It’s Twitter’s 10th anniversary! Or tweeteversary! Birthtweet? Tweetbirth? Whatever, the point is, they’ve been around for 10 whole years. That’s mindboggling to me. Feels like only yesterday I was traipsing around AOL chat rooms looking for other friends who shared my love of Marilyn Manson (my screen name then was zim96zum, btw). Anyway, thought I’d make a quick list about all the reasons why Twitter is amaze (with one important caveat):
#Hashtags!
Haters gonna hate, but I love hashtags. I don’t care if they seem silly (sometimes, the sillier the better). They’re super convenient in allowing me to filter through and find the types of tweets I’m searching for. Hell, there’s tons of Twitter parties that utilize hashtags. Hashtags have gotten to be so damn cool that they’re now used on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, every-freaking-where. #loveit #hateonhaters
Community Building
Going back to that part about Twitter parties, Twitter has totally helped me in finding and connecting with my online tribe(s). From the writers in #writeclub to the #MondayBlogs bloggers to all the wanderlusty folks tweeting on #ttot (that’s Travel Talk on Twitter), it’s helped me connect with people I would have otherwise never met, and then get back to them over and over again in these virtual communities of awesome.
Keeping Me Connected With IRL Friends, Away From Family
I have a Twitter List called, “Amigos” mostly for friends I have “in real life” (who I met outside the internet, probably years before Twitter even existed). Rather than having to sift through endless, often lengthy, often not as interesting posts on Facebook, I can see quick bursts of my friend’s lives on Twitter and respond accordingly. Most importantly, my parents (love them dearly) are NOT on Twitter.
Growing My Readership
I use Twitter to post links to my blogs and other web writing. Where I used to have maybe 2 or 3 people visiting my blog posts, I now sometimes get into the thousands. Not always, mind you, but that’s only due to me not pushing my content out there more often. But the potential to constantly grow my following is there, and in a big part thanks to Twitter.
Serving As My Go-To Place For Breaking News
Twitter is the place to go for news. You’ll often find the general public tweeting the news on there before it even hits a major news source. And I feel like I end up finding less misleading stories here than I do on Facebook (where I end up having to use Snopes more frequently).
Helping Me Reach Companies Faster
I love tweeting to companies on Twitter. If I write them a good review or mention them in an article, I’ll often tweet to them and they’ll RT me and boom, I get a few new followers. If I’m pissed about something (like a few weeks ago when Panera sold me a virtually cheese-less caprese sandwich), I’ll tweet about it and depending on the company, I might get a coupon (like Panera sent–thanks, Panera!) It’s one of the few places in the world where the customer service is actually decent.
Content Inspiration
If I’m having trouble coming up with something to write about, a few minutes on Twitter will always have me coming up with several ideas. There are accounts with writing prompts, too, that will sometimes help stir things up in my mind.
Networking
While I haven’t gotten a job directly via Twitter (yet), I have connected with editors and also had folks reach out to me on Twitter about writing gigs. Ain’t nothing to sneeze at!
Following Those I Admire
I have another Twitter list featuring accounts of people who inspire me, folks who I aspire to be like. Some of them are celebrities, sure (comedians, actors, directors, etc.) but others are simply fellow freelancers and feminists who I feel are making a difference with their work, people I enjoy following because they drive me to be a better version of myself.
Simplicity In 140 Characters Or Less
There’s just something that’s endlessly comforting about reducing everything to such a short amount of characters. Makes it easy to scan. Keeps things light at times, and potent at others.
Oh yeah, there IS one thing…
Finally, Twitter, if you’re reading this, the only thing I ask is that you start doing a better job of protecting us, the users who enjoy your services in a positive manner, from ridiculous trolls. Although there are more women than men on Twitter, they (as well as gender non-conforming persons) are consistently harassed at much higher rates. I should know, I’ve been harassed numerous times for using the #feminist hashtag or speaking out about reproductive rights, atheism, or anything even remotely controversial.
And I know I’m not the only one. Many friends and acquaintances of mine have also fallen victim to the vicious attacks by (mainly) men, often MRAs, who will spew all kinds of hate and make threat after threat until their targets are so terrified they have to call the cops in hopes that someone will make it stop, that someone will protect them and their families from these monsters (because yes, these sickos are definitely monsters). Here’s all I really got to say to them:
Sadly, Twitter does very little to protect its users from the vitriol of these pathetic individuals. Maybe they’ll take a lesson from WAM! (Women, Action, and the Media), though, who have already detailed a plan on how to respond to the harassment problem on Twitter.
So how about it, @Twitter? Can y’all step it up a notch? I swear us women will not only continue using the shit out of your service but we will praise you so much if you finally do something about these jerks. And seriously, who do you have to gain more from? Professional women who use your services to do things like network and start and promote businesses and launch campaigns and careers, or a bunch of cowards hiding their identities and doing nothing but wasting everyone’s time?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
A good read for newbies like us. Agree there is lot for us to learn. Thanks for sharing!