March 2019: Taking back control over Twitter

How to mute a conversation: “I went out for beer and when I got back I found a hundred new notifications waiting for me,” as one account put it. If you’ve ever been tagged in a popular, ongoing conversation with 36 others taking part, you will know how overwhelming this can feel. The Friday follow (#FF) trains on which the writing community thrives are a prime example of this. There’s not much you can do once the notifications are there, but you can certainly nip it in the bud—by muting the conversation. Click on any of the tweets in question, then keep clicking until you reach the actual thread. If you then click on the downwards chevron in the top right-hand corner, you’ll see an option to “mute this conversation”. Hey presto! It may take a second or two, but no more responses in your notifications! The downside however…you may still hear that little warning bell sound (or, in my case, what they optimistically call “bongos”). BTW, if you click on the link to my website, you’ll find helpful diagrams for these fixes.

How to see only the latest tweets in chronological order: Ever wondered who the hell half these people are who seem to pop up all over your Twitter feed? Especially when you click on their profiles only to discover that neither you nor they are following each other? Hmmm. This is Twitter deciding that you want to see tweets that people you follow have liked. If you add these to the plethora of retweets you see, it’s a wonder you see any of the tweets that the people you follow put out. Fear not! Help is to hand in the form of filters. Step one. Do a Twitter search, typing the following into the search box:

filter:follows -filter:retweets -filter:replies include:nativeretweets

Step two. If, like me, you don’t really care about the most popular tweets, click on “latest” in the header bar. Behold! Actual original tweets by the people you follow! And, more amazingly, in proper chronological order. Oh yes. *takes a bow* Step three. Click on the tiny column made up of three little circles at the top-right of the header bar. It will bring up a drop-down menu that allows you to save your search. If you want to see the retweets, however, omit the “-filter:retweets” part.

How to find the accounts that you actually want to see: But what if you want to see solely what close friends have been tweeting? The easiest way to do this is by adding them to a “list”. Click on your friend’s account. Somewhere near the top on the right-hand side (in both the phone app and online) you will see a tiny column made up of three small circles. Click on this and you get a drop-down menu, which gives you the option to “Add to list”—or some such similar wording. The first time you do this, you’ll be asked to create a list that you can add them to (in the app, it’s the little circle with the plus sign at the bottom right). You can give the list a name, and you can decide whether it will be public (everyone can see it) or private (just for you). Once you’ve added your friend, you can come back to your list at any time by clicking on your profile pic in the header bar (top right online, top left on the phone app) for a drop-down menu that will take you there.

How NOT to appropriate someone else’s thread: If you’ve ever responded to a friend while they were caught up in a conversation with several others (I know I have), everyone in that conversation gets notified. They get notified, too, when you and your friend start onto another topic quite unrelated to that original thread. It’s rude, and it isn’t necessary, as you can choose who to respond to in situations like this. When you write your reply, you can see exactly who you’re replying to in blue at the top. Click on this, and you’ll see the accounts in the conversation, with your friend in a default position at the top. Simply uncheck those who aren’t part of your spin-off conversation, and click “Done”. Simple as.

How to track your unfollowers: People unfollow you for all kinds of reasons. They may object to something you’ve said. They may be disappointed with your lack of engagement with them—though, trust me, that goes both ways. They may even be one of those sleazy accounts who unfollow you once you’ve followed back, in the hope of boosting their numbers. I’ve a Twitter friend who calls this their “followers-to-following ratio”. He’s right, but it’s a bit of a mouthful. The question is: how can you strike back when Twitter allows you to see only a fraction of those you are following? His answer—and now mine: use an app. Though other social media management apps are available, Who Unfollowed Me? does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s free, it tells you who has unfollowed you, and best of all it allows to to unfollow them back. Before you do, however, here’s a little tip. Visit their account and mute them. Mute, don’t block. If they ever try following you again (and, believe it or not, some do), their name will come up with a mute sign beside it. Don’t bother following them this time. Let them sit there swelling your numbers for a change. One little warning about Who Unfollowed Me? When you join, it can take a while for it to read and understand your account. You won’t be able to do much on the first day. Once you can, though, make sure you check out “Connections” in the header bar. Oh yes!

This month’s special offer is for The Bridge of Dead Things. Murky Victorian London. When 13-year-old Lizzie starts having fits, the people around her begin to realize that she may have unusual powers. Offer ends on March 31st 2019. You’ll find links and details on my website.

“I have got to say, these books are unlike any other I have read...almost impossible to put down.”—Helene Gårdsvold, Amazon.com Reviewer (5 stars)

Happy reading!
Michael

Find me on my website Michael Gallagher Writes
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