On Twitter

Thoughts On Twitter

I find Twitter a little strange. I've been on for years and am surprised that most of the Tweets seem to be people asking for followers.

I never chase followers or reads anywhere at all but see it on Facebook and Vocal, but Twitter is a whole new level of want and need.

People with thousands of followers are asking for more when the situation is that with that many followers asking for more is an almost pointless request.

I have a mere three hundred and fifty followers and I maybe engage with five or six. I do most of my social media communication via Facebook and Messenger, and very little on Twitter.

The Writers Community On Twitter

I was tempted when Twitter users ask for a book and reading links, but I have never got any sales or reads from Twitter that I am aware of. I share my profile and the story quite often.

I always place my Vocal stories and Seven Days In posts on there on Twitter and the blog usually shows up around ten reads immediately, but Vocal stories are generally only hearted by close friends, you know who you are.

So I am not sure of the actual value of Twitter to me. I won't leave because of my hardcore interactors.

Also when you go into Twitter there is always something new to look at, but because it is happening in real-time, you can miss lots. I do get hearts and a few retweets but it doesn't seem to have had a practical effect on my writing at all.

Compared with Facebook and Instagram it seems a lot more dynamic although a bit vacuous, but I suppose the reason I do share on there is the hope that someone may pick up on my writing, though that is highly unlikely.

Social Media Presence

Like Facebook and Instagram often people will like or love the post and then that is it, they won't actually bother visiting, reading or buying your book. I saw that with Seven Days In and it is probably the same on Twitter.

I know lots of people promote themselves and do paid promotions all over every social media platform, such as TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and more, I cannot cope with that many and at times I feel Twitter is a step too far for me, but it is very simple to put in a couple of words and share a link. There is no formatting and you are limited to 280 characters which is generally more than enough.

The other thing is that it is very in the moment (is that zeitgeist?) in that you Tweet and then it effectively disappears unless one of your hashtags or part of your text is picked up and seen, but as yet I am unaware of that happening for me.

Should I Keep Tweeting or Am I A Twit?

I keep wondering about this and I know I will keep using Twitter and will share this piece on there as well because it is extremely convenient for sharing my Vocal stories. As I have said I do like the dynamic nature of it, and initially loved the 140 character limit then they increased it to 280 and added pictures, videos and links. It reminded me of the concept of radio with video decades back, which is really television.

A Twittering Conclusion

Twitter has a great dynamic and that will keep me there. I don’t think it needs any additional stuff. I am not averse to change and improvement but sometimes things reach a good functional place and I think Twitter is somewhere in that ballpark.