I previously saw someone sharing an article on how they use Telegram, so I'll share how I use Twitter. As for Telegram, maybe I'll share in the future, maybe not.
I'm not a heavy user of Twitter, especially since Musk took over Twitter. I have prepared to deactivate my Twitter account at any time. The reason I still keep Twitter is because there is still information I need here.
What I see#
I looked at my following list, which can be roughly divided into: developers, official accounts of the products and services I use, internationally renowned organization accounts, and bloggers recommended by Twitter's algorithm. The information on my Twitter timeline is quite diverse. In addition to seeing updates from the bloggers I follow, I also often look at the content recommended by Twitter. I'm curious about what Twitter will recommend to me after having this account for so long 🤣. I know some people have some inherent biases against Twitter, such as: it's all about pornography, it's all about politics. Regarding the former, I usually solve it by opening Twitter's sensitive content filter settings. As for the latter, I usually choose to focus on facts (I don't read texts and images without sources), and I read fewer opinions. I think Twitter is a big world, and what you want to see determines what you will see.
How I use it#
When I see a good post on Twitter, I will like and mark it. I mentioned this issue in my own channel before.
When I see good content on Twitter, I usually like and mark it. I'm not used to using methods like @readwise save thread or @notion save thread. Sometimes, there are many such replies under a post, and it feels like the quality of the comments section is greatly reduced. Of course, if the author doesn't mind, it's fine.
Come to think of it, marking posts seems to be the most common thing I do on Twitter, hahaha. Although there are some social relationships on Twitter, most of our communication is still done through Telegram. Twitter is more suitable for recording life (moments).
Finally, I recommend three services that I am currently using:
- Post: Generates beautiful images for Twitter posts and saves them.
- Thread Reader: Helps you read and share Twitter threads better.
- Twitter Video Downloader | Fast and Free: Download Twitter videos.
Personal complaints#
I don't like posting information on Twitter. Without a membership, I can't post long articles. The only way to post long articles is through threads, which I feel creates a strong sense of reading fragmentation. Sometimes I have to rely on Thread Reader to consolidate them, which I also don't like. So I rarely post multimedia messages on Twitter. Most of the time, I just mention my friends on Twitter to take a look at a certain post. In addition, regular users cannot edit tweets. If you post the wrong content, you have to delete and repost it. If you want to add content, you have to link to your previous tweet. If you find a mistake in a tweet thread you have already posted, you need to add corrections and explanations later, which feels too troublesome and inconvenient. It's not suitable for someone like me who often makes mistakes when typing. Another point is that Twitter's posting feature currently does not support markdown format, and links can only be placed on top. I am more used to using markdown. But this is normal, Twitter originally started as a microblogging platform. I understand that it doesn't have this feature.
So, I only use Twitter lightly, mainly for browsing, and I rarely comment or post. I also don't share my Twitter account because there's really nothing personal on it.
It is precisely because of these reasons that I prefer to publish content on blogging platforms or Telegram and share my thoughts.