Thursday 21 June 2012

Twitter... the next chapter

There's a new button on the right-hand side of this blog.

It looks like this:



Yes! I've joined Twitter!!

I have no idea what I'm doing, though, and that scares me a little bit. It's like turning up to a party at 9pm when everyone else was invited at 3pm. It's like being the only person at a wedding who didn't go on the hen night. I feel left out and a bit out of my depth, and I really want to hide in a corner with a large glass of Pimms and a plate of mini pasties.

Usually, I'm pretty good with technology. I don't complain when Facebook or Blogger change - I just look around, figure out what changes there are and adapt how I use it.

But I really hate starting something from scratch.

So, I'm over here in my corner, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd come over and ask me to dance!

46 comments:

  1. Yay! :D Twitter is cool, easy to use and a great way to promote blog posts. I'm following you now! :D

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    1. Thanks Kyra. I'm concerned I might just go too far and annoy people with my wittering!

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  2. I've been on Twitter for almost 2 years now, and I managed to pick up more followers in the last 2 days than I did in all that time. All by actively seeking out like-minded tweeps and following them. The modus operandi there is "You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

    I just followed you by the way. ;)

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    1. Thanks Michael. That's how I found my blog followers, going out and meeting them, but Twitter's just slightly outside my comfort zone at the moment. I'll take heed :-)

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  3. Twitter is easy... and sometimes frustrating - you can only chat using 140 characters. But you'll get the hang of it, and just delve right in. I've followed you!

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    1. Thanks Teresa. I wondered whether asking for followers was cheating, but I much prefer people to ease me out of the corner rather than standing on a table in the middle of the room!

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    2. I now have over 500 followers, and I'm really not sure how it happened. Make sure you have a good bio up, that helps.

      I found I didn't like my tweets going onto FB though... although I do actually sometimes say the same thing, I sometimes have more of a rant over on Twitter as real life (real friends) aren't on it so much lol!

      Just don't use it to 'advertise', use it to be social, and people will follow you. It's a good way to 'advertise' blog though. My blog posts go straight on there through Network blogs.

      Thing to remember with Twitter is not to feel like you've got to read everything - it's impossible! Just read whats in front of you. Maybe check out people you like to keep in touch with - I've generated a private list now, so I can catch up on their tweets more easily.

      It will build slowly, and you'll have fun with it.

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    3. Oh, that's a good tip about Network Blogs! I'll get onto that straight away.

      I've already figured that I shouldn't launch straight into it at full pelt. Some people seem so comfortable (including you!) that I'm not sure I'll ever completely know what I'm doing, but at least I'm giving it a go. You'll be one of me go-to Twitter people :-)

      I also gave Pinterest a go, but deactivated that today because I really didn't 'get' that.

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  4. I'll go follow you! No idea what I am doing either.

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    1. Thanks Alex - looking forward to seeing you over there!

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  5. i've already succumbed to facebook, blogging, tumblr, and pinterest. i'm trying to stay away from twitter, but i wish you well on entering the dance as you put it. :)

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    1. That's fair enough - we can't do everything. As I said to Teresa above, I deactivated Pinterest because I wasn't using it, and wasn't sure how I could satisfactorily connect with people. I was waiting for it to become addictive, like people suggested, but more often than not I totally forgot I had an account :-)

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  6. Yay! I'm following you. :) I'm @raineerose.

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  7. I've avoided twitter, b/c I'm afraid I'll be tied to it. Facebook, pinterest, google+ and blogging seem like enough self-absorbtion! Eager to see how you like it. :-)

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    1. I'm wondering how much I'll like it too! I like Facebook, but not pinterest or google+, so I'll just have to see.

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  8. I felt the same way when I first started with Twitter. Now, I am sad to admit, I am a bit of an addict. I seem to spend a lot of my tweets on Whedonverse quotes.

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  9. I haven't waded into the Twitter waters, yet. Good luck!

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  10. The best thing about twitter is that you can diversify your audience. Send your blog posts to twitter and make sure to use popular writing hashtags like #amwriting #writing #pubwrite #mywana #writetip #litchat #yalitchat #amreading, and so on depending on your posty. It never hurts to throw in random words either. like for this post you can throw in #twitter (which a huge forum) or #divingin (just for something fun) don't be afraid to get your feet wet!

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    1. Ah, you see, I think you're assuming I'm more advanced than I am. I read your comment and understood about 10% of it. Slow, baby steps for me :-)

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    2. @J.A.- you realize you're speaking Greek, right? LOL.

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  11. Don't worry at all. Twitter is very open-armed. Just have fun, be willing to explore and be yourself, and be consistent. Very like blogging :) Welcome to the twit party :)

    Sarah Allen
    (my creative writing blog)

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    1. Fun. Yes, that's what I'm hoping for. And to get the news before the BBC does, because apparently that's where they get their info from these days!

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  12. I'm on twitter - I really don't know how to use it effectively, but I'm there and I'll be stalking...I mean following you. :)

    Michelle
    Concilium, available July 27
    www.michelle-pickett.com

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    1. Hi Michelle, I tried to find you. I'll try investigative means in a moment :-)

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  13. Hehe. Me too. People keep following me and I don't know why. I guess we have to bluff it out.

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    1. I'm looking forward to finding out what all the fuss is about.

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  14. I'm close to taking the twitter plunge too. It makes me nervous! I'm fussing around with a Facebook fan page right now. I thought that would be the easiest thing to do, but it's not!

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    1. I'm nervous too! Good luck with your fan page - I know that can take time to get right.

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    2. @Christine...me too! I can't even change the picture on my fan page. Then someone said, "add tabs". Seriously?

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  15. I've been on Twitter for at least a couple years and even have two accounts (one for personal use and one to network about pets in need). For a long time, I logged in almost every day, but now I go there just once or twice a week. The changes and glitches annoyed me too much.

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    1. Because it's new to me, I'm lurking there quite a bit, but I'm hoping to get to a point where I can dip in and out, and use it to my advantage... watch this space!

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  16. I was super intimidated by Twitter when I first started it, but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it! Just start following and find some good tags to "write" to. I recommend #WIPmadness and #MyWANA. ;)

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    1. Thanks for the tips Charlie. The whole # thing really confuses me at the moment - and yes, I know that's one of the more simple things... even the BBC uses them for programmes!

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  17. Hahahaha! You are so awesome! I recently (okay, a few months ago) joined the ranks of Twitter too... AND I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING!!!

    I TRY to post a new "tweet" every now and again, for the faithful few who deem it necessary to follow me. But really? I haven't the foggiest what I'm doing. Any advice I would try to give you would be like the blind leading the blind!

    Although, I must say, I might scan through your comments here to see if someone ELSE has anything brilliant to tell!!

    Don't judge. I'm not above free ridding.

    Haha!

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    1. Ha! @Julie. I was scanning comments to see if anyone could explain the appeal of it to me too!

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    2. My concern is talking too much nonsense! In my head I'm trying to separate FB and Twitter, so I know what I want each of them to be, but I'm taking it slowly!

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  18. I'm on Twitter too. Been there since three o' freaking clock and still don't get it. I'll gladly follow you to whatever corner you hide in.

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth - I'm quite glad there are so many people still wandering around clueless, I feel like I'll fit in well :-)

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  19. Cool... I'm now following you on twitter:)

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  20. I'm following you now! I like Twitter for the easy sharing of links, and the bite-sized bits of information. Good luck with it! You'll figure stuff out, don't worry :-)

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    1. Thanks Rachel. I'm afraid I've got to that 'certain age' where new things take longer to adapt to :-)

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  21. I just followed you. Or I'm following you. Or I'm now a follower. Heck....you know what I mean!! :)

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