I wrote 30 Twitter threads in 30 days.

The goal?

Learn how to craft interesting threads, and grow a following. It (mostly) worked.

- New followers: +2.5K (+100% MoM)
- Top thread: 373K impressions
- Top tweet: 2.5K likes

Here's what I learned. Quick thread 👇👇

To start, here's the most popular thread I've written.

Thoughts on what made it work, below.

https://t.co/AIOAYiWEcQ
1. Quality

The threads that performed best were (usually) the ones I put the most effort into.

One example is this one about Jeff Bezos's origins. I spent hours researching and drafting it.

It's worth taking the time to craft your words.

https://t.co/6zWbc4AXLE
2. Timeliness

Capitalizing on the news can be one way to expand viewership.

When Fornite launched its #FreeFortnite campaign, I wrote this thread.

At the time, it was my 2nd best performing thread. It also introduced me to the lovely @JoshConstine.

https://t.co/IEoEYYHtzj
3. Narrative Arc

Have a clear start and end in your mind.

I made this mistake with a few Amazon threads. I thought because my first one worked, I could keep the story going. But they didn't have as clear a narrative arc and were much less popular.

https://t.co/CuR4C9jwZD
4. Imagery

Creating a special title image made no difference.

The threads that took off used photos. And some of the most fascinating stories that used a title image went nowhere.

One example: the story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken.

https://t.co/Xchm3r3hlb
5. Polls

Polls are good for engagement, but not likes or RTs.

100 people played this Twitter trivia game I tried out, but it yielded very few likes or RTs. A few people liked it a lot though.

https://t.co/8duUtG0vfo
6. Quotes

In their brevity, quotes are well-suited to Twitter.

This one about Abraham's Lincoln wisdom did reasonably well for me (at the time). They also take much less time.

https://t.co/tUPCVXzCN8
6. Good News

If you have something big to share, share it.

Even though other threads performed better, the 1K that liked my thread about going full-time on The Generalist meant the most.

Twitter can be a supportive place.

https://t.co/lbO0eeyOCd
7. Answer a Question

After I announced going FT on The Generalist, I had other writers reach out asking what tools I used.

So I shared that list publicly. It made it easier for me to give people detailed information.

https://t.co/D48vNUgYVD
8. Curate Information

This was written after the 30 days, but is something I'd like to do more of: compile info into a single thread.

This covers 2020's IPOs. It features my writing along with others' work. There's value in simplifying consumption.

https://t.co/WcikPizTHW
9. To 👇 or Not to 👇?

I've heard some folks find the use of the 👇 annoying.

I think it may feel manufactured to some.

Personally, I think it is a useful visual to let readers know that there's more to the story. To each their own.
10. The Perfect Topic?

Why did the Tesla tweet work?

Written on a plane, quicker than usual. Not based on any news.

But it hit a sweet spot: something ppl know a *little* about, but not as much as they'd like. Familiarity gets ppl intrigued, uncommon insight seals the deal.
11. Astroturfing

If you want to, you can post your thread into other threads to get visibility.

I did this for the Fortnite thread. Then I felt sick for being spammy and deleted them all. It may be a viable strategy but feels icky to me.

Again, do you.
12. Where Next?

The threads I found most fun to write were narrative and evergreen. I think a year from now, readers will still be interested in:

- Jeff Bezos' Origins
- The Life of Tesla

+ some others. So that's what I plan to write more of.
I'll also write my newsletter, which is my number 1 priority. If you'd like to be a part of that journey, sign up here.

You'll join +11K creators and thinkers interested in technology. Entirely free.

https://t.co/Tnl6ePFgif

More from Social media

So let's check in on "Newsguard," one of the Orwellian groups (e.g., The Atlantic Council) that totally reliable sites like @voxdotcom and @axios use to decide what is "Unreliable" and "fight disinformation."

One example:

OK, so "The Daily Wire" and "
https://t.co/oEa89coNak" are unreliable. Fair enough, maybe they are (I don't use either one of them).

So let's look into one of our new official arbiters of "reliability," Newsguard!

What's their advisory board look like?

https://t.co/5N8op70VE1


OK, so maybe a few names jumped out at you immediately, like, oh I don't know, (Ret.) General Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA AND former Director of the National Security Agency in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003! Google him, he's famous!


Newsguard is all about "seeing who's behind each site," (like how Michael Hayden is behind Newsguard?)

All they want to do is fight "misinformation." That's laudable, right?

Also, Newsguard has a "24/7 rapid response SWAT TEAM!!"

So cool!
https://t.co/EDN3UXvBR9


Ok, I'm not a journalist or a former CIA director, so I have no idea what's true or not unless someone tells me, so hey, Columbia Journalism Review - what do you think of Newsguard Advisory Board Member Michael Hayden?

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॥ॐ॥
अस्य श्री गायत्री ध्यान श्लोक:
(gAyatri dhyAna shlOka)
• This shloka to meditate personified form of वेदमाता गायत्री was given by Bhagwaan Brahma to Sage yAgnavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य).

• 14th shloka of गायत्री कवचम् which is taken from वशिष्ठ संहिता, goes as follows..


• मुक्ता-विद्रुम-हेम-नील धवलच्छायैर्मुखस्त्रीक्षणै:।
muktA vidruma hEma nIla dhavalachhAyaiH mukhaistrlkShaNaiH.

• युक्तामिन्दुकला-निबद्धमुकुटां तत्वार्थवर्णात्मिकाम्॥
yuktAmindukalA nibaddha makutAm tatvArtha varNAtmikam.

• गायत्रीं वरदाभयाङ्कुश कशां शुभ्रं कपालं गदाम्।
gAyatrIm vardAbhayANkusha kashAm shubhram kapAlam gadAm.

• शंखं चक्रमथारविन्दयुगलं हस्तैर्वहन्ती भजै॥
shankham chakramathArvinda yugalam hastairvahantIm bhajE.

This shloka describes the form of वेदमाता गायत्री.

• It says, "She has five faces which shine with the colours of a Pearl 'मुक्ता', Coral 'विद्रुम', Gold 'हेम्', Sapphire 'नील्', & a Diamond 'धवलम्'.

• These five faces are symbolic of the five primordial elements called पञ्चमहाभूत:' which makes up the entire existence.

• These are the elements of SPACE, FIRE, WIND, EARTH & WATER.

• All these five faces shine with three eyes 'त्रिक्षणै:'.
Хајде да направимо мали осврт на случај Мика Алексић .

Алексић је жртва енглеске освете преко Оливере Иванчић .
Мика је одбио да снима филм о блаћењу Срба и мењању историје Срба , иза целокупног пројекта стоји дипломатски кор Британаца у Београду и Оливера Иванчић


Оливера Илинчић је иначе мајка једне од његових ученица .
Која је претила да ће се осветити .

Мика се налази у притвору због наводних оптужби глумице Милене Радуловић да ју је наводно силовао човек од 70 година , са три бајпаса и извађеном простатом пре пет година

Иста персона је и обезбедила финансије за филм преко Беча а филм је требао да се бави животом Десанке Максимовић .
А сетите се и ко је иницирао да се Десанка Максимовић избаци из уџбеника и школства у Србији .

И тако уместо романсиране верзије Десанке Максимовић утицај Британаца

У Србији стави на пиједестал и да се Британци у Србији позитивно афирмишу како би се на тај начин усмерила будућност али и мењао ток историје .
Зато Мика са гнушањем и поносно одбија да снима такав филм тада и почиње хајка и претње која потиче из британских дипломатских кругова

Најгоре од свега што је то Мика Алексић изговорио у присуству високих дипломатских представника , а одговор је био да се све неће на томе завршити и да ће га то скупо коштати .
Нашта им је Мика рекао да је он свој живот проживео и да могу да му раде шта хоће и силно их извређао