The Fun Frenzy of a Twitter Chat

      By this time many of you are undoubtedly on Twitter.  You may or may not have found the advantage of being on Twitter and if you're like me you might still be experimenting with this social media site to see what can be done with it.  I might never figure out the absolute usefulness of Twitter, but for now I have some fun with it when I can.   One interesting Twitter activity is the "chat".

      A Twitter chat is something that can absolutely make your head spin as you're getting accustomed to it.   Think of it as a bunch of people talking all at once and you have to keep track of as many conversations as you can and respond to the parts that pertain to you or interest you the most.  In this scenario, instead of conversing aurally, the conversations are all written back and forth so that everything is in a combination of delayed time and thinking ahead to what you're going to type and send next.  This is conversation that can really keep you on your toes and get you lost if you're not staying on top of it all.

TweetDeck (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       If you've never followed a Twitter chat I don't recommend doing it on your regular Twitter feed.  I did that the first time and ended up all over the place unable to add anything of my own into the conversation.  Then I started using Tweetdeck, a site for organizing your Twitter streams into manageable columns such as notifications and various hashtags which act as labels for an ongoing chat.  There are a number of these social media dashboard sites that will manage what you want to see on the Twitter feeds.  My recommendation is to do your own Google search to find the one that suits your needs the best.

       Want to see what I'm alluding to in this post?   I'm not going to go into the details of explaining how a chat works, but instead I recommend that you check one out for yourself.  What better way than dropping in on one of the A to Z Challenge chats?    These occur every Thursday at 1 PM and 8 PM Eastern Time.   The hashtags you will look for are #AZChat and #AtoZChallenge.

        You'll almost always see some sporadic activity with these hashtag labels, but things really break loose when the chat times come.  This is the time to ask questions, share your blog links, and meet others in the A to Z community.  And to keep the conversations going, the A to Z hosts will periodically put up their own questions as conversation prompts.   There is never a dull moment during the A to Z Chats.

         Try it this coming Thursday to see what it's all about.  Grab a coffee, a glass of wine, your water bottle, or whatever you'd like and sit in to talk to the group about your A to Z thoughts.  You can even just sit in and read if you'd prefer, but once you get into that rhythm of the chatter you will probably want to jump in with your own things to say.

        It's great fun and it's informative too.  Need blog or twitter followers?  Start with an A to Z Chat so you can find like minded folks who you'll enjoy mingling with.   After all, the community is one of the main benefits of A to Z.  The A to Z chats are another way to enjoy that community a bit more.

        Drop in this Thursday to see what I'm talking about.   We'll be looking for you  so be sure to at least say "hello".

         Are you signed up on Twitter?  If not, why not?  Have you participated in a Twitter chat?   If so tell us about the experience you had.  

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Who Do You Follow? Who Do You Read? #atozchallenge #AZchat

Twitter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         It has now been a little over two years since I opened my Twitter account.   I can't say that I know much more about Twitter now than I did back then but I suppose I've gotten better.  With well over 5000 followers and nearly 8000 tweets to my account, I guess I'm not what one might consider a Twitter heavyweight, but I'm doing moderately well for whatever that's worth.

         When I first started on Twitter I naturally began following all of my blog contacts who had accounts and a few other people I know.   I also began following every literary agent and publisher I came across.  I figured by doing so I'd get some insider knowledge about things I'd need to know about being a writer and perhaps even get a foot in the door with some of these contacts.  Wrong!--at least as far as I can tell.

         First of all, I discovered that most of these agents and publishers had a ton of followers--probably writers like me with the same goals as I have--and they had a minuscule number of accounts that they were following.  They were unlikely to see any of my tweets and probably didn't care whether they saw them or not.  Like any high profile Twitterer, they were sitting in their high places tweeting their tweets expecting their fans to revel in everything they sent into Twitterland.   Where I would excitedly note who followed my account and courteously follow them back, they were probably deleting every "following" notice they received as quickly as they came in.  Actually they probably had an assistant or an intern casting people like me off into non-entity limbo.

        Not only would they be unlikely to ever follow my Twitter account, I discovered that most of the publishers were just tweeting marketing information about their products and many of the agents were tweeting absolute nonsense.  They were making comments about the weather or what they ate or some such usual nonsense that many people tweet about.  If I tweet about stubbing my toe nobody's especially interested, that is if they even happen to notice my tweet in the first place. An agent needs to be tweeting me something that's going to provide me with information that is going to lead me to success.  I guess not though.  After all they're just people too and they don't have all that much to tweet about either and if they do have something about business it's about their client or something like that.

        I eventually decided that I didn't need the agent tweet clutter in my feed and started unfollowing all of the agents.  I get enough dumb stuff flying through my Twitter feed.

         Oh, and if you're an agent and you happen to be reading this post, I wasn't talking about you.  I love you and would like to start following your Twitter account.   Just let me know your handle and I'll faithfully read about what you had for lunch or what you're wearing today.   And if you're ready to sign a contract with me then let's talk.   I love all of your tweets!  You can find me at @ArleeBird.  I follow back!


Tweeters You Should Know

         If you want to get to know some great folks on Twitter then join in the next A to Z Challenge Chats on Twitter tomorrow (Thursday March 27th at 1 PM and 8 PM EST).  This is a good bunch of people who have a good time and dispense some useful information.

          You can even join in if you're not signed up yet for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and just want to know more about it.   Have questions about A to Z?   Jump into the conversational fun and just ask.  The previous chats were very enjoyable--much more so than I had expected.

          All agents and publishers are welcome to join the A to Z chat sessions cause I really do like you.    Just ignore what I said earlier.

Why Should You Come to #AZchat?

         A to Z co-host Pam the Unconventional Librarian tells about why you should attend the A to Z Twitter Chats.  Please drop over to her site and take a look.

          While you're at Pam's blog, if you haven't done this already, please stop in to check out my guest post about one of my favorite books.

           Do you follow Twitter accounts of literary agents, publishers, or other professionals whom you think can be helpful to you in your field of interest?   Do you follow any celebrities or well known people?    Can you recommend any particularly helpful tweeters who post useful content?

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Choosing Sides: Why Do You Fight Your Battles?

English: Cat Play-fight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   

Do You Want to Fight?

        This is a wishy washy post.   In other words I don't want to bring up any specific issues about what I believe or about which I have opinions.  We all have some sort of belief and probably most of us have strong opinions about certain specific issues.  These beliefs and opinions may concern matters of major consequence to society or they may be irrelevant to most people.  The point is that there are matters of disagreement that we all have with someone somewhere.   Do we defend our stance on an issue or do we cede to the side with the loudest or most persistent voices?

         My blog often will present debatable topics that have some degree of controversy.   This can be risky when it comes to retaining readers and not sending them off in anger, distaste, or some sense where they feel that my blog does not fit it with what they want to read.   I take that chance in the interest of discussion as well as the increase of knowledge and understanding.  My greatest desire is to find thoughtful readers who enjoy discussion among those with differing viewpoints.

        There are, however, certain topics that I do not address here and probably won't because they are such hot-button issues that they will target me from the opposing side causing more flack than I care to deal with as a blogger.  I don't have the stamina or heart to take up certain battles.

         Then there have been a few battles that I have taken on because I felt a confidence that many readers were on my side and my discussing the topics would not create any significant opposition that would overly affect me in an adverse way.  I won't name those topics, but I will say that the nature of them has been so absurd in many ways that arguing against them has mostly been an exercise in futility with a bit of debate entertainment thrown in the mix.

         The blog battles that I have enjoyed the most so far are the Battle of the Bands posts that I do here every 1st and 15th of the month.  Otherwise I'm not here to battle any issues in a fierce combative manner that goes on and on.   Some topics may crop up more than once and there are some that I may never talk about.   I won't name any of them here in this post.

Why Do We Pick a Side?

          Let me present to you some sketchy thoughts on choosing sides and why we might choose battles to fight.   This is a much more vast topic than I want to address in this post so I'll present them as a list.   A few things that we base our decisions on:

1)  Feelings
2)  Unwillingness to accept personal accountability
3)  Self-centered me-ism
4)  What we think others think
5)  What we think others will think about us
6)  Our cultivated morality or lack of morality.
7)  Rebellion against traditional values or alignment with societal norms
8)  To feel accepted and to be part of a movement
9)  The platform of our politics
10)  What will benefit us individually or the needs of a group with which we affiliate ourselves.

       What other reasons for decision making when forming opinions can you think of?    Do you have causes that you feel strongly enough about to take action for or against?   What kinds of causes will you risk taking up even with the knowledge that you might be labeled in some way?    Do you avoid discussing your advocacies on your blog or do you tend to be open about your beliefs?    Are there any types of opinions that would make you stop reading what a blogger had to say?   What causes have you seen taken up that you would consider dumb or frivolous?   


Thursday #AZchat

Twitter Logo (Photo credit: Jon Gosier)

        Hope you can join us tomorrow (Thursday March 20th) at 1 PM and 8 PM Eastern U.S. Time for our weekly Twitter chats.  The previous ones have been fun and informational.   Topics relevant to the April Challenge are introduced and addressed by A to Z Team members.  If you have a question that you've been wondering about, this is a good time to ask.    If you've never joined in on a Twitter chat this is a good way to find out what they're all about.  Hope to see you there.

A to Z Theme Reveal

 

       It's not too late to sign up for the A to Z Theme Reveal coming up Friday March 21st.   This is the event where you tell us about the theme you've chosen for the Blogging from A to Z 2014 April Challenge.  It's a good way to get a head start on the Challenge and let other bloggers get to know you better.  If you've already revealed your theme you can still sign up since there are undoubtedly many bloggers who still don't know what you're doing.   Introduce yourself and your blog to the A to Z participants.   To sign up you can go to A to Z Theme Reveal.

   

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Twitter Thoughts #atozchallenge #AZchat

Twitter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        If you have not yet signed up for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, today is a great day to do it.  I'll tell you why at the end of this post.  First though, if you're not already on it, click this A to Z sign-up list link and add your blog to the ever-growing roster of participants. You'll be glad you did and sad if you didn't.  We'll wait while you do it, but don't forget to come back to this post.   

 And Now A Word About Twitter

         Twitter is a strange place.  Have you been there yet?  It's the cacophony of silent speech.  A lingual assault on the eyes and brain.  Twitter is all at once funny, wise, stupid, enigmatic, shallow, callow, repetitious, and marketing-focused.   With millions on Twitter it's millions of intents from millions of different minds.  It is the crazy monster of social media.

          I'm still trying to figure out what to do with Twitter.   I experiment with it.  I play and have fun with it.  Sometimes I make discoveries on the Twitter feed, but mostly it's just a passing parade of quips, links, and peculiar observations.   It's like trying to hold conversation on a busy street with everyone who passes by you.  You might catch a thought that goes by but then it's gone.  Of course it's kind of frozen in time where you can go back to see what was said, but with so much happening it's difficult to revisit those moments that are lost in the endless thread of tweets.

         Sure, I guess you can mark certain tweets as favorites.  It's kind of like assembling a scrapbook when you're drunk.  You have a collection of stuff that you saved, but when you look back you might not remember why you saved it.  A mind under the influence of Twitter can be a befuddled mess.

        From what I'm saying, you might be thinking I dislike Twitter.  I do like Twitter.  Don't get me wrong.  Like I indicated earlier I'm still trying to figure Twitter out, understand it's effectiveness, and learn ways in which I can make it work better for me.

         Like having a goodly number of blog followers, a lot of Twitter followers might be a goal for some of us.  I feel like I have a pretty respectable number of followers.  Most of them probably see my tweets as much as I see theirs--not very much.  Who has time to sit and watch that passing progression of Twitter feed?   And read every tweet and follow every link?   It's a madhouse of  mostly non-communication disguised as a form of communication.

         It can be kind of fun in the same sense as talking to oneself is sometimes fun.  I've told myself some very funny jokes that I never tell anyone else because I usually can't remember jokes very well.   Likewise I think I've tweeted some rather clever stuff that I don't know if anyone sees or not.   When I get on a roll I feel very creative    I'll crank out the one liners and wonder if anyone is laughing.

          But when I see something I've tweeted get retweeted or favorited then I know at least someone in that vast population of twitterers has noticed me.   I feel validated and smile.   For a millisecond I'm a star--a passing thought in someone's mind until the next thought that enters the space that mine once occupied.

          Yes, Twitter can be a strange chaos.

Twitter Coherency

          Don't be discouraged about Twitter!   There is a place where you can find fun, friends, and community.  It's the A to Z Chats or in Twitspeak #AZchat.  For those of you already on Twitter, you can enter the hashtag #AZchat in the search box and see what's been happening already in the #AZchat community.

          A chat helps create a focus to your Twitter communication.  You might find it a bit dizzying if you're not used to it, but if you jump in the midst of the chat you're sure to pick up some useful information.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  The #AZchat is a great way to find out whatever you've been wondering about the #atozchallenge and maybe make a few new friends while you're at it.   You can discover other bloggers in the  A to Z to follow on Twitter while adding new followers to your own Twitter account.   No downside there!

         If you're looking for a stream of tweets with a common topic then #AZchat is a great place to visit.  Just remember when joining in the conversation to use the identifying hashtags #AZchat and #atozchallenge. Currently #atozchallenge chats are now every Thursday at 1 EST and 8 EST. Follow #AZchat to join the fun!

Not on Twitter yet? Give it a try. Visit Twitter and open your own account. Once you have your account it's something that doesn't take up much of your time at all. If nothing else you can start by retweeting anything you see about the A to Z Challenge. And don't forget to tweet the links to your own blog posts.

These days Twitter is almost a must for every author or anyone with a marketing interest--in other words everybody. After you've become adept at the Twitter game please fill me in on what you've learned. There's always something new under the sun when you're tweeting.

And Don't Forget These Resources

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog is your go to site for help tips, interesting news, and other relevant information about the A to Z community. The site just passed 2000 followers. If you aren't following yet, please go to the site and click on the Join This Site button at the top right of the sidebar to show your support for A to Z.

         Your A to Z Team of Co-hosts and their teams of helpers have been hard at work promoting the Challenge and making sure everything goes smoothly now and through April.   Show them support by following their blogs and stopping long enough to say "hello".   You'll also find A to Z information on many of these blogs over the months leading up to April.    You'll find the A to Z Team links a short ways down the right-hand sidebar of the A to Z Blog.   Co-host helpers are listed on a page at the A to Z Blog.

          REMEMBER to join us Thursday on Twitter at 1 PM EST and 8 PM EST (or Daylight Time where applicable).    Use hashtag #AZchat and #atozchallenge.  

          Are you on Twitter yet?   How do you use it?   Have you found Twitter to be useful for your needs?    Have you ever joined in a Twitter chat?

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