WebRev Blog

So, you've been networking like crazy on Twitter, right?  You've been using #hashtag feeds and following people who have replied to your tweets or retweeted you.  You've been following more and more people as time goes on.  Because on Twitter, there is no expectation that you actually know someone to connect with them, you may have a list of people that you cannot even remember why you followed them in the first place.  But you've checked a service like FriendOrFollow.com, and you can see that they're following you back, so you hate to unfollow them, because THAT would be awkward...right?

So I'm not the only one.

The biggest problem is that all of these people are Tweeting like crazy when they're not trying to get more followers.  And who has time to read all of that?  Maybe you followed these people because of one specific mutual interest (a common love of Chinese food, for example), but you don't really are about their minute-by-minute stream-of-conscience tweeting of their emotional well-being and the minutiae of their day.  So, what to do?

An easy workable solution is to click HERE, then  "create a list" of people you actually want to read.  Unless you want to really offend people, you might want to call your list something other than "people I actually want to read," however.  Get creative.  Perhaps name the list after the topic of interest you have in common with those folks (e.g. "fellow job hunters" or "Tulsa Tweeps") or something.  By the way, that's considered cool on twitter - to name things using the letters "Tw..." at the beginning of the word.  You can make your list public or private.

Then, as you go through the list of people you are following (you must be following someone to add that person to your list), or your Twitter feed, you can select people you really do want to read, and add them to your liest.  To do that, just click on that person's profile, and click on "add to list" on the dropdown menu under his or her profile. 

Once you have your list developed, all you need to do when you're short on time and just want to catch up on your "Tweeps," you can go to that list, and just read the tweets of the people on that list.  Try it - it's easy and fun (and will save you time and frustration).

Also see:  Lists vs. #Hashtags on Twitter

(Updated)

This week, we're reviewing some of the different types of blog posts.  Hopefully, this will give us all some fresh inspiration, and additional writing ideas. 

Yesterday, we discussed the essay, which targets academics and is good for submission for op-ed syndication (cross-posting).  Today, let's talk about four types of posts that are specifically designed to attract traffic from the search engines: review, list, link posts, and polls

Reviews

 

New products, services, sites, books, movies, etc., are often used as search words on the search engines.  People are searching for information about these  products or publications, and timely review written with SEO in mind can attract readers from the search engines and social news sites.  This is an area in which if you're a new blogger, you might want to focus on the "long tail," (more niche specific, less popular) topics, as with these, you'll have a better chance of making it to the top of the search results (SERPs), because there is less competition.

 

Lists

 

Lists are especially good for attracting readers on social networks.  We don't know why.  Maybe it's because of David Letterman.  Maybe it's because you're telling your readers up front exactly how many points you're committed to making.  We just know they often work.

 

LInks

 

Link posts are designed to attract traffic (and hopefully reciprocal links) from other bloggers.  Some bloggers do a periodic roundup of some of their favorite posts on other blogs.  This is a quick and easy way to do a blog post on a day when time is short, and a productive way to network with other bloggers.

 

Polls

 

People LOVE to give their opinions, and polls are a great way to solicit the opinions of your readers.  Some bloggers use polls as a way to build their e-mail list (by requiring readers to provide an e-mail address to answer the poll).  Others use polls to find out more aobu their readership.  Note that if a poll is on a highly controversial topic, such as a political issue, it is likely that readers will e-mail their friends, or post the poll link to their social networks and discussion forums, and you may actually get more traffic than you wanted.  A successful poll will pique interest, but not be so controversial as to invite "spamming" the poll.

Also see:  Problogger - 20 Types of Blog Posts - Battling Bloggers Block

Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is a trainer and tech writer in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking. Her weakness is the mocha frappuccino.