{"id":5267,"date":"2011-04-23T09:07:46","date_gmt":"2011-04-23T14:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/?p=5267"},"modified":"2011-05-08T08:12:10","modified_gmt":"2011-05-08T13:12:10","slug":"a-hikers-guide-to-twitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/index.php\/2011\/04\/23\/a-hikers-guide-to-twitter\/","title":{"rendered":"A hiker’s guide to Twitter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Awhile back I started a list of hiking and camping bloggers on Twitter,<\/a> which can come in handy despite its potential for becoming a soul-sucking time sink. I talked to a guy the other day who summed up Twitter’s appeal: It’s a good way to simply listen to what’s happening in the world. How I save my sanity on Twitter:<\/p>\n

1) Don’t obsess over following and getting followed<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Twitter’s emphasis on followers gives the errant impression that following other people is the best way to get them to pay attention to your tweets. This is flat wrong. All “following” does is push more e-mail into somebody else’s crowded in-box in the hope they’ll send more into your crowded inbox. <\/p>\n

The real trick to attracting followers is to praise the good deeds of fellow tweeps. As long as you remember to include the @ symbol in front of the tweep’s user name, they’ll click on their “mentions” tab and discover your compliment and perhaps decide to follow you. Even if they don’t the first time, you’re on their radar. <\/p>\n

It’s just like your mom said: being nice is its own reward. <\/p>\n

2) Get an external app:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"TweetDeck<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter’s user interface is pretty good, but a bunch of external apps do things it can’t — like abbreviating very long Web addresses so a URL doesn’t take up an entire post. I’ve used TweetDeck<\/a>, pictured above, and lately I’ve become a fan of HootSuite<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Key questions to ask about external apps:<\/p>\n