Invincible Tip - Instantly Make Twitter Better
Today's Quick Daily Tip
⏱ Invincible Career Daily Tips are quick actions you can take to become a little more invincible in your work and life.
Try this tip today
Create a Twitter List and add some of your favorite people to it (like me! 😉).
Some of you may already use Twitter every day. But, I would guess that some of you avoid it for the usual reasons:
Information overload
It feels chaotic
It’s too addictive
It’s a waste of time
Too much hate
Too many trolls
I was an early user of Twitter and joined way back in 2007. I used it a lot when I was running the Search team at Yahoo. But, I dropped off after I left the company.
Like many others, I guess I reduced my time on the social network due to spammy content, trolls, and nasty arguments.
However, I discovered Twitter could be a great tool when used appropriately. 🔥 Like fire, it can help you be productive, or it can burn you if it gets out of control. How do you like that metaphor? 😂
Creating a list
The best way to make Twitter instantly better is to create one or more Lists. A List is a curated group of accounts. When you view a List, it only shows a stream of tweets from the accounts on that list. You don’t have to see the rest of Twitter.
For example, I have a list I created called “The Future of Remote Work.” It shows tweets from a handful of accounts that discuss remote work, the future of work, and remote jobs.
There are a few details and settings you enter when you create a new List:
An image (used for the List header and thumbnail icon)
Name
Description
Privacy setting
The privacy setting is important. You decide if you want your List to be private (i.e., only you can see it and use it) or public (i.e., anyone can see your List and follow it).
You can also follow Lists created by others. For example, Harvard Business Review has lists for Innovation and Leadership.
They aren’t easy to find, though. You have to tap the More icon on someone’s Twitter profile and select “View Lists” from the menu.
You may even discover that someone has added you to their List. For example, I can see that I’m on several dozen public lists (who knows how many private?).
Again, this isn’t easy to discover. Navigate to your Lists view, tap the More icon (•••) to the right of the New List icon, and select “Lists you’re on.”
Learn more about how to create, manage, and use Twitter Lists.
Make Twitter more useful for you
This tip helps you connect with people relevant to your profession, career growth, or intellectual curiosity. It’s powerful to see fresh thoughts from people you respect and admire.
You could create a list of:
Talented people in your profession (e.g., other designers, engineers, product managers, etc.).
Your favorite authors and writers.
Professional organizations and conferences (i.e., to stay on top of announcements and events).
People in positions of influence in companies you are tracking (e.g., hiring managers).
The number of employers and decision-makers who use Twitter to locate talent might surprise you. That’s why I tell folks to engage in conversations with people relevant to their future career path.
I know many tech leaders and recruiters who do it. They’ll often tweet that they are hiring for positions.
Let me tell you something. If you’re not professionally active on Twitter and engaging with key people in your industry, you miss out on some incredible opportunities.
Larry Cornett is a Personal Coach who can help you optimize your career, life, and business. If you’re interested in starting a business or side hustle someday (or accelerating an existing one), check out his “Employee to Solopreneur” course (launching later this year).
Larry lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice to help others take complete control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.
Excellent tip, Larry. I used lists long ago but forgot about them. Time to use lists again!