What's the deal with Twitter?

[chrisbookarama]

I know it's been around for years but I've always avoided it. I guess I don't get it. I see that many Book Bloggers have joined up and seem to love it. What am I missing? Or should I stay away?

[Anysia]

For the hashtag thing, see this article. Basically it broadcasts that particular tweet to everyone who has signed up for that particular group (#groupname). That way you can be notified of things of interest without following a whole bunch of people who normally are talking about stuff you're not interested in. For example #mumbai was for tweets on the attacks in Mumbai. I think you have to follow Hashtags for it to work.

To reply to two people, just hit reply under each of their names (or type it). The second person won't have the tweet show up in their @ replies though (at least they never do for me).

If you want some more sites that are useful for Twitter, you can check out this post of mine.

[Maw Books]

I love chatting with authors and publishers! It's also a great way to get to know other bloggers better. I don't ever blog about anything that's not book related, so for me Twitter is like my "water cooler" especially since I'm a stay at home mom. It's nice to sound off every once in a while. I have more followers than blog subscribers, so that's good. Like Amy said there are ways to manage it so it's not a time suck.

[Wayne Hurlbert]

Twitter has strengthened my blogging relationships, and added depth to the relationships developed from the blog. On Twitter, you are able to interact with people on a more personal level. That aspect of Twitter alone makes it worth considering for relationship building. For authors and reviewers, Twitter provides a rare opportunity to get to know many publishers and publicists on a personal level as well. There is no placing a value on the relationships built through personal contact on Twitter. I recommend using Twitter very highly.

[Literary Escapism]

I don't get how you interact with anyone on Twitter. For me, all it seems like is constant status updates and I can do that on Facebook plus post pictures, interesting articles, and other random things.

[Susan Stephenson]

What I like about Twitter is the time it saves me. I just don't have time to keep up with all the great writing and book-related blogs. Many blog owners will tweet when they post, and if I'm following them, it reminds me to go take a look. Many of the kidlit people I follow are generous with tweeting leads or interesting posts they've read. I try to do the same. Rather than sharing what I had for breakfast (baked beans AGAIN!), I tweet snippets I've found in the blogosphere that I think might interest others, too.

It does take time, but I think its worthwhile for what I get back. And there are tools like Twitterfox that cut down on the time aspect.

[Literary Escapism]

How do you "tweet"?

[chrisbookarama]

Okay, I've partaken of the Kool-Aid. I'm now on Twitter. Can't figure it out yet but I'm on there. Chrisbookarama

Wish me luck!

Christina

[Wayne Hurlbert]

Good luck with Twitter Christina, You can start on Twitter by following the many members here. That will provide a nice base group for you to begin tweeting. Most will happily follow you back and start conversations. Be sure to follow the publishers and publicists who are on Twitter as well.

[Katiebabs]

It is a great networking tool, but very addicting.

[Gregory Sanders]

It's just quick updates - what you're doing at the moment.

I stay away from it, if someone wants to know what I'm doing that can e-mail, call or - as I prefer - come over and see me.

Gregory

[Smash]

K, I just joined. I don't understand what exactly I'm supposed to do with it, though. How does it relate to my blog? Do I always just update my status and thats it? I'm a bit confused... lol. Can anyone give me the play by play on what exactly it is and how to use it?

thanks. :o)

[Amy]

update your status and wait for people to respond to you. :) It turns more conversational the more followers you have and the more people you are following.