Now that we have Twitter lists is it really worth the hype? I haven’t see anyone lining up to form a petition to remove lists like any new Facebook feature, possibly they could use twitter lists to create the list? /irony. In short – the answer depends on how you use or want to not use the new option. The frenzy (over 27 million results) over the new feature and release method has caused plenty of adulation, but I am more curious what could use improvement?
The fact that twitter users take their personal brand so seriously was exemplified when Chris Brogan mentioned the backlash by excluding individuals from his lists, thus labeling lists “exclusionary by nature“. So besides a thick skin do his users need to grow up? I think this harks back to the follow me – I’ll follow you back mindset on twitter etiquette.
Does the fact that inclusion on a list will add anything to a user as meta-data or perceived relationship by classification? And by taking the control out of the hands of the user on the list does it make this classification more human/real?
What if you feel the classification is wrong or derogatory? I dare refer to those who Chris may have offended by excluding would be happy to not be included on @cspenn’s lists.
So it seems to get on or off lists you have to connect with the creator (which is kind of the point) but what about the ability to collaborate or moderate a list. For example, it seems in my city almost every Twitter user has their own list of local users. The issue being that there is no one with a complete list and this leaves the classification structure fractured.
For me the benefit of being able to list users without following them helps simplify the amount of users in my main feed. I now wonder how this will impact the follow ratio for most accounts – especially business or corporate types. So it might make sense to forget the main feed all together, turn lists private and then build an app that will display only the lists I follow. Thus building a simple taxonomy used to categorize a user based on what I expect them to tweet.
To finish off, lists are a good start at classifying users and simplifying the feed structure but need a lot more work to take a simple classification structure and make it more usable to the whole community. Please share what your recommendations for the obvious next steps for Twitter lists!
Just another way of emphasizing your significance on Twitter. The more lists you feature on, the more your Twitter power.
Classification yes, but significance no. A company might think that to be included on a users list is significant, but the user might just have done it to attract more followers.
The trouble with categorizing people based on what you expect them to tweet is that some of us don’t divide all that well. I imagine this will force many of us to create separate accounts for various interests. One account for stuff that relates to all my professional interests and another that relates to my creative stuff. For example, my writer/novelist followers may not be as interested in the healthcare PR stats and the chitchat with other marketing folks, and vice versa. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with splitting into different accts, just one more time suck, as is maintaining lists.
Wyatt,
I tend to agree with you. People are making all sorts of assumptions about a feature that already existed from third party providers, except the grouping function wasn’t public.
At the same time, I have to add that anyone who places any significance on lists as some kind of influence indicator only demonstrates why they might not be. Lists don’t make people influential; their actions and thoughts do.
Best,
Rich
I need to ask this question for the millionth time….Why…oh WHY…do people need validation of this nature? Is Twitter full of hoards of people who have low to no self esteem? How does being on a list that belongs to a person you do not know,(no matter who or what they are!);or being followed or unfollowed by …again…by a person you do not know; enhance any real part of your life?
I am grateful to those who follow me…and have NEVER used an app to get “More Followers”. I have no understanding of why a person needs a billion followers or to be on a bunch of lists that prove absolutely nothing!
There are a variety of ways you can use Lists: as a personal filing system to organize your Following list, as a ranking system (like Favorites), or simply to play around and form your own idiosyncratic categories, like Chris did.
There SHOULDN’T be a master list, that defeats the whole purpose of giving each user the opportunity to create their own Lists. I have a NYC list as do many people I know. But my version includes people that I know & follow. Why would I want to combine my List with some enormous Master List of people I haven’t even met? There is, after all, only room for 500 accounts to be listed.
Think of Lists less as an encyclopedia and more like an address book. How useful would someone else’s address book be for you? I mean, it might be interesting to know who someone’s contacts are but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in seeing strangers’ Tweets. I have more than enough people I know to keep up with.
Eleanor Jodway: I believe that there this the difference, I see twitter like a tool that approaches to me but the people who already I know (in any case it maintains to me close) and not it use with the purpose that not known follows to me.