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I joined about a week ago. The first couple of days were pretty calm, but then the 2015 Love A Thon happened. It was chaos. I felt like a teenager who just got their license, but then was thrown into the Indy 500 (or some other major racing competition, I do not know much about them).
I had to navigate an ocean of tweets, mentions, and replies. It was confusing, but extremely fun to be in the midst of everything.
Know that I have experienced the joy (and chaos) that is Twitter, I wish I had joined sooner. Of course there are both pros and cons to being on Twitter and other social media, and that is exactly what I am going to explore today.
Pro
Creating relationships with other bloggers, authors, and readers!
Been Twitter, I mostly used Facebook for the blog. Unfortunately, it is harder on Facebook to connect with other readers, and especially authors. I feel like Twitter is generally more open than Facebook and people are more willing to start conversations and relationships on Twitter.
Some of the authors that I have really been enjoying on Twitter are Alexandra Bracken, Sarah J. Maas, John Green, Victoria Schwab, and J.K. Rowling. No matter how busy they are, they find time to send out (hilarious) tweets and reply to their countless fans' tweets.
I have already found several friends on Twitter (shout out to Claire @ Cover to Cover) and I would love to continue to make more.
I loved participating in the Love A Thon live chat. It was probably my favorite part. So, I found a list from Stormy @ Blog. Book. Bake. that lists reoccurring Twitter chats about books and writing. She is going to continue adding chats as she finds them.
Been Twitter, I mostly used Facebook for the blog. Unfortunately, it is harder on Facebook to connect with other readers, and especially authors. I feel like Twitter is generally more open than Facebook and people are more willing to start conversations and relationships on Twitter.
Some of the authors that I have really been enjoying on Twitter are Alexandra Bracken, Sarah J. Maas, John Green, Victoria Schwab, and J.K. Rowling. No matter how busy they are, they find time to send out (hilarious) tweets and reply to their countless fans' tweets.
I have already found several friends on Twitter (shout out to Claire @ Cover to Cover) and I would love to continue to make more.
I loved participating in the Love A Thon live chat. It was probably my favorite part. So, I found a list from Stormy @ Blog. Book. Bake. that lists reoccurring Twitter chats about books and writing. She is going to continue adding chats as she finds them.
Con
Distraction
Whenever I am writing a post, working on homework, or trying to answer some emails, I always have my Twitter feed open in another tab. So, I can see whenever I have a new notification and all of that stuff. So, I end up innocently looking to see what the notification is all about, then I get caught up in what is trending, other bloggers' posts, and the endless conversations that are going on. Regardless of my naive intentions of just taking one minute to check my feed, I end up spending almost fifteen minutes every time. I might need to work on my self control...
I lost count of how many Twitter breaks I took while writing this post.
Whenever I am writing a post, working on homework, or trying to answer some emails, I always have my Twitter feed open in another tab. So, I can see whenever I have a new notification and all of that stuff. So, I end up innocently looking to see what the notification is all about, then I get caught up in what is trending, other bloggers' posts, and the endless conversations that are going on. Regardless of my naive intentions of just taking one minute to check my feed, I end up spending almost fifteen minutes every time. I might need to work on my self control...
I lost count of how many Twitter breaks I took while writing this post.
Pro
Distraction
On the other hand, Twitter is a good thing to use when taking breaks. It has been scientifically proven that taking short breaks while working for a long period of time will increase your productivity. Also, it helps me keep my sanity.
On the other hand, Twitter is a good thing to use when taking breaks. It has been scientifically proven that taking short breaks while working for a long period of time will increase your productivity. Also, it helps me keep my sanity.
Con
Lack of time
This goes along with my lack of self control when it comes to distractions. I end up spending way more time than I expected browsing tweets. This feeds my procrastination problem, and I end up never getting anything done.
This goes along with my lack of self control when it comes to distractions. I end up spending way more time than I expected browsing tweets. This feeds my procrastination problem, and I end up never getting anything done.
Pro
Seeing what else is happening in the world outside of the book blogging universe.
I am a news junkie. I always need to know what is going on in my town, state, country, and everywhere else in the world. I love hearing inspirational stories of hope and love, and the heartbreaking tales of sorrow and woe. I have found that Twitter is a great place to learn about and discuss current events and news. Everything from a debate about a dress to the latest political controversy. I love to see what is trending and what the rest of the world is talking about.
I am a news junkie. I always need to know what is going on in my town, state, country, and everywhere else in the world. I love hearing inspirational stories of hope and love, and the heartbreaking tales of sorrow and woe. I have found that Twitter is a great place to learn about and discuss current events and news. Everything from a debate about a dress to the latest political controversy. I love to see what is trending and what the rest of the world is talking about.
Con
Commitment
Twitter is probably the most demanding social media site, which is the main reason I avoided it for so long. In order to really be popular and create a following, you have to post at least once a day. This can be problematic for me, especially since I do not post on my blog every day. Sometimes, I just cannot think of anything to tweet.
Twitter is probably the most demanding social media site, which is the main reason I avoided it for so long. In order to really be popular and create a following, you have to post at least once a day. This can be problematic for me, especially since I do not post on my blog every day. Sometimes, I just cannot think of anything to tweet.
Pro
Freedom to be yourself.
I mentioned that I think Twitter is the most open social media site. This really applies to the ability to be yourself without being judged. Twitter is chaos, and everyone is welcome to add a little bit of their own craziness.
Now, Facebook seems so restricting to me. I feel like I need to be formal there, but I feel like I can post whatever is on my mind on Twitter.
I feel more welcome to be my true (crazy) self on Twitter.
Freedom to be yourself.
I mentioned that I think Twitter is the most open social media site. This really applies to the ability to be yourself without being judged. Twitter is chaos, and everyone is welcome to add a little bit of their own craziness.
Now, Facebook seems so restricting to me. I feel like I need to be formal there, but I feel like I can post whatever is on my mind on Twitter.
I feel more welcome to be my true (crazy) self on Twitter.
Are you on Twitter? Leave your link below!
What is your favorite part about Twitter? What do you not like about Twitter? Which social media site is your favorite?
I'm also on Twitter! (@enchantedbyya) So I completely get where you're coming from, the internet and twitter in particular is one of my biggest distractions - doesn't even matter what I'm doing! It's great though :)
ReplyDeleteMost recent post on Enchanted by YA: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/book-haul-extravaganza.html
The internet is a double edged sword. It is great to communicate and learn, but it is really easy to get distracted and end up spending hours just browsing.
DeleteP.S. You have a new follower!
I've been on Twitter for almost 3 weeks, and I like it better than I thought I would. Unlike you, though, I only use it for bookish things, so I suppose it's less distracting for me. The funny thing is, if you have friends online at the same time as you, it can also be used as a chat, since it's so immediate. And I noticed that people are far more inclined to follow me on Twitter than on my blog...
DeleteI tried FB for a short while, and hated it. It only works if you already have lots of friends to connect with, while - like you said - Twitter is far more open. On the other hand, I sometimes struggle with Twitter's 140-characters limit...
Roberta R. @offbeatya
I agree! I have been gaining Twitter followers at almost double the rate of blog followers. I still use my FB account for the blog, but not as much as I did. It is really one-sided, but still works for getting information out there.
DeleteI also struggle with the character limit, which is probably the only thing I like more about Facebook. Whenever I write, I write a lot, which is not good for Twitter. I also refuse to abbreviate and use text talk, so that makes it even harder.
Quote:
Delete"I also refuse to abbreviate and use text talk, so that makes it even harder."
Me too!
Twitter is definitely a distraction haha. I remember when I first started mine, I had no idea what I was doing. I'm just now trying to use it to make blogging friends :)
ReplyDeleteTwitter is great for making friends, but terrible if you want to do something productive. It will just suck you in and not let you go.
DeleteHAHA twitter [I'm @NovaBlogder]
ReplyDeleteI joined twitter a WHILE back and I remember how crazy it is when you first start. But whoo! Congrats to you for finally joining, we'd love to have you <3
For me, twitter isn't difficult to navigate. LoveAThon was a bit stressful as I had mentions and tweetchat open at the same time, but it wasn't as hard as say if I were a beginner. But you braved the storm, now tell us how you feel! ;D
Thanks! I am now in love with Twitter, especially after the Love A Thon. Now that I survived it, I feel like I could do pretty much anything!
DeleteI cannot wait to build more great friendships with awesome bloggers!
Twitter is awesome!! Already spoke to you over there :) I love how easy it is to just connect with other people, like you said - and definitely much easier and quicker than other social media sites
ReplyDeleteI agree! The 140 character limit (even though it can be a pain sometimes) makes everything quick and easy, especially compared to Facebook.
DeleteI hope I can keep chatting with you and all of the other awesome book bloggers out there on Twitter!
We're on Twitter too (BookshelfR). In the beginning, our Twitter feed just consisted of our automatic blog post updates. But now I'm quite active on it, and you can really tell the difference. People reply to our tweets, favourite it, retweet it, and it's just a lot more fun. I was a bit wary of Twitter in the beginning as well, but it's a really good platform to talk to other bloggers, readers, and authors :)
ReplyDeleteI do not want to just post blog updates either. I want to communicate and share all of my bookish thoughts with all of the other amazing bloggers. I think that I getting there too. I am trying to retweet and reply to other bloggers' posts and actually be a part of the community. It does take a lot of time, but I am loving it so far.
DeleteTessa, I use HootSuite to schedule Tweets and FB posts. I not only share my posts repeatedly throughout the week, but I share other quality bookish content and posts. I will admit I suck at reading Twitter. I much prefer Facebook's format, but I do try to interact when I see my posts being shared and when people do mentions and retweets.
ReplyDeleteTerri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
Thanks for the advice! I will make sure to check out HootSuite. Scheduling posts would be a lot easier than doing it manually (and I would not have to worry about forgetting anything, which happens a lot).
DeleteI'm not as active on Twitter as some people, but I have found that it's an excellent tool for keeping in touch with other bloggers and even with some authors. I sometimes feel like I'm too old for the Twitter generation, though! LOL! You can find me @NicoleMHewitt.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I am trying to be active on Twitter, but I am also trying to not let it take over my life (and somewhat failing). I haven't talked to any authors yet (still a bit nervous) but I might someday soon.
DeleteP.S. You have a new follower!
I love that you're on Twitter now! I know a lot of people use TweetDeck for keeping track of conversations and certain hashtags. I've never used it though.
ReplyDeleteI use my personal account, but I'm okay with it. I have an account for my blog, but I never use it.
I am loving being on Twitter! A lot of people have recommended TweetDeck, so I am going to have to check it out. It might make keeping track of everything easier.
DeleteAww thank you for the shout out! <3 I agree that Twitter requires commitment (not to mention serious multi-tasking skills). The Love-a-thon was my first Twitter chat, and I my brain was exploding as I was trying to switch back and forth just between my four tabs and messages. I am glad I've been introduce to friends like you, though:)
ReplyDeleteThanks! The Love a Thon was hectic, but definitely worth it! It was like a crash course of Twitter for me. So far, I have been okay with the commitment and excited to see what happens next.
DeleteI got started on Twitter a few weeks ago (@ardeliamlee), maybe less. I love it. I kind of regret that I hadn't set up an account until now. I really like being able to connect with other bloggers and keep up with their posts.
ReplyDeleteIt is really busy, though. It was kind of overwhelming at first, but I feel like I'm becoming a Twitter master. ;) I've been meaning to find a Twitter chat to join, but I haven't had the time. Maybe in the next few weeks...
I wish I had joined Twitter sooner too! It is so much easier to connect with other bloggers and even authors.
DeleteYou should definitely join in on a chat, there is always a chat going on somewhere, you just have to find it.