Sree Sreenivasan * @sree * sree@sree.net

Twitter Ideas: A work in progress by @sreenet
[shortcut for this page at http://bit.ly/twitterideas ]

Suggestions welcome: sree[at]sree.net

WORKSHOP: FOUR THURSDAYS IN OCTOBER (+1 optional session!), Oct 7, 14, 21 & 28; 6:30 - 9 p.m, Columbia J-school: Social Media for Journalists, Bloggers & Media Professionals - register here

MY FEED: @sreenet - http://www.twitter.com/sreenet 
MY SOCIAL-MEDIA GUIDE: http://bit.ly/sreesoc - tips, handouts, tools and more
MY WORKSHOPS: http://bit.ly/workshops - events around the country
MY SOCIAL MEDIA SYLLABUS: http://bit.ly/socmediaskills - a five-week course at Columbia Journalism School

This is meant to be a way to introduce Twitter to skeptics and newbies and is NOT comprehensive.

==>A big welcome to the TechCrunch readers who are here thanks to the mention in  @vwadhwa’s piece on why Twitter is his only social-networking tool.

[Many thanks to @NatIves for putting me on Ad Age’s 25 media people to follow. Also, thank you to OnlineSchools for putting me on Top 100 Twitterers in Academia. Armed with these, I can… well, what, exactly?]

*** MY TWO WEBCASTS WITH ALL-STAR TWEETING JOURNOS:
http://bit.ly/columbiajtw2

Intros to Twitter:

• See this collection of “10 Most Extraordinary Twitter Updates (if #5 doesn’t inspire you to use Twitter, perhaps this will)
• Mashable’s collection of all things Twitter: twitter.mashable.com
• Cyberjournalist’s Top 10 amazing, funny, useful Twitter links
• 100Twt.com: List of 100 most popular people on Twitter + their real-time tweets
• OutlawDesignBlog: 30 essential Twitter tutorials for newbies & experts
• Read lots of useful Twitter tips at Twitter_Tips
  
• Listen to my Jan. 2009 webcast/podcast with terrific journos, “Twitter for Journalists: Everything You Wanted to Know About Twitter But Were Afraid to Ask” + see live coverage of my April 2009 workshop on “Twitter for Skeptics”
• NYT’s love letter to Twitter, “Putting Twitter’s World To Use”
• WSJ interview with Twitter founders (and backstory)
• NY Magazine: The Twitter Approval Matrix (“Our deliberately oversimplified guide to whose tweets are worth following”)
• David Carr explains why Twitter will endure | Vivek Wadhwa on why Twitter is the only socmedia tool he uses
• Twitter books:
  
  • “The Twitter Book” by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein
  • “Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods” by Shel Israel

Breaking News

• BreakingNews: “Your most credible Twitter news source. First in online breaking news!”
• BreakingTweets.com: “world news, Twitter-style; hyperlocal gone global”
• Almost.at: “Following People at Real World Events in Real-Time”
• GoogleNews: now on Twitter
• CNNbrk: CNN’s breaking news account, originally created by a viewer
• Reuters: Reuters on Twitter
• DrudgeReport: yep, he’s here, too.
• Understand Twitter trends with WhatTheTrend.com, which explains the sometimes cryptic items on search.twitter.com

By and for Journalists

• MuckRack.com: new collection of journalist Twitter feeds
• RuthReichl: editor-in-chief of Gourmet; former NYT food critic
• BUSINESSWEEK: JohnAByrne: editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com | AHess247: senior tech writer Arik Hesseldahl
• NPR: KenRudin: political editor | NPRScottSimon: Weekend Edition host
• CNN: AndersonCooper: AC and AC360 staff | CNNbrk | FareedGPSCNN | iDesk: CNN International Desk
• WSJ: WaltMossberg: tech columnist | KaraSwisher: co-creator of AllThingsD.com
• NYT: nytkeller: Bill Keller, executive editor | Pogue: David Pogue, tech columnist | Carr2N: David Carr, media columnist (his essay on why Twitter will endure) | ClaireCM: Claire Cain Miller, Twitter-beat reporter | NYT_preston: Jennifer Preston, first social-media editor
• SteveScottWCBS: anchor in NYC radio station who uses Twitter to connect with sources and more
• COLLECTIONS OF MEDIA TWITTER FEEDS: Boston.com | LATimes.com/tweets
• EXAMPLES OF JOURNOS USING TWITTER:
  Reporter Uses Twitter to Connect with, Provide Insight into Sources | Teaching Twitter best practices to journalists | 10 Ways J-schools are Teaching Social Media | SteveButtry’s excellent guide, “Leading your staff into the Twitterverse” | Tips on using Twitter in a newsroom, by @mthilmony | 50 Twitter tools for writers and researchers| Who controls a journo’s Twitter feed when he/she leaves? | Social-Media Skills for Journalists - my course at Columbia Journalism School

Big Tech Names

• Biz: Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter | Ev: Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter
• Mashable: leading social-media blog | BenParr: co-editor
• GuyKawasaki: early Apple pioneer & venture capitalist
• TechCrunch: leading tech blog
• GigaOm: leading tech blog
• Scobelizer: Robert Scoble, blogger
• SteveCase: founder of AOL

Business Stuff:

• ExecTweets.com: “Find and Follow Top Business Execs on Twitter”
  See FT column by Lucy Kellaway. She says “I think it is potentially the best communication tool there is; the trouble is that most executives are making a complete hash of using it.”
• StockTwits.com: a new way to keep track of stocks
• 24/7 WallStreet on “Ten ways Twitter will permanently change business”
• CityBakery and Twittering cookies
  
• RakeshLobster’s post on how local businesses can use Twitter
• Pro blogger DavidRisely on how many Twitter accounts should you have?
• business.twitter.com: Twitter’s official guide for businesses

Other Names You Know:

• Bittman: Mark Bittman, chef and NYT’s Minimalist columnist
• MrsKutcher & AplusK: celebs you know (read how MrsKutcher saved a life)
• JimmyFallon: using Twitter to promote “Late Night”
• The_Real_Shaq: Shaquille O’Neal twitters during halftime
• List of older celebrities on Twitter

Fun & Funny!

• ArjunBasu: 140-character short stories
• OhNewsroom: stuff overheard in the newsroom
• TheMime: well, you can see for yourself

List of Suggested Twitterers & Curated Tweets

• BestTweets.com: “a selection of the best of Twitter”
• MEDIA: MuckRack’s journalists to follow | Ad Age’s 25 media people to follow
• BOOKS/AUTHORS: Twitter Tips for authors | Mashable’s 100 fiction authors | 70 nonfiction authors | 15 Twitter users reshaping publishing
• EDUCATION: Chronicle of Higher Ed’s 10 high-flyers on Twitter
• TRAVEL: NileGuide’s Top 10 travel Twitterers | WanderListing: “finds up-to-the-minute news, deals, tips and tales from the world’s leading travel experts, bloggers and explorers and presents them to you in one convenient location.”
• LAW: LinkedIn Lawyer’s 10 people all lawyers should follow
• TOP 100: 100Twt’s List of 100 most popular people on Twitter + their real-time tweets

Job Hunting:

• TheMediaIsDying: tracking media layoffs and more
• TheMediaIsHirin: media job postings
• TheMediaIsHuntn: media folks looking for work
• TweetMyJobs: wide variety of job postings
• TwitterJobSearch: search engine to find jobs on Twitter
• JobsPage: Joe Grimm’s excellent tips for journalists
• Twtjobs: create a Twitter resume or post a job
• Mashable: How to find a job on Twitter
• 50 Twitter tips for job seekers

HOW-TO: Twitter Tools I use:
[SEE MORE ON MY SOCIAL-MEDIA GUIDE: http://bit.ly/sreesoc]

• Bit.ly: my favorite URL shortener, thanks to access to metrics; my old review (much improved since then): http://bit.ly/bitlyrevu
• Twiangulate: find new people to follow by seeing who people you know are following in common

• TWITTER SEARCH:
  • search.twitter.com: check in once a day to find trending topics
    (read about improvements coming)
  • TweetMeme.com: a fast way to keep track of the most popular links shared on Twitter. eg, here are current links that have been tweeted at least 10 times
  • TweetTabs.com: lets you easily track multiple topics
  • Twazzup.com: better than Twitter’s own search engine, says @steverubel
  • Twitzap.com: create live channels to arrange searches
  • TwitterFall.com: create live channels to arrange searches
  • TwitterVision.com: show live tweets on a map
  • Monitter.com: search tweets faster and by location
  • Twubs.com: grouping hashtags together
• TWEET MANAGEMENT:
  • HootSuite.com: if you prefer a web-based way to track tweets + allows you to do something really important - post-date your tweets (ie, put ‘em on a timer) + allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts + previews a short link before you click
  • TweetDeck: a downloadable program that lets you keep track of a range of tweets and arrange them into groups
  • TwitBin.com: a Firefox extension that gives you a sidebar full of live tweets.
  • Flock.com: a version of Firefox that’s optimized for social media - get tweets, Facebook updates, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, etc, instantly, while never leaving Firefox
  • Tweetlater.com: offers variety of tools, including, of course, ability to tweet later, along with auto-follow (be careful how use that feature)
  • TwitterForBusyPeople: lets you see who’s tweeted recently among your followers - or anyone else’s followers.
• TWITTER BACKGROUNDS:
  • TwitterBackgrounds | TwitterRounds | FreeTwitterDesigner.com: easy ways to create a personalized Twitter page
  • Twitter backgrounds created by artists

HOW-TO: Improving Your Twittering

• WSJ article: “How to Twitter”
• PCWorld article: “How to Improve Your Tweets”
• TheMorningNews article: 14 tips on Twitter etiquette: by @Maggie (#8: What is rude in life is rude on Twitter)
• Twitter.Grader.com: tracks your tweets, followers and more.
• Twitalyzer: “measure your impact and success in social media”
• TweeterScore: a Twitter report card by @jrochelle, product manager for Google Docs
• TwitterScore.net: anothe way to grade your tweeting (see my stats)
• TweetStats.com tracks your tweets - timing, common words and much more
  (see my stats)

HOW-TO: All about RTs

• The true power of Twitter is the retweet (the open nature of Twitter means that no matter how small the group that first sees a tweet, the actual potential audience is millions, depending on the RTs; see #5 here - “10 Most Extraordinary Twitter Updates” by @BenParr).
• Learn to use it generously to share other people’s ideas.
• If others RT your work often, you will spread your ideas, build your brand and your influence.
• Report: “Nine scientifically proven ways to get retweeted”
• TwittLink: Once installed on your website, this is a fast way to get your readers to RT your work (see TechCrunch explanation)

HOW-TO: All About Followers

• Don’t make it a popularity contest. My rule: Don’t worry about the number of your followers. Instead see if you can KEEP the followers you do have - and avoid the churn that you seen on almost all accounts.
• IFV - Immediate Follower Value: Here’s my semi-serious attempt to create a metric to measure the impact of mentions of specific Twitter feeds on various platforms: http://bit.ly/ifv
• Tips on getting and keeping followers:
  
  • 9 reasons you aren’t being followed
  • 10 Twitter crimes that will get your unfollowed
  • Get more followers by spending less time on Twitter
  • TwitterSheep: see what your followers are interested in - as a word cloud of their bios via (see mine)
  • Tweepi.com: tells you what kind of folks are following you and who you might want to add or subract from the folks you follow.
  • Track those unfollowing you: Twunfollow.com (get an e-mail every time someone unfollows, plus daily list of unfollows) | Twitterless.com (see you unfollowers a week at a time - see mine

Twitter Troubles/Problems/Issues

• “10 reasons it will die”
• Five reasons you shouldn’t tweet professionally
• UK magistrate resigns due to Twitter use
• Top 10 Worst Tweets

Random Twitter stuff:

• DuyLinTu’s tweet: A friend just got paid over $20K to set up someone’s twitter account and “manage it.” Moral? Dumb people make smart people recession-proof.

Cartoons about Twitter:

Top 25 Twitter Cartoons View more documents from Chad Richards.

2009 in Social Media

CollegeHumor’s Twitter in Real Life:

Watch Real Life Twitter on CollegeHumor

Twittelah, Twitter for Your Jewish Mother:

And now, Flutter - 26-character updates:

Video of Twitter co-founder Biz Stone on Stephen Colbert’s show:
The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Biz Stonecomedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorNASA Name Contest

Suggestions welcome: sree[at]sree.net