Like anything that gets used a lot, Twitter can start to lose its appeal or freshness. Even the most ardent user can experience times when Twitter isn’t as interesting. So, how do you continue to keep Twitter appealing? Here are some tips:
1. Don’t overuse it. There is too much of a good thing, including Twitter. Spending hours pouring over your Twitter stream and making tweets, retweets and replies can lead to a bad case of burn out. Rather than spend too much time on Twitter, a better approach is using it in moderation. There will be times when your Twitter usage could get more active but Twitter doesn’t have to be an always-on tool. In fact, there may be days when you don’t really need to use Twitter.
2. Variety is the spice of life, and the same rule works for Twitter. It means making different kinds of tweets. Sometimes, it’s updates on what you think or what you’re doing; sometimes, it’s links to interesting blogs or newspaper articles; sometimes, it can be photographs, and sometimes it can be retweets.
3. Be willing to receive but not give. As much as Twitter can be a conversation tool, it can be a nice change of pace to just read other people’s tweets, and not make any tweets yourself. This can be a difficult exercise but will provide a much-needed break.
4. Look to follow people beyond your area of interests. Far too often, the people you follow on Twitter have the same interests as you do. They’re involved in the same industry, sector or group. To spice things up, follow interesting people who operate in other spheres, and who have expertise about topics that are interesting but maybe not something focus on very often.
5. Use something other than Twitter.com. A multi-column tool such as Tweetdeck, HootSuite or Seesmic will provide a broader and quicker view of your Twitter landscape. It will let you consume more information in a shorter period of time, thereby improving your productivity and efficiency.
One Comment
Good post. Thanks for the tips. I actually don't feel like I post enough, so I don't think these really apply to me, but they will be good for someone who does.