Twitter lists provide an effective way to curate and follow people and organizations that are impersonal and provide some value over the long term.
I continue to be amazed by the amount of quality information that comes to me via Twitter. Part of it is due to having found some exceptional people to follow, the other part is a new level of adoption from those inside my ministry organization.
But I’m following less people. There seem to be more brands, small businesses, and causes starting accounts that I believe in intellectually, and might like to hear from them, albeit infrequently.
Following people/orgs such as these does not match the personal connection I have with them, nor the desire to be actively receive their updates through my stream. I do however want to be able to check in when I have the time to see their info, and when I do check in I want to see a group of accounts such as these to maximize my time.
The Key Benefits of a List:
You do not have to follow someone to add them to a list
It effectively groups accounts together that as a whole become much more valuable than the individual
They are effectively out of reach enough from Twitter apps (web and mobile) that I can access when I want, rather than being pushed to me.
As more people/brands/orgs join Twitter, Facebook, and the host of other popular social media platforms those that want to maximize their time will have to curate their online experience.
Have you created a Twitter list? Are you starting to see your stream on Twitter (or Facebook) getting crowded with information? How have you curated your online experience?
Hey Brian,
I’ve wondered about lists for a while–how do you remember to check them? Is there some way to be mildly notified about it? I just know that if I put stuff on a list, I’ll never remember check it again and might as well just unfollow people.. but I feel like there’s some potential here that I’m missing.
Thanks!
-matt
the tweetbot iPhone app has really helped–it’s only one “click” (actually a tap of a finger) away from the main screen–on the twitter app it’s at least two (three i believe to get to the actual list).
also helped for me to create a list of people i really like first–it focused my time and provided a really good “quick fix” if i had limited time, which encouraged me to start checking it more.
seems also for this to work you need to be following at least 100 people (200 and above would be optimal).