Thursday, August 6, 2009

What do you use Twitter for?

I admit it. I'm a Twitter N00b.

So far I tweet, but I'm worried that maybe I'm not using the site to its full potential.

Many writers say it's crucial for their networking, but I can't help but wonder--am I doin' it right?

A lot of you are internet experts and navigate social networking sites with the greatest of ease. How the heck do you guys do that, already?

Stealing a page out of Nathan Bransford's book, You tell Me:

How do you utilize Twitter as a writer?

How has it helped/hindered you?

I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you in advance for your brilliant comments :).

8 comments:

Bill Cameron said...

For me, it's about not trying to hard. My biggest gripe about social networking gurus is they are full of strategies and tactics, but seem to lack humanity. Be a person. Gripe a bit, crack jokes, engage in conversation. Twitter can be a place to make friends. Then, when it comes times to do a little self-promoting, it's about telling your friends.

I do probably one tweet in two or three hundred that's specifically about my books, but when I do, instead the reaction being, "Bleh, more blatant self-promo," it's positive. I do tweet about process sometimes, but it's often as part of a larger discussion.

I've also held a couple of twitter contests, very low-key short duration games with a book giveaway at the end. One was a call for Worst Christmas Story Ever in 140 characters. I gave one book to my favorite story, and one to a participate whose name I drew at random. It was fun, low-impact, and didn't fill the twitterstream with useless spam. The stories were interesting in themselves, irrespective of the contest.

But even that is something I will do maybe once a quarter or once every six months. Ultimately, I just try to be myself. I leave the strategies and tactics to all those people who I find myself needing to block.

lisa and laura said...

Umm...I use it to stalk people. That's pretty much it.

Abby Annis said...

Mostly just for stalking. I'm a noob too. :D

Elana Johnson said...

I use Twitter for writing only. I know some people link their facebook and their twitter, but I'm not one of them. Because facebook is more personal for me. Sure, I use it for writing too, but my tweets are almost always writing related.

I use it to stalk agents, agencies, etc. But the biggest reason twitter is valuable to me? The # things. Like #askagent or #queryfail. You can go back and read these anytime you want and the information in the feeds is INVALUABLE.

Sam said...

I agree. Stalking and twitter just go together. It's a lovely creation.

Nayuleska said...

I like yabbering about progress on a wip, or just what I'm doing during the day. Or if I've put up a new post on my blog.

Rebecca Knight said...

Bill--This is some great insight. Thank you for stopping by!

Elana--I just discovered the # chats! Awesome stuff!

L&L, Abby, and Sam--LOL! I've been trying to resist stalking Neil Patrick Harris on Twitter...I'm sure I'll cave soon ;).

Yuna--that sounds like what I've been doing, too. Good to know!

Nayuleska said...

I could follow/stalk people, but generally it'd be more procrastination from writing :)