BC SOCIAL MEDIA
Saved by @zmbnski

I wrote 30 Twitter threads in 30 days.

The goal?

Learn how to craft interesting threads, and grow a following. It (mostly) worked.

- New followers: +2.5K (+100% MoM)
- Top thread: 373K impressions
- Top tweet: 2.5K likes

Here's what I learned. Quick thread 👇👇

 To start, here's the most popular thread I've written.

Thoughts on what made it work, below.

https://t.co/AIOAYiWEcQ
1. Quality

The threads that performed best were (usually) the ones I put the most effort into.

One example is this one about Jeff Bezos's origins. I spent hours researching and drafting it.

It's worth taking the time to craft your words.

https://t.co/6zWbc4AXLE
2. Timeliness

Capitalizing on the news can be one way to expand viewership.

When Fornite launched its #FreeFortnite campaign, I wrote this thread.

At the time, it was my 2nd best performing thread. It also introduced me to the lovely @JoshConstine.

https://t.co/IEoEYYHtzj
3. Narrative Arc

Have a clear start and end in your mind.

I made this mistake with a few Amazon threads. I thought because my first one worked, I could keep the story going. But they didn't have as clear a narrative arc and were much less popular.

https://t.co/CuR4C9jwZD
4. Imagery

Creating a special title image made no difference.

The threads that took off used photos. And some of the most fascinating stories that used a title image went nowhere.

One example: the story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken.

https://t.co/Xchm3r3hlb
5. Polls

Polls are good for engagement, but not likes or RTs.

100 people played this Twitter trivia game I tried out, but it yielded very few likes or RTs. A few people liked it a lot though.

https://t.co/8duUtG0vfo
6. Quotes

In their brevity, quotes are well-suited to Twitter.

This one about Abraham's Lincoln wisdom did reasonably well for me (at the time). They also take much less time.

https://t.co/tUPCVXzCN8
6. Good News

If you have something big to share, share it.

Even though other threads performed better, the 1K that liked my thread about going full-time on The Generalist meant the most.

Twitter can be a supportive place.

https://t.co/lbO0eeyOCd
7. Answer a Question

After I announced going FT on The Generalist, I had other writers reach out asking what tools I used.

So I shared that list publicly. It made it easier for me to give people detailed information.

https://t.co/D48vNUgYVD
8. Curate Information

This was written after the 30 days, but is something I'd like to do more of: compile info into a single thread.

This covers 2020's IPOs. It features my writing along with others' work. There's value in simplifying consumption.

https://t.co/WcikPizTHW
9. To 👇 or Not to 👇?

I've heard some folks find the use of the 👇 annoying.

I think it may feel manufactured to some.

Personally, I think it is a useful visual to let readers know that there's more to the story. To each their own.
10. The Perfect Topic?

Why did the Tesla tweet work?

Written on a plane, quicker than usual. Not based on any news.

But it hit a sweet spot: something ppl know a *little* about, but not as much as they'd like. Familiarity gets ppl intrigued, uncommon insight seals the deal.
11. Astroturfing

If you want to, you can post your thread into other threads to get visibility.

I did this for the Fortnite thread. Then I felt sick for being spammy and deleted them all. It may be a viable strategy but feels icky to me.

Again, do you.
12. Where Next?

The threads I found most fun to write were narrative and evergreen. I think a year from now, readers will still be interested in:

- Jeff Bezos' Origins
- The Life of Tesla

+ some others. So that's what I plan to write more of.
I'll also write my newsletter, which is my number 1 priority. If you'd like to be a part of that journey, sign up here.

You'll join +11K creators and thinkers interested in technology. Entirely free.

https://t.co/Tnl6ePFgif

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Great bit of journalism here by Sophia :) fun fact, we had some verrrrry interesting conversations about what exactly the Trump campaign might be doing on TikTok.

So let’s talk about that!


Super glad I could be of help btw :P

Anyhoo: my background = senior web dev, data analysis a specialty, worked in online marketing/advertising a while back

You’ve got this big TikTok account that’s ostensibly all volunteer, just promoting Trump’s app because they’re politically minded and all that.

Noooooope. They’re being paid.

Sophia says it’s just possible (journalist speak I assume) but I know exactly what I’m looking at and these guys, Conservative Hype House, are getting paid to drive traffic and app installs for Trump.

So how do you know that, Claire?

Welp, they’re using an ad tracking system that has codes assigned to specific affiliates or incoming marketing channels. These are always ALWAYS used to track metrics for which the affiliate is getting paid.
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1. I'm the CEO of a platform for females & know I have a unique insight into the single sex space debate. I see it play out in real time.

During our 1st MVP test phase, 1000s of TW onboarded & created "KILL TERF" profiles.

Are we supposed to take these seriously or not?


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Is "KILL TERFS", "RAPE TERFS" & "LOOK AT MY GIRL DICK" what we can except in the real world?

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This behavior has *added* to womens fear.

You can dismiss it if it doesn't suit your agenda. But if you do, no solution to ensure the safety of *everyone* will be found.

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Immo Landwerth
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@terrajobst
Many people are stressed by social media, especially Twitter.

Here is what I do to keep my sanity:

1. Be selective who you follow. Choose uplifting people and people you enjoy talking to.

2. Mute and block liberally. “But freedom of speech”. Nonsense. You choose your friends and parties in real life. Same applies to social media. It’s not immoral to ignore people who dunk on you. This also includes the annoying “devil’s advocate” personalities.

3. Choose your online persona. I mostly use Twitter for work and for engagement with the .NET community. But I’m still a human. Don’t let others dictate what you can and cannot talk about.

4. Choose wether you use your real name or a pseudonym. Social media is about authentic and real human encounters. Your name isn’t as important has how honest you can be in your conversations. Being anonymous is totally cool if that lets you be who you are.
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12 Foot Tall Giant Alexandra Erin
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LRT: One of the problems with Twitter moderation - and I'm not suggesting this is an innocent cause that is accidentally enabling abuse, but rather that it's a feature, from their point of view - is that the reporting categories available for us do not match up to the rules.

Now, Twitter's actual policy is that wishes or hopes for death or harm are the same as threats. That policy has been in place for years. But there's no report category for hoping someone dies. You can only report it as a threat.

Which gives the moderator, who doesn't spend long on any individual tweet, mental leeway to go, "Well, there's no threat here." and hit the button for "no violation found".

They have a rule that says persistent misgendering or other dehumanizing language is not tolerated, but again - there is no reporting category for that. We have to report it as hate against a group.

So again, the moderator looks at that tweet, briefly in isolation, and sees what, without context, might look neutral or matter of fact. A series of tweets referring to somebody consistently by the same set of pronouns or a statement that somebody is a man or woman.
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@davidharsanyi
Don't know if anyone at CNN is covering debunking of the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower panic. This is what it looked like back in 2018.

https://t.co/zHneHwZbQE


https://t.co/VXCyV6rhfr


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https://t.co/bcvkeqs8To
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