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I've been seeing increasing use of the phrase: TT;DR (Twitter Thread, Didn't Read). I'd like to understand what motivates people to publish content like this in

I've been seeing increasing use of the phrase: TT;DR (Twitter Thread, Didn't Read). I'd like to understand what motivates people to publish content like this in numbered Twitter threads instead of blog posts. Is it because of the virality of twitter? Is it because it's easier to write or read snippet bites of text and images? Is it because they don't have a blogging platform? Is it something to do with comments or sharing? For those that write and prefer Twitter threads - what motivates that style instead of blog posts?

joshmlewis 5y ago
Twitter has really become a platform for professionals to make a name for themselves in a relatively short time period. There's also a general trend the past few years of society pushing people to build a community (followers, subscribers, etc) online using whatever niche skills they have. I've seen it over and over in the real estate / SMB side of Twitter in the past year. Someone talks about the secrets of the storage rental business, laundry mat business, or house cleaning business using threads and they're able to gain a "community" of followers relatively quickly and then a few months later capitalize on it with intros or selling a course. So back to the original question, I believe the reasoning for people to publish stuff like this on Twitter is to build up a following and their public presence.
Swizec 5y ago
Nobody clicks on links (and the algorithm deemphasizes them). People want to read content natively without leaving the app. So if you want reads, you gotta share natively on whatever platform you like to use. The pros use a strategy where they write long cornerstone content then post insightful abstracts on various platforms natively. Super pros use interns/agencies to do the chopping and sharing.
- rexreed 5y ago
  Why are people preferring to read content on Twitter to begin with? I never go to Twitter as my primary source to read or learn about something. But maybe I'm unusual, and perhaps the current mode is scrolling thru stuff, reading stuff in short snippets, and never clicking links to read in more details.

joshmlewis 5y ago

Twitter has really become a platform for professionals to make a name for themselves in a relatively short time period. There's also a general trend the past few years of society pushing people to build a community (followers, subscribers, etc) online using whatever niche skills they have. I've seen it over and over in the real estate / SMB side of Twitter in the past year. Someone talks about the secrets of the storage rental business, laundry mat business, or house cleaning business using threads and they're able to gain a "community" of followers relatively quickly and then a few months later capitalize on it with intros or selling a course. So back to the original question, I believe the reasoning for people to publish stuff like this on Twitter is to build up a following and their public presence.

Swizec 5y ago

Nobody clicks on links (and the algorithm deemphasizes them). People want to read content natively without leaving the app. So if you want reads, you gotta share natively on whatever platform you like to use. The pros use a strategy where they write long cornerstone content then post insightful abstracts on various platforms natively. Super pros use interns/agencies to do the chopping and sharing.

rexreed 5y ago
Why are people preferring to read content on Twitter to begin with? I never go to Twitter as my primary source to read or learn about something. But maybe I'm unusual, and perhaps the current mode is scrolling thru stuff, reading stuff in short snippets, and never clicking links to read in more details.