Thread by @theBuoyantMan

A few thoughts on how best to use Twitter.

1. Curate Lists:

- Avoid following/unfollowing people. Curate people in form of Twitter Lists and categorize handles based on the type/topic of content they post.

2. Consume 20%, Create 80%:

It's easy to get lost in Twitterville.

It's easy to keep on consuming without adding any value to your life and/or others' lives. So, be mindful of endless scrolling on Twitter, and share whatever you learn and consider as valuable.

3. Twitter DMs:

DMs on Twitter is the most powerful feature. If you do it right, you can get access to your idols, and even get to exchange ideas, and get their feedback on things you're working on. But, before taking value, offer value.

Don't send a "Hi". Be mindful of not wasting your time as well as theirs. And don't write a message in an entitled tone either. Respect their time and most people on Twitter would respond if you do it right.

4. Purpose of Twitter:

I treat twitter as what @jackbutcher calls a "timeline of your evolution". On Twitter, you document your evolution. You share things you consider insightful. You share what you learn about things you're interested about.

Even if 1 out of 100 people who follow you gets benefited, it's a win. That's a win you collect for every person who gets benefited and uplifted. If you have the impulse to share what you learnt that was insightful to you, never hesitate on Twitter.

5. Creation vs Curation:

There's no dearth of content online. From superficial content to in-depth content, there's everything everywhere on web. Problem is finding really good and meaningful content on specific topics. If you are able to find such content, share them.

Twitter's problem is that it doesn't give visibility to tweets with links or anything that makes people click and leave Twitter. So, if you don't want that and still want people to get benefited, summarise what you have learnt from whatever you read/watched.

The best curators are leading the way. You need not be original. You don't have to be creative. You curate and compress the learnings from a book, an hour long video, a lecture, etc., into a readable thread on Twitter. You do it right, you save time for people. That's a win.

6. Use blocking generously:

I was against blocking when the account was nothing. But as the account grows, and more people follow you, the onus is on you to keep your timeline clean. Don't encourage or indulge in negativity. Don't wait for three strikes. Block pre-emptively.

The reason you block trolls and haters : peace of mind. As such we aren't trained to handle growth or even a little bit of traction/fame. So, when trollers/haters come, it's human nature to get defensive and engage in back and forth comments. It's all a waste of precious time.

So, anyone behaves even with a slight hint of negativity or trolling-tendency, block. Healthy and respectful debates - allow. But unhealthy, toxic, troll/hate - block.

There's a very thin difference between the two. You'll learn to understand that as you grow.

7. Personal monopoly: Use Twitter to establish personal monopoly. You may be interested in few areas. For me that is Finance, Entrepreneurship, Tech, and self-improvement. I am still refining my focus so it's a bit hazy. But you decide which 3-4 major areas of focus you'll have.

When that aligns with what you're learning regularly, and when you keep sharing whatever you're learning, over a period of time you establish what's called a personal monopoly.

For @david_perell - it's writing, productizing, and community building. For @fortelabs it's productivity, note-taking, and building a second brain. For @paraschopra it's mental models, entrepreneurship, and psychology.

But these are things that they have niched down on after a long time of tweeting regularly. They refined their processes and their understanding of the audience on Twitter, combined with the topics they are most interested in. Likewise, you identify your topics and refine.

8. You don't need to be original:

Nobody is original. Almost everything is borrowed. Today, most research papers aren't original either. They refer and highly borrow from their predecessors. We are all here learning from those who came before us.

So, there's no need for originality. When you combine an intersection of topics that you're interested in, that's unique to you, you slowly start getting insights that are unique to you - and you share them. In the process you will share unoriginal thoughts too. That's OKAY.

There are Twitter accounts that tweet platitudes and quotes from philosophers and renaissance time authors. They have thousands of followers. So, it doesn't matter whether you're original or not, it matters whether you're adding value to your audience.

That said, even directly copy pasting someone else's content is fine given you don't claim it as your own. Give credit whenever possible. If not, at least don't put a copyright with your name on it, and don't quote quotes as if you wrote those (like Jay Shetty).

9. You don't need to be an expert:

You can tweet on 10 different topics that you learn about on a daily basis. That wouldn't matter to people as long as you're a sub 500 follower account. But if your account sees growth, there are some who would call you names, fake, what not.

Should it matter?

You don't have to be an expert to share whatever you have learnt. If someone is an expert and they genuinely want to help, they will correct you respectfully. If they don't want to help, their comments shouldn't matter to you.

I tweet about things that are within the purview of the topics I am interested about - finance, tech, business, and self-improvement. To some, it may seem like 100s of different things. But to me, it's narrowed focus on four areas I want to improve in.

Am I an expert at anything yet? I am not. Never claimed to be one. I run a food manufacturing company, so I talk about business. I work on backtesting different strategies. So I talk about that. I work on improving my trading skills, I share what I learn. I am evolving.

Likewise, you'd find yourself evolving and sharing what you learn on a daily basis. I am sure 1000s of people will find value in what you post if you post what you find so valuable to you. There are always gonna be one or two who will have an issue with you. That's life.

To sum up, you don't need to be an expert to start or share your thoughts and insights on Twitter. You don't need to be original. Most people don't pick up a book or watch a lecture. If you can get them the learnings without them spending time, that's valuable. You do that.

10. Twitter Threads are the future blogs.

Many may have issues with Twitter threads. But if each tweet in your thread is valuable, your twitter thread is what will get you the most engagement, and sincere 1000 true fans/followers.

In my last 5 months of tweeting, I found that independent tweets do so-so, and twitter threads bring in lots of engagement, visibility, profile visits, DMs, and followers. This is an incredibly powerful feature, and use it mindfully.

There are going to be people who'd say "keep your thread short (4-5 tweets) and write a blog. If people want to read it, they will go read the blogpost.

No they won't. Nobody's got the time. Twitter will reduce visibility if your tweets have links. So, embrace threads.

11. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Twitter is an incredible place. By doing all that's mentioned above, I have been fortunate to meet some incredible people for podcasts, collaborate with those I look upto for building trading related skills, and investing ideas.

Without even asking, many brought to me strategies to backtest, ideas to vet, sought opinions on courses/programs, advice on starting a business in India, etc., all because I tweeted about my experiences in the areas I am interested in.

These people and the experiences they have brought in have led to some very good acquaintances and relationships I have created online. If you let it, Twitter will change your life for better. You only need to document YOUR EVOLUTION.

12. Limit your time on Twitter.

While growing on Twitter, it's easier to get lost in the noise. Easier to engage with trolls, easier to check out, easier to drown in the unnecessary and irrelevant things. So, be aware that there's a life outside of Twitter.

13. Embrace chaos.

Initially, your interests won't be super refined and niched down. That's fine. You will refine your process, the topics you focus on, the things you're interested in and zooming into, as you start evolving. Let it take its time. Don't rush it.

If and when you decide to monetize your time on Twitter, be sure you give your audience what they want, at 10x the value for the price they pay to you. They will keep coming back to you for more.

14. Some accounts to follow.

@david_perell @dmuthuk @TihoBrkan @brandonthezhang @viziandrei @anthilemoon @safalniveshak @BeingHorizontal

Few more accounts to follow.

@langvalcapital @dollarsanddata @10kdiver @iancassel

15. How to do BIOs on Twitter:

Let your bio reflect the core topics you're interested in and developing skills at, and/or the things you have experience with that you'll share updates about. Best way for people to know what your tweets will be about.

16. Profile picture:

A balance between Facebook and Linkedin is the best for Twitter. So, go with something semi-professional. If you're an anon account, use a picture that best reflects the values you bring to Twitter.

17. On Tweeting frequency:

There are people who Tweet so many times a day and have hundreds of thousands of followers. There are those who tweet 4-5 times and those who tweet only once a day. Depending on what your style is, choose a way and be consistent.

18. On Visibility:

Always engage with big ticket, highly followed, very visible accounts - in your field. Better if they are also your idols. Make sure any comment you make adds value to the conversation and brings unique perspective.

If you don't have anything more valuable to add to the big account's post, and you like the tweet/thread, retweet it with a comment/suggestion. Whenever you can add value, do that. This brings you visibility, from the people you look up to and their followers.

19. On Credibility:

Credibility is an important thing. If you're an account posting memes, you won't be taken seriously. A random and insightful meme once in a while does no harm. But if you want to be taken seriously, but only post funny memes, that won't work.

Also, if you want your Twitter timeline to reflect your professional experience, document your evolution, it helps to be legitimate, honest, and transparent. Especially in the world of Finance, prioritize respect and transparency over likes.

20. On your timeline.

Quoting the Quora policy here. Be nice and Be respectful. If you're a bully and someone with crass-speak, it will sooner or later come and bite you in your back. As I mentioned in another tweet, unless you're the authority in your field, it pays to be nice.

Unless you don't have a job, and you don't depend on anyone to make money, don't take the risk of indulging in controversial, racist discussions on Twitter, don't indulge in targeted harassment of a person/section/religion, and keep taboo topics out of your timeline.