It drives me nuts when I get those tweets about how I’m not following somebody. Yes, I know who I follow, and who I don’t, and it fluctuates daily. I am constantly following and unfollowing folks. It’s not personal. Maybe you’re ranting too much for me that day. Or maybe you promo too much for me. Or maybe I just want to cull my list a little.

You guys, Twitter should be a fun thing. It’s fast-paced, and social, and always changing. And we all have a right to choose who we want to see in our timelines. The ever-present rule for social media is: Are you happy there? Are you using it in a way that you enjoy? If you are, GREAT. Keep doing it. And if someone tells you you’re doing Twitter wrong, then that person is probably an asshole.

So, here’s how I use Twitter. Feel free to agree or not agree. That’s your prerogative. [1]

To keep up with friends

In the age of the internet, I’m not always in the same state as friends. But Twitter provides an easy medium to talk like we’re standing around the office water cooler every day. Now, I’m well-aware that the two thousand plus followers I have are not all people that i know. In fact, i’d say the majority of them are people that I don’t know. That’s okay. I have no idea why they would follow me. Maybe I entertain them. Maybe they’re interested in my books. Or maybe they’re just following because I followed them (If that’s how you use Twitter, that’s okay, BTW).

To inform fans what I’m up to with writing

Yes, I will post promotional things on Twitter sometimes. And sometimes, it’s more often than regular tweets. It just depends. Is there a release that week? That day? Do I have awesome news that I’m just bursting to put out there into the world? And maybe I just want to share something from what I’m writing that day. It depends on what I have going on.

To ramble on in 140 characters or less

I’m well-aware that there are certain people who follow me because I make them laugh. That’s okay. Twitter is my place to have fun, ramble/rant on about subjects that are either of zero importance or very important to me. I could be serious one minute and lighting farts the next [2]. As a result, you could say that I’m performing. Sure, I’m being myself, but I’m always aware that I’m in a public forum, so I strive to be personable, but not personal. I don’t say my kids names online. I refer to them either as Emoboy and Jabbermouth, or as their ages, 13 and 11. I kind of like the ages thing, though. Seems nerdier. Anyway, though I ramble, I’m always aware that it is public and the internet is forever. So I try to stay away from volatile topics… though you can get me on a good women’s choice rant pretty much any day.

Those three uses direct the way I use Twitter on a daily basis.

It is theoretically possible for me to follow everyone who follows me, but then I’d never be able to read my Twitter feed. At just over a 1000 that I’m following now? It’s almost impossible and that’s why I’ll be culling that soon. Again… not personal. Just trying to keep myself sane. That doesn’t mean that if they decide to directly mention me on Twitter that I won’t answer them, or engage them in conversation. It just means that I’m following people that either I know, have a business connection with, or are my friends.

And let’s talk about the lists, okay?

I LOVE the lists. I have dozens, not all of them public. And you might be on one of them, even if I’m not following you. That’s another way for me to manage what I see. A lot of people that I might fangirl over? They’re most likely on a list rather than me following them. It just makes more sense. I have a hockey list that has most of the NHL on it. But I don’t want to follow them all the time and the idea of trying to find them all again after hockey season makes me want to cry. So, there’s a list for them. And after hockey season ends, I close out the column that has the list.

Now, I go between Tweetdeck and Janetter on desktop apps for Twitter, because I can customize what I see. And if someone’s being a douchnozzle, then I can block/mute them for a while until they get tired of me not answering them. Muting on Janetter is awesome because they never know [3]. So if someone is having a bad day and taking it out on Twitter, I can hit the mute button, set it for a few hours, and hopefully by then, they’re back to their normal selves.

Twitter is one fast-paced social media stream, and I love it because I can check it a couple times a day and find completely different things. But it can get overwhelming. So if you do see me unfollow you, it’s not you, it’s me, and my will to keep my sanity. I encourage you not to do what the experts say, but to do what you enjoy on Twitter and what makes you happy.

I think that’s all I have. Sometimes, I talk way too much…[4]

~~~

 Notes

[1] See what I did there?

[2] I don’t actually light farts on Twitter. It totally loses translation online. It definitely needs to be experienced first-hand.

[3] Muting allows me to silence them without unfollowing my friends. So if someone’s having a random RANT ABOUT EVERYTHING day, I can mute them until they’re done with it.

[4] But really, if you minded that, you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog at all.