Good Day Class!

Today I have the honor of introducing Hunter, of Hunter Nuttall.com, as your substitute (guest writer) teacher.

Please take your seats.

It’s great having you here, Hunter.

Without further ado, I’ll turn my outstanding, well behaved class over to you.

I’ll check in on you later and see how it’s going.

Hello, class.

Let’s all take a seat and open our books to page 115.

Hey, who put this whoopee cushion on my chair?

Cath Lawson, I’m looking in your direction!

Enough of that! Let’s get on with the lesson

A new blogger quickly discovers that blogging involves far more than just writing posts. There seems to be an endless number of things demanding our attention, and it’s no wonder that bloggers often feel overwhelmed.

With so many things to do, how do we decide what’s worth spending time on?

Recently, I’ve come to see Twitter as one of the most valuable blogging activities.

Today’s Lesson

Twitter is a social media platform that lets people write short messages called tweets, limited to 140 characters. You can follow other Twitter users, meaning that you’ll see all the tweets they write.

The alleged use of Twitter is to answer their question “What are you doing?” But Barbara posed the question, “Twitter – Do You REALLY Care What I’m Doing?” That’s a good question, and one that’s been on the minds of many people considering Twitter.

You can see an example of a tweet in the picture at the top of this post, where a Twitter user (I call them twits) has announced that he’s sitting on the toilet. Does that make you want to rush off and join Twitter immediately?

Probably not, but I’ve learned that Twitter is immensely more valuable than I first thought. Let me share some tips.

1. You need to use a Twitter application, rather than the web interface.

After you sign up for an account on twitter.com, you’ll probably start sending tweets through the web interface. But once I switched to using TweetDeck as my Twitter application, it suddenly came alive because of the real time aspect. It’s hard to explain why, you just have to try it.

2. You don’t need to answer the question “What are you doing?”

Some people say the first rule of Twitter is to never answer the question “What are you doing?” If you’re only posting mundane tweets about everyday life, people will probably stop following you. Instead, you can share jokes, quotations, useful links, epiphanies, etc. However, I also like to know what people are doing.

3. Twitter doesn’t have to be a big time commitment.

It’s not like email where you have to read everything. You’ll miss most tweets, and that’s OK. I only sign in when I’m doing tasks that don’t require much concentration. Sometimes I won’t be on Twitter for a few days in a row, and I don’t feel guilty at all. There’s absolutely no time pressure.

4. Twitter is great for blog traffic.

I see it as similar to commenting on other blogs. The difference is that tweeting is easier and more visible. Twitter is currently the 7th biggest traffic source to my blog.

Today’s Assignment

Have you been hesitant to give Twitter a try?

What concerns do you have?

If you’re using Twitter, so you see it as a benefit or a burden?

Feel free to ask any questions you may have about Twitter, and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Did I see a hand go up in the back of the classroom?

Yes. Go ahead with your question

---

Want to find Hunter on Twitter? His address is Hnuttall on Twitter. Or if you prefer, on his blog you will have access to a variety of fabulous ebooks he has authored, as well as dozens of articles that share his insight.

---

Photo credit: cambodia4kidsorg