siberianfruit

I’ve gone back and forth with Twitter, and a couple of weeks ago I decided to revamp my Twitter strategy entirely to take complete control of using Twitter as a tool. My strategy is three-fold: 

1. I’ve unfollowed most of my friends, acquaintances, and other legacy accounts I’ve accumulated over time. This brought me down to about 40 people. The reason I did this was that I asked myself the question of why I’m using Twitter and what do I want to get out of it. I’ve realized that Twitter is not about friends for me. Close friends I communicate with outside of social networks and sometimes on Facebook. So I don’t need Twitter for that. 

2. I’ve started following people based on two questions: (1) does this person/company provide information that is in line with my current goals? and (2) is this someone I’m potentially interested in developing a relationship with? My interests currently include startups and entrepreneurship, the Los Angeles tech scene, technology and startup thought leaders, people who appear to really get social media and do it successfully, no-nonsense women entrepreneurs, publicity figures who seem to be of special relevance to the subject matter of my startup.   

3. Don’t follow people as a favor, due to social pressure or just to be nice :) I will have a conversation with anyone who writes to me (within reason), but will not follow them back unless condition #2 is met. 

Following these strategies has immediately made my twitter extremely relevant to me. In the past, I’ve tried a complicated list strategy and I have to say that it really didn’t work for me. This is one of those cases where removing all barriers for yourself really pays off. It’s the same way that I think about my gym membership or exercising in general. Make it so that it’s an easy, free-of-obstacles experience and leave yourself no room for excuses. Now, when I jump to my Twitter feed I can’t help but get engaged right from my homepage. 

I’m up to following 93 people at the moment and I’m sure this list will keep growing as I find more and more highly relevant folks to follow. 

This morning I came across the TED Commandments for TED speakers. I was impressed with these as a sophisticated guide for any kind of social media strategy. These tips can be largely applied to blogging, tweeting etc. (with a couple of exceptions, of course). 

I adore the first five tips. So great and dead on.

The TED Commandments

These 10 tips are given to all TED Conference speakers as they prepare their TEDTalks. They will help your TEDx speakers craft talks that will have a profound impact on your audience.

1. Dream big. Strive to create the best talk you have ever given. Reveal something never seen before. Do something the audience will remember forever. Share an idea that could change the world.

2. Show us the real you. Share your passions, your dreams … and also your fears. Be vulnerable. Speak of failure as well as success.

3. Make the complex plain. Don’t try to dazzle intellectually. Don’t speak in abstractions. Explain! Give examples. Tell stories. Be specific.

4. Connect with people’s emotions. Make us laugh! Make us cry!

5. Don’t flaunt your ego. Don’t boast. It’s the surest way to switch everyone off.

6. No selling from the stage! Unless we have specifically asked you to, do not talk about your company or organization. And don’t even think about pitching your products or services or asking for funding from stage.

7. Feel free to comment on other speakers’ talks, to praise or to criticize. Controversy energizes! Enthusiastic endorsement is powerful!

8. Don’t read your talk. Notes are fine. But if the choice is between reading or rambling, then read!

9. End your talk on time. Doing otherwise is to steal time from the people that follow you. We won’t allow it.

10. Rehearse your talk in front of a trusted friend … for timing, for clarity, for impact.