. So from time to time, I would just give up, thinking that it was just a big waste of time. I would stop posting for a few days or maybe a week or so.

Slowly but surely my number of followers grew. I remember breaking the 100 barrier and each 100 follower increment thereafter up to the 1000^th follower. And as I focused on the number growing, I was excited and I was achieving Twitter goals, but my SATISFACTION with Twitter began to diminish. Seems I had the wrong Twitter goals.

 

Twitter is about people making connections. The more followers I had, the less connected I became. As a February 2009 Twitter newbie, I carefully handpicked those I wanted to follow. I followed their conversation and made relevant comments when appropriate. When others chose to follow me, I personally responded with a direct message. I was so new I didn't even know that automation existed. I distinctly remember when I had about 60 followers and feeling a connection with them. I remember @mvolpe making comments about his Saturday workouts with his wife and @JohnJantsch making comments about his Labrador Retriever and me sending him a picture of mine. But as more people found me and followed, I actually lost connection. I found it difficult to "get to know" the new followers while keeping up with the old ones. Consequently, when I focused more on the interesting new people I followed, I let the existing relationships slowly deteriorate. Frustration would set in and it would give me another reason to "quit."

Over the past year, I have begun to learn how tools like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite could help eliminate some of my frustrations. I have also watched and learned from others on Twitter who are doing it right. Somehow they manage a large number of followers, remain engaged, stay very responsive, and seem to still have plenty of enthusiasm for their online community.

Recently I have started a second Twitter account. While I still actively maintain my original account @davidamoore, I created @churchprinter to start over and do it right from the very beginning. The new account has a more targeted audience. And with new tools to manage activity and relationships, and armed with the knowledge to do it better than a year ago, @churchprinter has given me the joy of Twitter again. At the same time, my renewed excitement has improved the whole experience with @davidamoore as well.

I'm still learning everyday from those I follow. There are some Twitter "superheroes" out there and I appreciate the informative tweets and links they have provided. I have also stumbled across several people that I have gotten to "know" online and they have made the Twitter experience worthwhile again. I will still make mistakes and haven't fully taken advantage of the available technology, but Twitter is fun again. And I've found that the more fun it is, the more useful it becomes.

You'll find volumes of "how-to" Twitter advice everywhere you look. But my advice to other Twitter newbies:

1. Have fun
2. Grow very slowly
3. Get to know your followers
4. Do not focus on the number of followers
5. Keep learning

Advantage Printing is a commercial print and marketing service provider serving churches, nonprofits and small to mid-sized businesses.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidamoore or www.twitter.com/churchprinter

David A. Moore