Sunday, September 7, 2008

Twitter A Form of Microblogging.

Twitter A Form of Microblogging.

I have been using Twitter for several months. I find it easy to use and quite enjoyable to do. It is a form of microblogging where you post very short 140 word long posts to groups of users. The fun is in the types of posts which you can find and read. The posts are on an incredibly variety of subjects. They also can include links to various websites.

Because the posts are very short it does not take long to do them. You can do one or two posts a day very easily with only a few minutes spent on each post. Because the posts are short, you can even post serially during a day. For example, when Fantagraphics books was at New York Comic Con, they posted a 140 word twitter post every hour. It was entertaining reading their brief updates.

Also, twitter can be used with text messaging devices and on laptops. This means you can receive twitter posts from the most unlikely places. People are often twittering at protests recording short messages about what is happening blow by blow. The Republican party has even picked it up as a tool to protest Nancy Pelosi.
http://www.236.com/news/2008/08/13/faq_house_republicans_twitter_8279.php

I find it kind of amusing. It is a very creative tool if used appropriately. I am currently using it to promote my blog. I am part of a group which discusses twitter on blogcatalog, a social networking site. People are constantly trying to think up new ways to use it.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/twitter

Some of the main ways which I use it are:

1) Write short form poetry-- twitterkus. (haiku)
2) Quotes by famous people.
3) Announce which book I am currently reading.
4) Place links to my blog posts.
5) Place links to what I think are entertaining websites.
6) Place links to free ebooks.
7) Make simple statements about what I am currently doing.
8) Announce where I am going. I made a post about New York Anime Festival.

My twitter address is http://twitter.com/bookcalendar

There are a lot of very interesting people using twitter. I initially searched for people who were interested in publishing, books, and comic books and followed them. Then they began to follow my statements slowly. I really don't know the people. I am doing this to generate interest in my blog more than anything else.

There are a lot of different groups on Twitter. I am especially interested in publishing oriented people who use twitter. Some of the publishers following me on twitter are UMinnPress, GemstonePublishing, Little Brown, Orbit Books, Bantam Spectra, Echelon Press, Living Waters, Ambrosia Publishing, Septagon Studios, Island Press, oupblog (oxford university press blog), Cisco Press, Impetus Press, Publishing Talk, biffhumble/ Red Flag Publishing, Permuted Press, BeTheMedia, and Peachpit.

I am always looking for more people to join me in my endeavors...

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