Today is my 4yr anniversary on twitter. I started using it only mid 2018 & had maybe ~150 friends then. I've since come to appreciate how valuable it is to just be able to snoop & learn from the back/forth b/w smart ppl. I'm no expert but few things helped me use twitter better:
The most important was to talk more about 'lived experiences' rather than 'learned experiences'. You are unique; people want to hear *your* story. This also helps avoid meaningless arguments (the 'yes, But...' kind) while you stay authentic to what you have personally experienced
The second was to curate my follows. Twitter has far too many smart people and I've tried to keep my follows to 100. It's not ideal but it forces me to choose between philosophers, creators, and curators. Leave 20% open for serendipity and fun e.g. @dodo 😁
Third, block words liberally. There is far too much here that leans negative than positive and that's not a true representation of the world. I've about 100 words ('Trump' is one) I rarely see on my timeline.
And finally, write for yourself, not for followers. Stuff I enjoy writing is a mix of sarcasm/funny and insights. Sometimes those take off. Other vectors are controversy and inspiring. I've dabbled but don't have much to say on those. If you get all four, you've got a winner.
I was big on LinkedIn but Twitter made me a believer. It truly is the closest we have to BBNs/IRC - w/o fancy tech, those platforms focused on human connection & were v. resilient. Twitter will outlast others; it's a 'stream' of human connection, not a repository of human memory.
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