4 ms·

To be fair, Twitter is filled to the brim with noise. And I'm just as jaded as you are WRT to the massive scale pandering to Twitter-mobs going on in current

To be fair, Twitter is filled to the brim with noise. And I'm just as jaded as you are WRT to the massive scale pandering to Twitter-mobs going on in current society. With that being said, Dev communities tend to be quite different on twitter. I'll have to take the plunge as well, so I'm speaking to myself as much as I'm speaking to you, make an account _solely_ for your developer persona.

gknoy 11y ago
I think my problem with Twitter is, I have no idea what I would tweet about. Do you just use it to follow things and post replies to people looking for help? I have skipped Twitter for years because I didn't feel a need to micro-blog (esp publically), but now I regret that and don't know where to start. I'm worried that maintaining my feed (?) would be a huge time sink. I like your suggestion about my "developer persona". Do you have suggestions for tools or tactics for making sure the signal to noise stays high?
- FilterSweep 11y ago
  >I have no idea what I would tweet about. That's essentially why I don't use the service in a nutshell, and find it in its entirety much ado about nothing. However, I mentioned I need to follow this advice as well because I often meet developers from other companies, and many in my local area are involved with each other on Twitter. Particularly, the UX and RoR communities of my area are both quite strong on Twitter (I'm a C#/Python guy, but it still applies). In sum, They are much better aware of what's going on and where to find a new job, should they need one. I'm in the same boat as you - in order to further develop myself I'll inevitably have to cave and make a Twitter account. > Do you just use it to follow things and post replies to people looking for help? In a nutshell, yes. Or dev jokes, or your current project(s), or really anything that builds up your following. The metrics are available....use them! "Retweeting" other developers you follow should help as well. > I'm worried that maintaining my feed (?) would be a huge time sink. > Do you have suggestions for tools or tactics for making sure the signal to noise stays high? It is a huge time sink. But unfortunately the "powers that be" place a premium on having both an online presence, and online "clout." While a Github profile and personal website is certainly more important for reputation as a developer, your Twitter serves as a mouthpiece for your work and is (again, unfortunately) ultimately the first _and_ last thing looked at. Maintaining your feed, I guess, would be easy as a developer. You have normal user level things - ie: only follow the accounts in your developer sphere - and you can also use management systems and third party software to filter out more of the noise. Hell, you could even write your own and use that same tool to build up your following! I believe most of the timesink in that aspect would be front-loaded - once you're up and running, you don't need to put much more work in.
- Mz 11y ago
  It does not have to be a huge time sink. Like anything, it will take some time to get your bearings. But the messages are short and the way it works is very favorable to popping in when you feel like it. It is as much of a time sink as you are willing to make it.
- mostlystatic 11y ago
  I tweet mostly about new things I learn, interesting designs I see, etc. This has the added benefit of being able to look stuff up if I forget about it.
wyclif 11y ago
If Twitter is too noisy, it means you're following too many users or the wrong users.
- sdoering 11y ago
  very helpful... very, very helpful. [/sarcasm] I really love this passive aggressiveness.
- TheGrimDerp1 11y ago
  apparently lists can help, though that hasn't been my experience

gknoy 11y ago

I think my problem with Twitter is, I have no idea what I would tweet about. Do you just use it to follow things and post replies to people looking for help? I have skipped Twitter for years because I didn't feel a need to micro-blog (esp publically), but now I regret that and don't know where to start. I'm worried that maintaining my feed (?) would be a huge time sink. I like your suggestion about my "developer persona". Do you have suggestions for tools or tactics for making sure the signal to noise stays high?

FilterSweep 11y ago
>I have no idea what I would tweet about. That's essentially why I don't use the service in a nutshell, and find it in its entirety much ado about nothing. However, I mentioned I need to follow this advice as well because I often meet developers from other companies, and many in my local area are involved with each other on Twitter. Particularly, the UX and RoR communities of my area are both quite strong on Twitter (I'm a C#/Python guy, but it still applies). In sum, They are much better aware of what's going on and where to find a new job, should they need one. I'm in the same boat as you - in order to further develop myself I'll inevitably have to cave and make a Twitter account. > Do you just use it to follow things and post replies to people looking for help? In a nutshell, yes. Or dev jokes, or your current project(s), or really anything that builds up your following. The metrics are available....use them! "Retweeting" other developers you follow should help as well. > I'm worried that maintaining my feed (?) would be a huge time sink. > Do you have suggestions for tools or tactics for making sure the signal to noise stays high? It is a huge time sink. But unfortunately the "powers that be" place a premium on having both an online presence, and online "clout." While a Github profile and personal website is certainly more important for reputation as a developer, your Twitter serves as a mouthpiece for your work and is (again, unfortunately) ultimately the first _and_ last thing looked at. Maintaining your feed, I guess, would be easy as a developer. You have normal user level things - ie: only follow the accounts in your developer sphere - and you can also use management systems and third party software to filter out more of the noise. Hell, you could even write your own and use that same tool to build up your following! I believe most of the timesink in that aspect would be front-loaded - once you're up and running, you don't need to put much more work in.
Mz 11y ago
It does not have to be a huge time sink. Like anything, it will take some time to get your bearings. But the messages are short and the way it works is very favorable to popping in when you feel like it. It is as much of a time sink as you are willing to make it.
mostlystatic 11y ago
I tweet mostly about new things I learn, interesting designs I see, etc. This has the added benefit of being able to look stuff up if I forget about it.

wyclif 11y ago

If Twitter is too noisy, it means you're following too many users or the wrong users.

sdoering 11y ago
very helpful... very, very helpful. [/sarcasm] I really love this passive aggressiveness.
TheGrimDerp1 11y ago
apparently lists can help, though that hasn't been my experience