Teaching an Old Dog New Twits...

Or something.



So this weekend I made a decision that where I really fall down is on the social media. My marketing has been ineffective, and while I am CLUELESS what would be most effective, I've decided to make Twitter my first domain to conquer.







My LISTS



Followers. Followees. I spent a couple HOURS Saturday cleaning these up. One of the reasons Twitter fell off my list of things to do was it was overwhelming. I dived in too fast and without thought. I hit the limit on how much I was allowed to follow, so I couldn't 'follow back'... which was discouraging. And my FEED was too full to really see what was going on with anyone.



Well the good thing about disappearing is people drop out. Both followers and followees... those lists plummeted and I felt a little liberating in having the flexibility to clean house.



With followees... I went through the entire thing... 1900 or so... and I DROPPED anyone who did not fall into any of the following:



Following me (stayed there except a very few I really saw as distractions)

Industry people (I kept the agents and publishers)

KNOWN to me on another format—here or Facebook



I DID end up dropping several authors, but like I said, nobody I knew and they weren't following me either (I left a few that had common genres with me... but hey... Children's books? Erotic romance? I need to know you).



My list went down to about 1500.



Then I went to my followers and FOLLOWED anyone who I wasn't that was following me (except a few oddball cases that looked like they were shopping for followers—the social marketer “experts” and music or movie sites that usually didn't look relevant)



So now I am at about 1650—room to follow back and closer to manageable.







So How About This Checking It Out?



I found it relatively overwhelming.



My impulse was to ignore... A LOT. Anything with links? I was NOT going there. I was committing a half hour twice a day to learning this and I was NOT going to go read.... really much. One or two things enticed me, but mostly I just cruised past. I ALSO ignored ALL “look at my book”. I believe had they come from people I KNEW that I would have looked—retweeted. But NOT unfamiliar names.



What DID catch my eye? Statements to which I could make a pithy response. (I responded). Good news (I favorited).



I probably would have tried to console bad news...



There were a few pictures I liked (that is new since last time I was there regularly).



I don't know how typical I am, but I think I may not be that unusual, so I offer up this advice, which I plan to follow:





And look. An Oscar Wilde quote illustrating my point...

Keep it a little personal. Let people see YOU. Not your requote of Oscar Wilde, much as I love Oscar Wilde quotes.



I think I am going to try to be a bit like I am on FB with my time available... just lay low and respond to people... retweet their good news, give friendly (humorous when possible) responses when I see personal stuff... I am going to try to make friends. Maybe then I won't feel like it is just a black hole of narcissists.



So... does anyone have good LISTS of agents/industry folks that could help me do this friendly thing with people who I NEED to be connected to? (do they do lists anymore?)



Any tricks you want to share with using Twitter that won't make me hate it? (I do NOT want to approach this as a marketer--it is incompatible with my personality--I want to PLAY, but in a way that is effective)



If you are on Twitter and want to find me I am @hartjohnson