Twitter Lists

Social Media doesn't have rules. We make the rules. The tools develop depending on how they are used. I hardly used Twitter for the first 5 years I was on it. I had a very persistent friend who loved it, and kept trying to get me hooked. I tried, but it felt like it was just an sms to the world. Shouting into the infinite abyss. The trick, for me, was to get involved. Join the conversation.

Shouting into the Abyss

There is no more powerful tool I know of for connecting Global Citizens. There is no more powerful tool for actively constructing a flow of information that allows me to chip away at my ignorance. I look for real people. I try filter out the ones using Twitter as a loudhailer and look for those who are listening.

Since there are no rules, I use the rules of real life. Relationships are normally better when both people are interested in each other. No one likes someone who only talks about themselves, and isn't interested in others. There are also plenty of people who have interesting ideas and are ready to engage. I focus on them.

I am constantly looking for real people on Twitter. Like going to a party of a friend where you can meet their friends. I will follow people and see what they are talking about. Eventually, if they show no interest in pursuing a conversation, I move on. I don't take it as an affront. People are busy. They don't know me. I don't have to convince them to engage. So I will unfollow those who don't follow me back eventually. Like I would eventually drop my hand if I put it out to greet someone and they didn't notice.

This means I follow a lot of people. In order to focus my reading, I am a power user of Twitter Lists. You can set up public ones which others can see, but you can also turn the setting on private. This means I can have a variety of lists on a variety of topics. These are my constructed filters of what is going on in the world. It means I can consciously choose to make time to listen to bits of the news that don't normally make the headlines. 

Yes, I can have a list of people talking about the issues facing the West like Clinton-Trump, Brexit and Terror Attacks. I can also have lists about areas facing Civil War, Mass Unemployment, and Extreme Poverty. I can have lists to ensure I am listening to voices that are normally under represented.

Social Media gets a bad rap, but I find it an incredible catalyst for real world interaction. I like using real world rules to help it help me. Be interested in people. Be kind. The world is a fascinating place and there is lots of good work going on.

@trevorblack

Trust Bridges and House Parties

Tools come, but they aren't necessarily used in the way they were intended. Users invent uses. Useful uses spread. The main social media tools I use are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, my blog and Instagram (kind of). Each of them serve slightly different purposes. I always only connected with people I actually know in person on Facebook and LinkedIn. LinkedIn for colleagues and clients. Facebook for everybody else. With a big overlap.

I am a fairly recent convert to Twitter even though I have been on it since 2009. I only started understanding how I could use it in a way I enjoyed in 2014. Now I love it. The key difference from Facebook is that I can follow people I don't know. I can meet people I don't know. I consider following someone on Twitter analogous to putting my hand out to meet them, and saying 'Hi, my name is Trev. You look interesting'. It is much easier to do that in a virtual world than in the real world. Unless you are at a house party, a speed dating event or something specifically designed to meet people, just introducing yourself takes a lot of guts.

Unless you have the trust bridge of a mutual friend introducing you, there is always the question of what your motive is. With Twitter, I can look at someone's intro, a few of their tweets, and I normally discover them via people I already find interesting. The great thing about the 'virtual hand shake' introduction is it doesn't matter all that much if they don't return the handshake. There isn't the punch to the stomach of a real world equivalent to being 'left hanging'.

The problem is, a lot of people don't get Twitter. Many who are on it use it as a Broadcast mechanism for their ideas, rather than as a conversation. The 'follow' idea isn't useful. It makes it sound like connecting in that way is somehow elevating the person. Maybe the word will change one day, but it is a wonderful place to connect to new people with new ideas. It is an unfiltered filter of conversation. You can consciously craft a way to burst your bubble where all you hear and experience is with people you know. I have a bunch of lists I use to actively make sure I am looking at what people who are not 'like me' are saying.

More people get Facebook. It started with photos of friends and connecting to people we already knew. I definitely get the feeling it is evolving into more interesting conversations. What I would like to see is whether it can start breaking down bubbles in the way that Twitter can. The challenge with Twitter is that a lot of interesting people stop looking at who is sticking out their hand. They stop following people back. So new people join Twitter and it ends up being an echo chamber. It seems like they are just sending an 'sms to the world' with no one seeing it. Winking in the dark.

It would be great if Facebook became more like house parties. If there were more introductions. If you are happy for me to introduce you to people, please let me know. I am going to start actively making more introductions. If you know people who you think I should meet, please introduce me.  We aren't going to burst our bubbles by accident. We need to bump them into each other consciously so that they grow.

We are more interesting together.

We need to Burst our Bubbles

Twitter

I use Twitter as an unfiltered filter of content on the internet. It provides direct access to some incredible people as they share both their thoughts, and things they are reading. By limiting the number of characters, each tweet can be screened quickly to find things of interest. Links can then take you through to longer reads. By looking at who people I find interesting are following, and who is following them, I am able to find an 'infinite library' of fascinating people engaged in conversation. It doesn't take time from me. It helps me focus my time. 

My handle on Twitter is @ trevorblack 

Unfiltered Filter

I joined Twitter in April 2009 largely at the request of a good buddy who was an early adopter. I really didn't get it for a long time. I made various stabs but for a solid 5 years struggled to understand why he was such a passionate evangelist. I thought of Twitter as an 'sms to the world'. More recently I have become a power user and the penny has dropped. I think the power of twitter is primarily twofold

Unfiltered
You have direct access to some incredible people. For a planet with 7 Billion people, this has democratised thought leaders. You can engage with Nobel Prize winners (@RobertJShiller and @TheDesmondTutu), celebrated scientists (@neiltyson or for some controversy @RichardDawkins, authors (@nntaleb and @GilbertLiz), politicians (@narendamodi) , comedians (@Trevornoah or @rustyrockets - Russell Brand), Philosophers (Nigel Warburton @philosophybites , @PeterSinger, @alaindebotton), Psychology gurus (@paulbloomatyale and @jonhaidt), Religious Leaders (The pope tweets himself @pontifex and the @DalaiLama) and celebrities of your choosing.

As confirmation that they really see your tweets... watch this very funny clip:

Filter
There is so much information on the web, it is daunting to find the stuff that is worth while. Twitter acts as the filter. You find people who are looking for stuff themselves. When they find something interesting they share it. If you find people who are genuinely sharing stuff they find interesting, this is different from traditional media which normally has a particular brand to present and an editorial bias. Here it is individuals - still biased but less constrained. You can use your friends and the world's thought leaders as your filter and you can help provide a filter for others.

But...
As with real human interaction, I think the real power of twitter is when it is used as a conversation rather than a broadcast of just your own ideas. No one likes someone who just talks about themselves. Most people like people who are also interested in them. Most people don't like people who are unpleasant (don't be a troll). As a tool to participate in the important sharing of ideas without borders or thought police - twitter is the embodiment of free speech.

Exciting times.

www.twitter.com

Anger, Insults and Mockery

I have yet to see an argument or discussion conceded by someone whose adversary approaches them with anger, insults and mockery. So why is it used? And often. I am fairly new to Twitter. Despite having had an account since April 2009, I never really got it. I have recently really started enjoying it. It is a treasure trove of interesting people and ideas. It has real potential to break down barriers and expose inconsistencies. I particular enjoy a list I have that puts the Pope, the Dalai Lama, Richard Dawkins, Jonathan Haidt, Peter Singer, Justin Welby, Louis Farrakhan and a few personal additions together (it would be difficult to actually get them in a room together!). Seeing their different approaches to discussing the why and how of life in one stream is fascinating. But others... particularly when it comes to the big ticket items - Religion, Politics, Economics - get nasty. Jonathan Haidt has written a wonderful book on why good people are divided. The gist of it is that our conversations start from the wrong point. We don't pay enough attention to emotional reasons. Our rational arguments aren't the basis of our beliefs. I think reading the book is a good way to start the process of making progress... but when people defer to anger, insults and mockery - I don't think they are actually interested in solving anything. I think they are just playing to their Tribe and smirking at funny tweet insults. It is all more self-congratulatory than constructive. Fortunately there are far more constructive conversations going on... and the world is moving forward.