My Twitter Experience as a Blogger

Wikipedia describes Twitter as a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. I joined Twitter almost 2 years ago at I wasn’t a big fan at first. I thought it was a gimmick like 9 in every 10 new “web 2.0” service websites that I either didn’t find useful personally or  couldn’t use properly because it was made with only North American or European users in mind and it would soon fade into oblivion.

jamaipanese-tweet-cloud
Mash-up made from my tweet cloud using Tweetstats and Wordle

After a year on Twitter I had amassed a whopping 8 tweets and 2 followers but wondered why there was still so much buzz around the service and at the urging of a few friends (mostly fellow bloggers) I decided reluctantly to put some effort into tweeting. So for the next few months I made a few updates but to my surprise I starting enjoying Twitter to the point now where it is one of my favourite social networking sites because there is great emphasis on being “social” and “networking” in the true meaning of the words.

More on Jamaipanese.com:  Stepping away from Twitter

Twitter = Social Networking

I have met and/or developed relationships with many persons on Twitter and as a serious blogger this is very important. Twitter has allowed me to extend my profile as a blogger and expose my site, brand and personality to a whole new set of readers who share my interests. My profile on Twitter slowly evolved  to reflect my interests and I don’t see how I could stop using the service, thats something big to say from someone like me who grows bored of most things quite easily.

More on Jamaipanese.com:  Fujifilm Instax SQ6 has me loving photography again

Tips for Bloggers Just starting out on Twitter

  • If you enjoy blogging you will enjoy Twitter
  • You don’t have to have a popular blog to use Twitter effectively
  • Be sure to upload a cool but relevant avatar
  • Be sincere about your interests or else tweeting will become a chore
  • Do not force yourself to update your twitter page
  • Read about and learn to use Twitter properly
  • try to respond to most if not all @ tweets
  • Do not overload your tweets with frequent links
  • Promote (but not spam) your Twitter page
  • Read the Bio of your followers and visit their blogs (if they have one)
  • *will insert more tips over time ^^*

My Twitter Profile

More on Jamaipanese.com:  Operation Visit Japan - a lesson about Personal Goal Setting

I purposefully didn’t link to my Twitter profile till now but if you like this post or share and interest in anime, Japan, Jamaica, Japanese dramas, sports, technology, movies, TV shows, figures, science or any other geeky or otaku topic feel free to follow Jamaipanese on Twitter. From my tweetcloud mash-up above you can see some on the things I tweet about.

My first tweet was “eating dinner and watching anime”, what was, is or will be yours? See you in the Twitterverse.

[clown]

update: My Twitter Pal David from Shack in Japan loved this post so much he linked to it from his similar article – Trying to articulate why Twitter rocks so hard. Check it out!

15 thoughts on “My Twitter Experience as a Blogger

  1. Good list, although I don’t fully agree on the first one (“If you don’t enjoy blogging you will not enjoy Twitter”). There are many people on Twitter who aren’t bloggers that still enjoy it. Well you could say that everyone on Twitter is a blogger, but I mean besides micro-blogging.

    My first tweet was “I’m watching Chris Pirillo on YouTube and listening to music.” ^^

  2. @ Yonasu, my tips are for persons who already have a blog and the entire post is my experience with Twitter as a blogger talking about my experience to other bloggers and providing tips

  3. I’m still in the Twitter phase you were in when you started … yeah I use it sometimes, but I don’t really get it yet.

  4. Nice article man. I’m sort of hearing @yonasu’s view on point number one. Does it mean that if you do enjoy blogging you will enjoy Twitter?

    I’m relatively new to Twitter (about 2 months) and, for me, the jury is still out in terms of the ‘enjoyment’ I get from the service. Maybe I just haven’t crossed that pain threshold that you went through. 🙂

    My first non-automated tweet was “Recovering from a few too many sherbies last night”. I reckon I should set that up as an auto-tweet for every Saturday morning.

  5. Yes I get that, but in my opinion it would be more correct to say “if you enjoy blogging you will enjoy twitter” rather than the other way around.

    @reesan, I don’t remember exactly how long it took before twitter became a joy for me, but I would guess about 3-4 months. It’s really slow at first since it takes time to find people you want to follow. I don’t think I really enjoyed it before I had like 80 followers and were following about 80-100.

  6. @ Tom, if you manage to get through it I am sure you start enjoying Twitter as much as or more than me

    @ Reesan, keep building your followers. Cool first tweet!

    @ Yonasu, I see your point better now, it’s not what you write is how you write it…right? Changing the wording to what you recommended.

  7. I only started using Twitter recently, but my blog’s already got a few hits off it. It’s pretty fun, but I’ve yet to hit the critical mass of followers so it does feel like I’m just talking into a void sometimes.

  8. I’ve been using Twitter for almost a year, and there are times where I still don’t get it, lol. There are some turn offs for me when I get into the Tweeting mood when people use Auto-reply telling me to visit their site. The same goes for Auto-following, which really bugs me… Another thing is I find many of the people who follow me decided unfollow a couple of days later just for attention.

    On the other hand, Twitter can be fun if you put a lot of time into it and it is definitely helpful if you have a blog.

  9. I’ve thought about getting a twitter account, but I spend so much time in front of the computer on the internet that I am reluctant to open yet another never ending source of ‘stuff’ . I already have over 4,000 RSS items to read…

  10. I’ve been searching but haven’t come across the “Ah-ha!” application. Twitter updates Facebook, Twitter updates Blogger (side bar application) but is there a way for Blogger to update Twitter? It would be nice for an automated application to put in a headline and link to a new blog. Any ideas?

Comments are closed.