Is Your Twitter Inbox Overwhelming?

If you’re like me and you follow a lot of people on Twitter, your Home stream (or Twitter inbox, as it were) can be overwhelming.  Kind of like drinking through a firehose, really.

I’ve been using Twitter for just about 3 years now.  At first, I started out as a consumer of information, more than a publisher.  Since I like to learn, I found a wealth of information in the Twitterverse on many topics that I’m interested in.

So, I started following a lot of people.  It wasn’t long before my Twitter inbox became overwhelming.

Then I Discovered Twitter Lists

When I figured out that you can have up to 20 “Lists” in your Twitter account, my Twitter inbox became much more under control.

Now, I rarely actually look at my Home stream.  I’m constantly flipping between lists, depending on what I feel like reading.  And, every single new Tweep that I follow… I immediately add them into 1 of my 20 lists.

Very organized of me, I know. 😉

Wondering What Lists to Setup?

If you’re interested, here are my lists: http://bit.ly/L54afM   You should be able to see the actual tweets that are being published by the people I follow in each of the lists.

Some days when I’m feeling thirsty I might want to see what people are saying about Beer or Wine.

Some days I feel like seeing what people are saying about my favourite sports on TV.

Sometimes I just feel like looking at amazing pictures from Photographers I follow.

Other days, when I’m feeling keen, I like to read up on the latest in Sales, Marketing, or Business.

I also use Twitter as my source for News.  I love how you can read the very latest developments in a news topic from people right at the scene.

I also have a few “Private” lists that you can’t see.  One of them is a list of close friends and acquaintances, whose tweets I don’t want to miss in a sea of other tweets.  I call that list “CantMiss-P”.

There’s also a list called, “CantMiss-W”.  I use that one to keep a shortlist stream of tweets that I cannot miss in my professional life.

Make your “Social” Life Easier

So, if you want to make Twitter a more enjoyable and useful experience for yourself, try Lists.

If you’re already using Lists, what are some other good ones I might want to try? (comments welcome…)