Tags
blogging, Disney Princesses, Ernest Hemingway, Just Unfollow, Online Communities, Ottawa Mommy Club, Twitter, Wonder Woman
So I posted, all pomp and circumstance, a couple months back about how I might do a Pinterest series.
You know – neat things I found on other social media platforms. That other people thought were … neat too.
I’ve reflected deeply on this.
In ways equivalent to when I decided to start a Pinterest Bunny Board or a Fairy Board.
So, what I’m saying is … yeah.
DEEP thought.
Like … in the car.
On the way to work.
Or while I had the kids momentarily distracted by Arial or some other Disney Princess, or Winx Club, or Justice League on TV. #parentlifehacks
What I really mean?
Hey! I did this Pinterest post a while back that seemed to work. Maybe I’ll broaden my discussion to other social media!
So let’s talk about Twitter and blogging!
Because I’d really like to know what other people are doing on that front.
Me?
I tweeted before I blogged (this time around – I’ve blogged twice before in pre-Twitter world).
And, once I slowly came around to the fact that Twitter might be more than another way to read the news, what did I learn?
Most of the people I wanted to interact with online were blogging.
So maybe I should blog.
So I started a blog. And began publicly broadcasting in more than 140 characters bursts.
But didn’t link my blog to my Twitter.
Because …
Shy? Not ready? Real life aligning with blog life felt wrong?
All of that.
A few months into blogging I linked the two accounts without actively tweeting my own posts.
I waited for the:
a) accolades
or (what I actually feared)
b) recriminations and mockings over having a “mommy blog”.
What I got?
A few retweets, some nice words about some of my posts that warmed my heart and made blogging feel just a bit more awesome and ….
That was it.
I was OUT THERE.
Doing?
Not much.
But the world hadn’t imploded.
So earlier this fall I decided to give Twitter another look and start making an effort to tweet more.
I formally linked my blog to promote my posts. I’m tweeting more of what interests me and more posts from fellow bloggers I enjoy. I’m joining in (sometimes) with the ever-fabulous Suzie81 for her #SundayBlogShare on Twitter.
I’ve met some good tweeps. And figured out how blogging and tweeting can work together rather than feel like a whole extra bit of effort when really, what I wanted to do was write and scrapbook my life through blogging. Like anything else, what you get out of it aligns with what you put in. You participate and most people respond.
I also signed up with Just Unfollow and SumAll on Twitter to clean my Twitter/figure out who I was following that I didn’t need to, etc…. SumAll sends out these nice thank you tweets to my top twitter friends of the week. Like this:
And Just Unfollow posts motivating updates like this one:
I’d resisted on both fronts for a while – because ugh – so … commercial and … self promoting – and am currently wondering why I did.
If you’re going to tweet, isn’t it the point to get noticed?
Briefly, both are great free services. As for Just Unfollow, while it left me feeling a bit unloved at the outset – nothing like seeing the swaths of humanity who don’t feel you are equally worthy of having in their feed – overall it has basically helped me double my Twitter following in about two months from 300 some to 600 some.
Aside from having fun with it, I’m not sure what else I’m really doing with that following, per se, but I must admit it was interesting to see how I could find and be found by like-minded people online once I made a bit of effort.
Sure, a lot of other random folk follow, then unfollow me when I don’t follow back to INSTANTLY MAKE MONEY FAST (or whatever), but overall the experience has been fun to date.
You want to see some of the fun highlights?
Sure! How about these?
I love blogging for Ottawa Mommy Club and the ties it gives me to broader community events:
Or there was how people noticed my first review on my blog (yay!)
Or the tweets that let ME relate to the Disney Princesses:
Or the good people you meet online who retweet you to the right audience just because they’re, well, awesome:
Getting noticed by Wonder Woman on Twitter!
Or, through this re-tweet, Ernest Hemingway (apparently):
Bullfight, anyone?
Then? There’s my most popular tweet of all time, about unfollowing people. This completely appeals to my sense of irony:
Next on my list? Figure out twitter lists, give some thought to reworking my bio, and figure out how to navigate a twitter party without wanting to simply give up and do something else because, well, I don’t care to think that fast in my leisure time.
What do you use Twitter for? Any tips for a blogger still trying to figure it out?
Baby Gates Down 
I’m still trying to figure this twitter thing out myself lol! I might try the summall thing.
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Let me know if you do! I sort of hit the “why not?” stage after watching a few bloggers I knew who were using it – and it’s a nice shout-out to those who tweet you (I think – if others think it’s spammy, I’d also like to know that….)
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I share posts there and have conversations. I’m not huge on self-promo other than sending reminder tweets to the TToT crowd each weekend.
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Do you know that you are actually the first blogger who tweeting out one of my posts? It was a big Twitter moment for me 🙂
As for your TToT reminders, they are good motivators for me to post so they work!
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YAY! Well that’s always good. And really? Well…wow! I’m pleased to have done that.
I learned quite rapidly that it’s just NICE to share people on Twitter – it takes nobbut two moments of time, and can increase their reach exponentially, AND makes them happy, AND it’s just nice, yaknow 🙂
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Agreed – re: it being a good way to make someone happy. Little gestures to make online life that much friendlier.
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Too true, blue 🙂
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Twitter lists were an epiphany for me. Until then I couldn`t figure out how or why someone would want or even try to follow hundreds or thousands of others.
I’ve read a couple of really good posts on the subject on here – try doing search if you’re looking for good info.
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I will definitely search for posts on lists – thanks for the tip! I have the sinking suspicion that once I spend the time to do it I’ll wonder why I didn’t make lists ages ago – but as it stands now it seems like just one more thing to figure out that – meh – not today 🙂
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I use Twitter for work as PD — lots of great conversations about teaching and learning happening — but also for fitness and photography and blogging. While it can often appear like graffiti on the bathroom wall, Twitter is a powerful tool for communicating with like-minded people and initiating rich conversations.
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I sometimes find it a bit overwhelming to follow conversations on Twitter, but am starting to get the hang of it – and certainly agree it is a good place to find that. We’ve tried it for a few work-based events (I’m a public servant) and it’s felt a bit forced – but I think if you move it out of that organized structure it works better.
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It takes time to get the hang of Twitter. Just reading posts from people or topics that interest you is a good way to start. Eventually you feel comfortable enlighten responding to something.
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I need to clean my lists…again. I keep adding people, and then forgetting to update the lists and it turns into a mess.
I haven’t used those services you mention because I follow a lot of people for political stuff that I know don’t follow back and everyone else I just go through here and there if I like what they say, regardless if they follow back or not.
Does “best retweets” mean those retweeted the most, or those whose retweets led to others doing the same?
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Re: “Best retweets – I think it’s the first – ie: those who do the most, but I’m honestly not sure. I’m not big enough on twitter to know if its tracking the second.
As for follow/follow-back, it was also that I’d followed certain accounts months back that had since gone dormant so there wasn’t a need to follow them anymore.
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Oh, good point on dormant accounts 🙂
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I’m fascinated by your post here – I know zero about Twitter except that it’s a thing. I don’t twit or tweet or whatever it is. The fact that I have a blog at all is sort of amazing because I am very anti-social-media. I don’t do Facebook, either, for example. I feel like the Facebook and Twitter thing are a level of updating and posting and paying attention that I just don’t think would fit into my day. I find the blogging a good thing for me, but also overwhelming. Keeping up is hard some days – no matter how much I want to.
So I continue to simply see Twitter as a thing that’ts out there…not for me. I should probably look into it but so far? Haven’t figured out where to carve the time! 😀
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I certainly felt the same about Twitter until, well, the moment I didn’t.
I did think it would be overwhelming – but instead sometimes it’s a nice way to browse – catch up – or show quick appreciation for what someone else has done (ie by tweeting it) and I don’t feel the need to be on daily, so it wasn’t as onerous as I thought it might be.
I still don’t think I do it quite “right” all the time – but I’m getting there.
That said – I don’t do Facebook for my blog or Instagram – you hit a point (or at least I do) where it’s just too much!
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