Twitter Lists

Recently Twitter web debuted their new lists feature. At first, this feature was only in beta for a select number of Twitter users. I happened to be one of those that got early access.

Anyone can create a list and your list can be public or private. Private lists can only be seen by you.

The benefit I see in such lists is the ability to segment people and group them by a similar demographic. For example, you can create a list for your local area (i.e., St Louis) and add only folks from St Louis to that group.

You can also do a search on Twitter for your area of interest and within those search results you can not only follow people, but add that person to a list of your choosing, and you do not need to follow someone to add them to your list.

Following a Twitter List

Not only are Twitter lists great for following individuals, but you can actually follow someone else’s list. Following a list simply adds that particular list to the Listed section of your profile.

When you click the Listed link, you will be taken to a page that shows the lists  you have been added to by others, and also a tab to display lists you have chosen to follow, including any lists you have personally created (public and private).

As you can see, Twitter Lists can be a quick and easy way to find people in a particular demographic. The only downside is that if you follow someone else’s list, you are acting on faith that their list description is accurate to the demographic they have actually added to that list.

Traci’s Twitter List Tips

• Create lists based on specific demographics (yes, use keywords!); then only add people to that list that fit in with the descriptive demographic of the list. This makes the lists not only useful for you, but also for others who may wish to follow your list.
• Use Seemic Desktop to pull in all of your Twitter lists and easily keep up with the tweetstream for each list all within one easy to use application. Logging in and out of the Twitter web site is a pain, if you have multiple Twitter accounts. It is my sincere hope that TweetDeck will very soon add Twitter Lists integration into their application.
• Don’t be easily offended if you are not on someone’s Twitter List. I hesitate to even mention this point, but have seen numerous posts and tweets on this. It’s a new feature that people are still trying to determine how best to use. Twitter Lists should first and foremost be for your own use when you create them, but if you are making your lists public – do keep in mind that others may also want to follow your list.  The opposite is also true, if you follow someone else’s list, they decide who to add and and may have their own guidelines for how/why to add someone to a list.

It appears Twitter has now made lists available to anyone. So go setup your lists!

Twitter Retweet

Twitter.com announced this week they are beta testing a retweet feature on a select few accounts. I’ve not found this feature enabled on any of my accounts as of yet, so will be curious to see how well this is received. I rarely use the Twitter web to actually tweet, so this new feature means little to me personally, but may mean a lot to those who still use the web site.

Edited: I now have the beta retweeting feature on one of my Twitter accounts. Found this interesting post on the Twitter Retweet feature.

That’s all the news for today.

To Your Success,

Traci Knoppe

P.S. Have you set up any Twitter Lists yet?

P.P.S. Do you tweet from the Twitter.com web site, or do you use a third-party app like TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop?

Twitter Lists & Twitter Retweet is a post from: Genesis Blogging

Traci Knoppe | GenesisBlogging.com P.O. Box 806 | Sullivan, MO 63080 (314) 435-6206 | Skype: tknoppe Offering Managed Social Media Marketing Services

One thing you will also notice is that people will change their avatar and add things to it. Sometimes it’s just a decoration for a particular holiday. @MariSmith is one that comes to mind, as she will add a red Santa hat to her Twitter avatar.  She changes her avatar frequently to reflect her mood, or for an upcoming event.

Twibbons
Probably one of the most recognizable support the cause icons is the support ribbon. On Twitter, they are referred to as Twibbons. There is a site that has a variety of support the cause icons, from colored ribbons to other icons as well. Twibbon.com is the place to go to find a ribbon to support your cause.

During the protests this summer in Iran over their voting issues, many folks changed their Twitter avatar to have a green hue, or added green support the cause ribbons.

This is October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and many on Twitter are adding pink support the cause ribbons to their avatars.

There is a never ending supply of worthwhile causes to support; however, our Twitter avatars could quickly become completely covered if we started adding cause ribbons and colors to our avatars. So best to pick one at a time to support, and possibly rotate between a few avatars you create to equally show your support for those causes near and dear to you.

The ‘09′ Story
Not all avatars that support a cause use ribbons, or change their color hue; my own avatar has elicited many questions. I have a large ‘09′ on my avatar and it’s to show my support to end child trafficking.

This particular cause is one that I not only wholeheartedly support, but I also ‘put my money where my mouth is’ and contribute to financially. So for me it’s more than just numbers on my avatar, it’s one I truly support all around.

No person on this planet should be abused in any way, and as the mother of  six children (four of them girls), I am particularly troubled that this modern day form of slavery and abuse exists. It needs to stop.

So the ‘09′ on my avatar will remain, until they either come up with a new support the cause icon; or all children are safe.

Learn more at Born 2 Fly International.

To YOUR Success,

Traci

P.S. I did not receive any compensation for this post, nor any commissions. There’s no affiliate links – just a link to learn more about the atrocities that children around the world are subjected to in the human sex trade industry; and one for you to go get a Twibbon to support your cause.

Support the Cause via Your Twitter Avatar is a post from: Genesis Blogging

Traci Knoppe | GenesisBlogging.com P.O. Box 806 | Sullivan, MO 63080 (314) 435-6206 | Skype: tknoppe Offering Managed Social Media Marketing Services

The cool thing, is that this document and information is free for everyone to use to help teach your business or organization about Twitter. I like that, it gives a common ground of information straight from the source: Twitter itself.  Awesome! Thanks Twitter.

Twitter Gets Down to Business 101 is a post from: Genesis Blogging

Traci Knoppe | GenesisBlogging.com P.O. Box 806 | Sullivan, MO 63080 (314) 435-6206 | Skype: tknoppe Offering Managed Social Media Marketing Services