Monday, August 06, 2012

Top 10 Reasons to Join a Twitter Chat

You've probably seen these hashtags (and more) floating around the Twitterverse. A chat for YA writers, a chat for indie writers, a chat for writers who wear sweatsocks on Tuesdays--but what's the point? Should you bother joining one?

I think so.

Top 10 Reasons to Join a Twitter (#) Chat:

10.  Human interaction  from the comfort of your own home. Go ahead and wear that Snuggie. We’ll never know.

9.  No one smells.  Thank you, Internet!

8. The sense of  camaraderie you'll feel. These people get it!

7. You can have cookies. Or  wine.  Your call.

6. You just might gain a few  friends/followers  by the end of the hour.

5. You can  contribute  your own experiences/insights.

4. In turn, you might  learn  something new. Most of these chats have  pre-announced themes to keep things fresh.

3. Want to  stay up-to-date  on your genre/category? Current events are always tossed around.

2.  Networking!  You never know who might be lurking during these things…

1. Peer pressure. We’re all going to stare at you until you join one. ::Stare::

...Okay, I guess I should add that they're  fun,  too. ;)
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And while we're on the topic of Twitter chats, I want to throw out a quick plug for #NALitChat (new adult). We've only had two weeks so far, but it's trended both times.[1]

Encouraging, I say! Join EJ Wesley (and a handful of gals from NA Alley) every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. EST. 


So, what about you? Do you have a particular chat you frequent? What time does it start? Maybe some of us will join you. :) Have a great week! ♥ 
1. Trending based on Twitter’s new algorithm.

57 comments:

Iain said...

Ok, you've convinced me. (I think it was the way you stared at me :o| )
I'm going to get a twitter account and join the fun :o)

Kyra Lennon said...

Twitter chats are fun! But 9PM EST is the middle of the night for me :(

JeffO said...

I don't twit. Tweet. Chirp. Whatever it is. But if I did, I would....

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I've only participated in one Twitter chat - need to do more.

Kelley Lynn said...

Oh man... I need to figure out all we can do with Twitter :)

Juliana Haygert said...

#nalitchat is the best!!

ilima said...

I've only done one, but now that I think back, it had all of those benefits you listed. I need to do more.

Nancy Thompson said...

I guess this is one of those advantages of Twiiter. I definitely see your point. Only wish I had the time to add yet another task to my day. I do like the networking aspect of it.

Meredith said...

I need to get more into Twitter--that sounds like so much fun! Especially since there can be cookies and wine and all. :)

Lisa Regan said...

I still have no idea how these work. What happens? I mean if I hashtag something, it's not like I'm notified when someone else tweets with the same hashtag. Is this one of those things where you have to sit in front of your computer with Twitter open and wait for tweets to come up? I don't understand. Ugh. Twitter. I know people swear by it but it seems like a great unknowable concept to me.

Bailey M.K. Knight said...

On Twitter, if you type the hashtag into the search bar (for example here, #nalitchat) it takes you a new page that refreshes at a certain rate with every tweet tagged with that hashtag. All you have to do is read the stream as it refreshes; just open it up in a new browser tab and chat along. (This is assuming you just want to participate in the web browser version of Twitter. There are other ways, and it is really up to each person's preference of what works best for this sort of chat style.)

Bailey M.K. Knight said...

Twitter chats are the best and we do have so much fun during #nalitchat!

The people chatting are so intelligent and the view points are refreshing, and the questions are curious & insightful. I am surprised (in a good way!) each week!

Carrie Butler said...

Did you hear that, everyone?

Iain is going to get a Twitter account!

Yay! :D

Carrie Butler said...

Aww, that's right. I forgot about the time difference. We had a UK agent who participated two weeks ago, and she had to stay up super late. I felt bad. :(

Carrie Butler said...

Maybe someday, right? :)

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I have to confess, I don't like chat. I only use Facebook video so I can talk to my son face to face and see my darling little man Blake. But otherwise I like good ole email. Okay, I don't mind FB chat once in awhile as long as it's a quick chat, nothing mindboogling. Why? Okay, if you must know, my brain's old. It needs time to formulate it's thoughts. My fingers can keep up, but after a time even they're thinking, What the heck are you talking about???

I think your a maverick, Carrie. Things, chats, are only going to get better with you involved.

Carrie Butler said...

Absolutely! Not only are they useful, but they provide an excellent excuse to procrastinate. ;)

Carrie Butler said...

Yeah! They're a lot of fun. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Agreed! *high-five*

Carrie Butler said...

You should! I've become quite a fan of them. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Ah, maybe we'll rope you into a chat someday. The great thing about Twitter is that you can come and go as you please. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Exactly! Who could argue with cookies and wine? ;) Thanks for stopping by, Meredith!

Leigh Covington said...

Sweet! I really need to learn how to "twitter chat." I've heard good things. :)

Morgan said...

I love twitter chats!!!!!! I used to be way addicted to twitter, and have unfortunately cut down (lol) but it's such a great place with connecting ;)

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Bailey! That's a great explanation for anyone sifting through the comments. :D

Lisa, you use Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to schedule your FCF posts, right? They can be used to track these chats pretty easily. Give me a shout if you want to try it sometime. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Absolutely! I agree with every word. :D

Carrie Butler said...

Aww, thank you, Joylene! You're always so kind to me. :)

You know what I think you might prefer? Reading Twitter chat archives. For example, EJ Wesley organizes and posts most of the #NALitChat the next day. You don't have to worry about adding anything or keeping up with the feed, and you still get all of the information. :D

Carrie Butler said...

Sounds like a reason to do another tutorial! :D Thanks, Leigh!

Carrie Butler said...

Yes! Aren't they fun? Bummer you had to cut back...

The Twitterverse misses you! ;)

Tina Moss said...

I can usually be seen frequenting the #Writersroad chat on Monday nights at 9pm EST. They are a lot of fun and each week have a different topic about the writing journey.

Carrie Butler said...

Oo, I didn't know about that one. Thanks for sharing, Tina! :)

Emily R. King said...

I really do need to join one. I just haven't taken the plunge yet. Thanks for the info!

Carrie Butler said...

I hope you give it a try sometime. :) Thanks, Empress King!

Melissa said...

You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about the Snuggie!
:P

Great post!
I enjoyed #Nalitchat last week. :)

Melodie Wright said...

Good info! I do #yalitchat whenever I can, which isn't often bc of the time difference. 9 pm EST is 5 p.m. for me - generally, right in the middle of dinner prep. :(

Carrie Butler said...

Hah! I just spit my water out. That was hilarious.

Thank you for the laugh, Melissa! :D

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Melodie! :)

Aww, man. These time zone differences are such a bummer!

Victoria Smith said...

You are freakin hilarious. You would put our chat dead in the center of the pic ;). Fine, you pulled my arm. I'll attend a chat, tehe

Carrie Butler said...

I'm sneaky like that. ;) Woohoo!

Unknown said...

I need to try one. Hopefully there's an option for me at a time when I can be on the computer. And I need to learn how to use Twitter better anyway. Thanks for the suggestion! :)

Carrie Butler said...

I hope so, too. :) Good luck, Michael!

Talli Roland said...

I love TwitChats! The only issue for me is that they're often WAY past my bedtime, since the UK is anywhere form 5-8 hours ahead of USA!

Natasha Hanova said...

Great idea! Is it okay to post the NALitChat badge on my blog side bar?

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Since my books are new adult, I need to join in that chat sometimes.

Carrie Butler said...

This is such a bummer! You know what? If I end up having a Twitter chat event for my release, I'm going to make two time slots! :)

Carrie Butler said...

Absolutely, Natasha! I made it. :) Thank you!

Carrie Butler said...

Yes! We'd love to have you. :D

Anonymous said...

I have yet to write a Twitter chat, but its on my To Do List. Looks like a great way to meet new people too.

Carrie Butler said...

You should, Stephen! It's an excellent way to meet new people. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Golden Eagle said...

I'm not on Twitter, but chats do sound like fun. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Maybe someday, right? :D

Mark Koopmans said...

Wow, too funny, I was on Twitter when E.J. started his chat today - but I really didn't know what he was up to.

Now, better informed, I shall keep an eye on it for next week... even though NALit isn't my genre, it should be interesting (and for me it starts at 3p.m. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Aww, man! You should hang around next time. It's a lot of fun, and there are quite a few non-NA writers. You'd be in excellent company. :D

Peggy Eddleman said...

That sounds like SO MUCH FUN! I'm going to have to hang out with you guys sometime soon!

Carrie Butler said...

Oo... you should, you should! We'd love to have you. :D

DMS said...

I have never done a twitter chat- maybe it is time to give one a try. Loved your list- it made me smile. :)
~Jess

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, DMS! I hope you get a chance to try one soon. :D