Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Questions About Twitter-In Terms of Blogging.

I am not a twitter member.

When twitter first hit the scene, it just wasn't interesting enough for me and I thought it would slowly go away. Well, it seems as if I was wrong and it appears that twitter is here to stay. And I know that a large portion of the blogging community utilizes it for communication and discussion.

So here are my questions for you all:
  1. If you are a twitter member, what are the reasons why I should join?
  2. How beneficial is your relationship with twitter in regards to bringing more people to your blog?
  3. How do you utilize twitter in relationship to your blogging life?
  4. Is there anything else I need to know before making my decision?
I am asking all these things because I am debating adding another responsibility to my life and blogging existence. I just don't know who to turn to for answers, so I am hoping you can all help me. :)

Thank you!

13 comments:

  1. Twitter is a huge time sucker. The biggest time sucker, if you ask me. I enjoy the connection and chatting with other bloggers, but...it's a huge time sucker. ;)

    I don't get a lot of traffic from twitter--I do tweet my links occasionally but I've mostly stopped because it doesn't seem to be doing anything for me. However, if you spend enough time on twitter and talk with enough people, you will become known. But it's effort. Guess it just depends on how much time/effort you want to put into it. Though if you're a "big" blogger, it might not be effort at all? I don't know. Sometimes it's like talking into a void but sometimes there are great conversations. And I've gotten to know a handful of bloggers better. In the end, I'm glad I joined.

    I don't think I'm helping...so going to bed. :P

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  2. OK, I have no Twitter info for you as I'm kind of like you in that respect. But in reading your post it caught my eye that you are reading The Silver Chair and I just have to say I LOOoOOooOove The Silver Chair. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite out of the Chronicles, but that one would certainly be tied for first place.

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  3. Have you ever used a chat program before? Because that's how most book bloggers use Twitter. I don't know if the twitter community outside book bloggers uses it the same way, but mostly, we use it to have little conversations with each other. I don't find Twitter a time-suck because I only look at it when I'm up for chatting with people. I usually have it on in the background and just ignore it unless I'm actually looking to talk, just like I would in a chat room filled with people I know.

    Twitter does very little for me with regards to blog traffic. I usually tweet out my links once a day, right after putting up a post, and I'll get maybe 20 hits from it, mostly from people who already would have seen the post in Reader if they didn't follow it from Twitter. I don't believe it's increased my followers or subscribers at all.

    On the other hand, Twitter has done absolutely wonders in helping me to get to know people and become better friends with them. Before Twitter, there were some comment relationships going on, but with very few people did I feel like the friendship went below surface level. On Twitter, though, I've gotten to know some people very well, to the point of going to meet them when I happen to be vacationing in the area. Some of my very best friends are only friends at all through Twitter.

    I really enjoy the program, though it can be overwhelming in the beginning and if you start following too many people. Back around BEA, I started following a handful of people and it increased my feed exponentially (because you only see conversations between people if you're following them both - I hope that makes sense). After awhile, I had to go through and clear out my list of people I never, ever talked to or who weren't following me back, just to get control over my stream again.

    Twitter can be used as little or as much as you like. I wouldn't expect it to increase your traffic to your blog, but it will help people get to know you better, which enhances friendship, and in the long run brings a more faithful readership to your blog.

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  4. Oh, and I should add, since you're a writer, there's a huge writing community to help support you on Twitter, if you'd like support. I'm not as active in it personally, but I know others who are and they enjoy it as much as I do the book blogging community.

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  5. Twitter is really addicting to use. I love it because it allows me to more easily interact with other bloggers/my readers. It also helps me to meet new people (and oddly enough I have more Twitter followers than blog followers).

    It's also a great way to spread the word about your blog and stay updated with the world of literature.

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  6. Twitter has a great community, and since you're both a writer and a reader, I think you'll find resources for both groups. I think Twitter can be as much or as little a time-suck as you want it to be. There are weekly organized chats for literature lovers and writers, but also people are just talking about books all the time.

    I love Twitter because it's allowed me to connect to other people who share my interests - some of them I wouldn't have connected with otherwise. Through chats and just "friend of friend" connections, I have met new people, and that's led me to their blog, if they have one (and them to mine). I don't tweet every blog post, but I do tweet about contests or whenever I have a post that I think will be relevant to a huge community. For example, I once had a guest literary agent answer a question for me, so I tweeted the link. I included some hashtags and her screenname in the tweet. Between her RT and the hashtag (I realize that might be language you don't understand - it's Tweeter-talk), I got about 10-15 new blog followers and many more hits. But that was a one-time thing. I also tweet links when I go to conferences, along with the conference hashtag, and people RT (basically, forward) the message to their followers, and I tend to get a lot more hits on those posts.

    I love Twitter. Mostly it's just the support factor for me. But it's not for everyone, and if your plan/goal is solely blog promotion, I think your time would be best spent elsewhere.

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  7. I love twitter. It is a timesuck for sure, but it gives the book chat piece that blogging doesn't fully give. I love chatting about books and bookish events with others. I also use it for promotion by tweeting about my posts, but mostly it's just the social for me.

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  8. Twitter is super easy once you understand it. It's great for things like chatting with others during the readathon, live.

    Honestly, for me, it's more about meeting other writers/readers than it is gaining a following, perhaps because I don't care about gaining a following. It's not a time sucker at all, for me. I spend about ten seconds scanning a list, then disappear. Facebook/Google Reader takes far more time for me than Twitter.

    Separate the folks you follow into private (or public) lists. Then you can easily click over to the places that interest you in that moment.

    Follow (or take part in) conversations using hash (#) tags. Example:

    "I just read twelve chapters! #readathon"

    Everyone in the readathon chat adds #readathon to their comment, and it keeps the conversation together on a single searchable wall.

    You can also use programs like socialoomph.com to schedule tweets. I'm not that frequent at Twitter, but some people use it to share interesting blog posts, and tweet scheduling makes that easier.

    Twitter has its benefits, definitely. I've met a lot of people through it.

    Could I live without it? Yes.

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  9. I just signed up for it because I, like you, am unsure about it. I've had it for a few weeks and I'm still unsure / kinda confused / baffled lol.

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  10. I'm a very bad tweeter. I just don't have the time to chat without giving up blog-reading time. I do, however, enjoy the occasional conversation, so I would suggest signing up as long as you have the werewithal to use it as much or as little as you want. That way it's not a time suck :)

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  11. I absolutely totally couldn't be bothered with twitter. I even disabled my facebook account. I know that is strange for a Gen 'Y'er - but who has the time!

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  12. Twitter does use up a lot of time, maybe that is something to consider? But for me, twitter is what brings the community around blogging to life even more than comments do. I feel like I have formed some real friendships with bloggers and those always feel a little more "real" when I get to talk to them on twitter.

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  13. I'm on Twitter, but I don't get on allll that often. When I do, it's lovely to be able to chat with the other bloggers about silly things and bookish pet peeves and what we're having for dinner and how much we love Doctor Who. :p Plus, having a Twitter account doesn't mean you have to be on Twitter all the time. You can decide how much you want to be on!

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