What to Tweet

Tweeting is an art form. It takes a while to understand how to speak the language of Twitter. But once you learn Twitter, it becomes a great way to communicate your ideas and thoughts, the things you've been focused on, and to see what the rest of the world is doing in their thinking and every day lives.

The beauty of the tweet is that you have to condense your thought into 140 characters or less. This makes you focus and disciplined in communicating what really matters. The fluff is wiped away and it is just the basic thought. You learn to say things well.

So there are a couple schools of thought when it comes to using Twitter as a pastor. The first is to create your brand. In other words, all of your tweets revolve around the same basic concepts. So if I were to do this, all of my tweets would revolve around using social media in the church. Doing this helps you become influential in one realm of thought. People who are interested in this realm will follow you.

I've chosen to go with a separate school of thought. My tweets are more eclectic. You'll find me tweeting about a little bit of everything. It's very much how I also use Facebook:when someone reads my Twitter feed, I want them to see that it is very much who I am. The things I talk about on Twitter are also the things I talk about in real life. I'm the same person in both places.
While I likely won't ever become a viral sensation within a certain realm or topic, it is more important for me to be real and authentic and just me.

I want Twitter to be an extension of me and who I am because that's what I use in my every day ministry. Authenticity and openness and vulnerability are key traits. So with that in mind, what do I tweet about?

Looking back on some recent tweets, here's what I've got:




So this was during the NCAA tourney. I tweeted a lot about the Buckeyes. During the game, when I can't get together with a bunch of guys and watch, I hang out on Twitter with those who are watching and making snarky comments about the game and the refs and all that stuff. I follow a bunch of people who love the Buckeyes and do the same thing. So I will retweet some of their really good comments.




Here is another day that was full of retweets. Re-tweeting is a great way to share info from people you either follow or find through searching hashtags you are interested in. I like funny ones, especially church humor, and will often retweet them. There is also in the middle a tweet of an Instagram picture I took.




This is what my feed will often look like. Lots of links. Some to this blog. I use the hashtags to help people interested in certain topics to find my tweets. I also mention people by their Twitter name so they can easily see I was talking about or to them.

So tweet often. Keep it updated. Decide if you want to be about a specific thing or just use Twitter as a microcosm of your life as I do. And follow interesting people. Like me. :)

Who do you love to follow on Twitter? Tell me in the comments section below.