What Women Do with Twitter

I haven't been on Twitter for long but I do retweet sometimes - mainly if I think it's funny or pithy - I like the "micro" -ness of it...The idea of having to be so succinct appeals to me.

Though I do tweet blog updates sometimes, I'm afraid I'm not savvy enough to use it for personal gain or for networking but perhaps in time I will - I'm off to read the hashtags thing, it looks interesting, thank you.

www.sasasunakku.com ( http://www.sasasunakku.com )

I love hearing about what people are eating. Probably because my diet is a bore.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

I converse here and there, I retweet a little bit, but mostly I'm just a blabberer. I treat my Twitter followers as if they actually care what I'm thinking/doing/feeling at the time, and I try to keep abreast of what's going on with the people I follow as well. I've also found that it's an excellent way to get news! I can't tell you how many things in pop culture I was made aware of by those little trending topics in my sidebar!

- Maria Young

immoralmatriarch.com ( http://immoralmatriarch.com )@maria0305
( http://twitter.com/maria0305 )

for the comment. You sound like a power user.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

I see the word Retweet, I hear RETREAT, RETREAT! in my head only I hear it as RETWEET, RETWEET! It's from some movie, but for the life of me I can't remember. It just makes me giggle. 

Have to say that unlike many people, I don't get too personal or talk about the day to day stuff on twitter like coffee or my writing or what I am really doing.  Instead I focus on info, thoughts, ideas, news ...

I love Twitter while Facebook leaves me cold ... it asks too much of me with quizzes, requests to be someone's BFF, etc.

It doesn't make sense to me that men dominate the top twitter accounts when the demographics of twitter are nearly 50/50. Does Twitter imitate life or life imitate twitter ???

I love the way you can dive in to Twitter and find a snippet, a tantalilzing taste ...

As for RTing, it is often annoying sometimes, esp. the routine RTs and the FFs which seems to clog up the works but it is useful. 

I like to RT for these reasons:

to promote a cause@momstowork
to encourage a friend with a good post
to publish and promote material
( http://twitter.com/momstowork ) I may go looking for something of theirs that I think others would like.
 I like other people's RTs because in my other real life (the one which pays me!) I am a journalist. And many times these RTs will alert me to something useful, a lead on a story or a trend that I know I should watch.

And like Firemom, i find it is a perfect way to ask questions and do surveys. I do a lot of these on my work twitter account @juliepower ( http://twitter.com/juliepower )

Gee, this was meant to be a one line response.

I enjoyed the debate.

See you at Blogher

Julie from Momstowork.com

I love Twitter while Facebook leaves me cold ... it asks too much of me with quizzes, requests to be someone's BFF, etc.

It doesn't make sense to me that men dominate the top twitter accounts when the demographics of twitter are nearly 50/50. Does Twitter imitate life or life imitate twitter ???

I love the way you can dive in to Twitter and find a snippet, a tantalilzing taste ...

As for RTing, it is often annoying sometimes, esp. the routine RTs and the FFs which seems to clog up the works but it is useful. 

I like to RT for these reasons:

to promote a cause@momstowork
to encourage a friend with a good post
to publish and promote material
( http://twitter.com/momstowork ) I may go looking for something of theirs that I think others would like.
 I like other people's RTs because in my other real life (the one which pays me!) I am a journalist. And many times these RTs will alert me to something useful, a lead on a story or a trend that I know I should watch.

And like Firemom, i find it is a perfect way to ask questions and do surveys. I do a lot of these on my work twitter account @juliepower ( http://twitter.com/juliepower )

Gee, this was meant to be a one line response.

I enjoyed the debate.

See you at Blogher

Julie from Momstowork.com

I used to use Twitroid on my Droid, but I don't think it's a good interface. I've been using Seesmic on the Droid, and so far it's been the easiest to use.

DianaRajchel.com ( http://dianarajchel.com )
FatChic.net ( http://fatchic.net )

That's neat. I have some android app for my phone, but just use Twitter on the web. I will check out these others! Thanks for the info!

Those are web apps put out by various developers that you download and install on your computer or your phone. Then you use Twitter with the app, rather than with the web page. The apps offer additional features that you can't get off the Twitter web page. The apps do everything Twitter does, plus more. For example, you can have two or three different columns of Twitter stuff going on all at once in some of them—you might have a search going and be watching the people you follow at the same time.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

are speaking Swahili! I don't know anything about Tweetdeck or Twitterfic or anything else like that. :(

on my iPhone.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

Not everyone else. I hate Tweetdeck, too. Both the desktop and the iPhone version. I won't use it for even a theoretical emergency tweet.

I use Seesmic on my desktop and am looking for a new app for my iPhone. I've been using echofon, but since their latest update, it works worse than ever and really needs to die a quick death. :)

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

has been installed and uninstalled on my machine 3 times. I keep thinking I should love it as much as everyone else. I am faithful to Twhirl, no matter what other apps I sample.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

Me, too.

I will retweet, but only stuff that I find interesting and/or important, which is not the same thing that the majority of prolific retweeters retweet. I'm okay with that. :)

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

If you use Twitter for more than one purpose, as I do, I've found it's preferable to keep using one account but to use a Twitter applicaiton like Seesmic or Tweetdeck. While lists are a response to this, the hashtags and so on are much more useful when you tweet from an app.

And yup, I'm quite gleeful!

DianaRajchel.com ( http://dianarajchel.com )
FatChic.net ( http://fatchic.net )

that I just looked at had an interesting reference to a post about sea turtles ( http://twitter.com/LMAshton/status/9925452108 ). That's the sort of thing I think is worth a retweet.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

and now find that I do. But I use Twitter all the time, too. My intention is to blog more  . . . but do  I? Not always.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

according to your Twitter profile. A  lovely image.

The links from Twitter are rather like a news aggregator for me. I follow people in my field, and often find their links to the interesting things going on in that field really helpful.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

I open an account and then don't use it for a long time. Then I start using it more than the other sites previously used. I started a Myspace account years back, didn't use it for over a year then used it a lot. Did the same with Facebook and now Twitter. I opened my account months ago, but only within the last month or two have I really started using it a lot. 

I use Twitter as a delayed chatroom of sorts. In many ways, it's actually like a less advanced form of Internet Relay Chat, for those who ever used it. You throw something out there. Maybe someone answers. Maybe someone posts something more interesting. After awhile, you make a friend or two.

What I find troublesome are Twitter streams that are NOTHING but links - while Twitter can work as an RSS feed, that's not the way to get the best out of it. It isn't an advertising platform, it's an engagement platform.

So my key to Twitter: "Chatroom. But slower."

And you can find my Twitter stream @magickalrealism ( http://www.twitter.com/magickalrealism ).

DianaRajchel.com ( http://dianarajchel.com )
FatChic.net ( http://fatchic.net )

I've been thinking about hashtags myself a lot lately, so I'm happy to see how many comments have mentioned them.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

I ask a lot of questions on twitter. I also use it to connect with people in different ways (networking, friends, new people, etc). I don't care about being retweeted but will retweet within my niche(s) without hesitation.

Great write up. Very interesting. And I have learned to embrace hashtags in different ways as well. Kudos.

@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom ) from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )

myself, but I have seen some women expressing a dislike for retweets of any kind. I'm actually making an effort of retweet interesting things from women.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

I love this line: "Maybe its time for women bloggers to make a conscious effort to help let the world know where the women tweeters are."

Thank you for the reminder about using hashtags.  I rarely use them, and they can help to connect you with other like-minded women online you might not have found otherwise.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.c... ). Her book is Navigating the Land of If ( http://thelandofif.blogspot.com/ ).

That pretty much sums it up for me, too. :)

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

and use Twitter to share things, to carry on conversations, and to retweet things I think are important. Maybe that would work for you while you're figuring it out.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

for building connections and interaction. That would fit what you and Sassymonkey (aka Karen) are saying.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )

I'm giving it a try but I'm not yet sure if it fits in my arsenal of online tools, or how it fits.

I have found that most of what comes my way from the people I follow are just marketing their own stuff.  And that's fine, I guess.  I know some people use it as a place to 'receive' that kind of marketing from the people they follow.  I wouldn't mind getting a little love from marketing myself there, but I think that only works when you have a fairly critical mass of followers.  I could be wrong, though.  Like I said, I'm knew.

I do like it when I am online and some witty repartee - especially if I can be part of it - takes place.  I like the banter.  But not everyone seems to be there for banter.

I'll admit that I'm floundering with it a little.  When I reply, I wonder if I'm imposing or putting someone out.  I'm not confident in my actions there yet. 

I guess I'll keep observing and trying to see if it starts to make more sense to me.

JustLinda

 fabulously imperfect Nothing to See Here... Just Linda ( http://justlinda.net )

Twitter @JustLindaSTL ( http://twitter.com/JustLindaSTL )

I do use Twitter to share links and information, but I agree that the conversations and the connections created through Twitter are the most meaningful. Unfortunately, when I tweet for clients they are often very interested in "how viral are our tweets." I still maintain that even for business,  building genuine connections via conversations is more important than having tons of followers or being retweeted a lot.

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Vered DeLeeuw

Professional Blogger ( http://momgrind.com/hire-me/ ) and Social Media Consultant ( http://www.socialmediamarketingexpert.net/ )

If I had a choice between someone retweeting me and someone @ing ( http://twitter.com/ing ) me to have a conversation the conversation wins hands down. I use twitter for conversation primarily and any information sharing is secondary to that. I couldn't even tell you the last time I was retweeted because I don't care. But I can almost always tell you the last time someone @ed ( http://twitter.com/ed ) me. 

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).