Tell Me Who and Why I Should Follow Someone in Particular on Twitter

[Neurotic Guy]

I apologize if I sound a bit curmudgeonly. 

I am always the last in the ball game when it comes to new technology or social media.  I was last of my friends to move from vinyl and tapes to CDs, the last to own a cell phone (still do not have a smartphone), last to own a digital camera, last to own an IPOD and last to send an e-mail.   I don't have a DVR.   Eventually I try most things and some I can't live without (cell phone, e-mail, internet, GPS), and some I have no use for (digital cameras; Facebook). 
 
I have to date resisted the Twitter phenomenon.  Obviously, you can't look at TV news or the internet without having some awareness of Twitter.  But generally, when I see tweets from famous people or regular folks I think to myself -- I don't care to know what you are doing today, or, it really makes little difference to me what you are thinking right now.   

I guess my reason for posting this today boils down to this: I think I see some value in Twitter (based on what I think I understand about it), but I also think there is so much uninteresting or superfluous about it that I don't know if I want to waste time with it.  I found Twitter sites related to sports (Celtics Pulse) and eventually find myself having a hard time following it or feel like I've wasted time as very little new info pops out of it. Endlessly repetitive.

I am wondering, given that I have interest in Celtics and Patriots (but probably nothing else that I have a need to feel up to date on), what do you recommend in terms of who/what to follow, and why?

BTW, I do plan to get a Smartphone soon.

[Kiorrik]

Yeah, Twitter can be sort of a waterfall. I tend to hop on when I want to confirm a story. If there's multiple outlets reporting the same stuff, it's probably true. If you want updates *during* draft night, it's the place to be.

For the rest, I just follow what happens on the SB Nation network, nba.com and even a bit of Facebook.

If you're the kind of person that likes to continuously bathe in their Twitter stream, by all means. I myself just don't find it worth my time anymore.

If I'd be back in the Netherlands, I'd use it a bit more, since I follow mainly a group of friends, who use it as a communication tool.

That's also why I have two accounts: one for basketball, where I follow LOTS of basketball related sources, and one where I follow my friends.


.edit: so, if you want to see who I follow, my (very old and outdated) list of "following" is here: http://twitter.com/4Hoopz/following

[Neurotic Guy]

Yeah, Twitter can be sort of a waterfall. I tend to hop on when I want to confirm a story. If there's multiple outlets reporting the same stuff, it's probably true. If you want updates *during* draft night, it's the place to be.

For the rest, I just follow what happens on the SB Nation network, nba.com and even a bit of Facebook.

If you're the kind of person that likes to continuously bathe in their Twitter stream, by all means. I myself just don't find it worth my time anymore.

If I'd be back in the Netherlands, I'd use it a bit more, since I follow mainly a group of friends, who use it as a communication tool.

That's also why I have two accounts: one for basketball, where I follow LOTS of basketball related sources, and one where I follow my friends.

Thanks for the response.  So -- you need to establish a Twitter account and then you sign up for people or news reporting outlets, and then you automatically receive anything they tweet?   Is this basically how it works?    I assume this is easy to figure out once you sign up? 

Thanks for tolerating my ignorance. 

[Kiorrik]

Thanks for the response.  So -- you need to establish a Twitter account and then you sign up for people or news reporting outlets, and then you automatically receive anything they tweet?   Is this basically how it works?    I assume this is easy to figure out once you sign up? 

Thanks for tolerating my ignorance.

Not a problem.

Have you got Facebook? Because it's a lot like that, but with smaller messages.

Just some basics, without meaning to patronize:

A tweet is 140 characters long.
When you tweet, everyone following you can see that tweet.
If you like someone else's tweet, you can re-tweet it. This means that all people following you, will be able to see that person's tweet, whether they are following that person or not.

And that's pretty much it. You can reply to tweets, you can send personal messages called DM's (direct messages) and upload photos, but they're really secondary to the whole tweeting thing, even though you'll use 'm a fair bit.

News-sites like CelticsBlog, Reds Army etc generally have an account for the site, where they tweet links to their latest blog posts, and then separate personal accounts for each blogger/newswriter. I find it interesting to follow the writers themselves because they tend to have interesting conversations with other Twitter users that can be quite insightful.

It's basically a very busy chatroom where you pick who you listen to

[Neurotic Guy]

Thanks for the response.  So -- you need to establish a Twitter account and then you sign up for people or news reporting outlets, and then you automatically receive anything they tweet?   Is this basically how it works?    I assume this is easy to figure out once you sign up? 

Thanks for tolerating my ignorance.

Not a problem.

Have you got Facebook? Because it's a lot like that, but with smaller messages.

Just some basics, without meaning to patronize:

A tweet is 140 characters long.
When you tweet, everyone following you can see that tweet.
If you like someone else's tweet, you can re-tweet it. This means that all people following you, will be able to see that person's tweet, whether they are following that person or not.

And that's pretty much it. You can reply to tweets, you can send personal messages called DM's (direct messages) and upload photos, but they're really secondary to the whole tweeting thing, even though you'll use 'm a fair bit.

News-sites like CelticsBlog, Reds Army etc generally have an account for the site, where they tweet links to their latest blog posts, and then separate personal accounts for each blogger/newswriter. I find it interesting to follow the writers themselves because they tend to have interesting conversations with other Twitter users that can be quite insightful.

It's basically a very busy chatroom where you pick who you listen to

Not patronizing at all! Very helpful.  Thanks!

[ejk3489]

Well, I'm not sure who you already follow, but if you're a fan of the Celtics/NBA I would definitely recommend the following...

Celtics related:

https://twitter.com/Pflanns
https://twitter.com/ESPNForsberg
https://twitter.com/GregPayne_ESPN
https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_John
https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_Chuck
https://twitter.com/KWAPT
https://twitter.com/JCameratoNBA
https://twitter.com/MrTrpleDouble10
https://twitter.com/brohrbach
https://twitter.com/rich_levine
https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP
https://twitter.com/ByJayKing
https://twitter.com/CelticsHub
https://twitter.com/Celts_GreenRoom
https://twitter.com/scott_souza


NBA related:

https://twitter.com/HPbasketball (honestly one of the most entertaining twitter feeds out there, even though I frequently disagree with him)
https://twitter.com/netw3rk
https://twitter.com/talkhoops
https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA
https://twitter.com/JADubin5
https://twitter.com/MikePradaSBN
https://twitter.com/uuords
https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA
https://twitter.com/russbengtson
https://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo
https://twitter.com/Jared_Wade
https://twitter.com/mdotbrown
https://twitter.com/johnschuhmann
https://twitter.com/tomhaberstroh
https://twitter.com/marcel_mutoni
https://twitter.com/highkin

Sorry, that might seem like a lot, but I'm sure I could recommend so many more...these are just the basics (IMO) for NBA twitter.

[Emmette Bryant]

I apologize if I sound a bit curmudgeonly. 

I am always the last in the ball game when it comes to new technology or social media.  I was last of my friends to move from vinyl and tapes to CDs, the last to own a cell phone (still do not have a smartphone), last to own a digital camera, last to own an IPOD and last to send an e-mail.   I don't have a DVR.   Eventually I try most things and some I can't live without (cell phone, e-mail, internet, GPS), and some I have no use for (digital cameras; Facebook). 
 
I have to date resisted the Twitter phenomenon.  Obviously, you can't look at TV news or the internet without having some awareness of Twitter.  But generally, when I see tweets from famous people or regular folks I think to myself -- I don't care to know what you are doing today, or, it really makes little difference to me what you are thinking right now.   

I guess my reason for posting this today boils down to this: I think I see some value in Twitter (based on what I think I understand about it), but I also think there is so much uninteresting or superfluous about it that I don't know if I want to waste time with it.  I found Twitter sites related to sports (Celtics Pulse) and eventually find myself having a hard time following it or feel like I've wasted time as very little new info pops out of it. Endlessly repetitive.

I am wondering, given that I have interest in Celtics and Patriots (but probably nothing else that I have a need to feel up to date on), what do you recommend in terms of who/what to follow, and why?

BTW, I do plan to get a Smartphone soon.

You're not the last.  I don't know what twitter is.

[connerhenry43]

I apologize if I sound a bit curmudgeonly. 

I am always the last in the ball game when it comes to new technology or social media.  I was last of my friends to move from vinyl and tapes to CDs, the last to own a cell phone (still do not have a smartphone), last to own a digital camera, last to own an IPOD and last to send an e-mail.   I don't have a DVR.   Eventually I try most things and some I can't live without (cell phone, e-mail, internet, GPS), and some I have no use for (digital cameras; Facebook). 
 
I have to date resisted the Twitter phenomenon.  Obviously, you can't look at TV news or the internet without having some awareness of Twitter.  But generally, when I see tweets from famous people or regular folks I think to myself -- I don't care to know what you are doing today, or, it really makes little difference to me what you are thinking right now.   

I guess my reason for posting this today boils down to this: I think I see some value in Twitter (based on what I think I understand about it), but I also think there is so much uninteresting or superfluous about it that I don't know if I want to waste time with it.  I found Twitter sites related to sports (Celtics Pulse) and eventually find myself having a hard time following it or feel like I've wasted time as very little new info pops out of it. Endlessly repetitive.

I am wondering, given that I have interest in Celtics and Patriots (but probably nothing else that I have a need to feel up to date on), what do you recommend in terms of who/what to follow, and why?

BTW, I do plan to get a Smartphone soon.

 @Lets_Go_Celtics    is a good twitter follow. not an insider, but a knowledgeable fan who loves the celtics with all his heart. attends most of the games, and watches roughly 80 out of 82 games. Comments all the time, good guy, friend of mine, worth a follow for any celtics fan.

[rondoallaturca]

Definitely follow Wojo on Twitter. Sometimes it seems like he knows stuff before the actual NBA guys do.

[Neurotic Guy]

I apologize if I sound a bit curmudgeonly. 

I am always the last in the ball game when it comes to new technology or social media.  I was last of my friends to move from vinyl and tapes to CDs, the last to own a cell phone (still do not have a smartphone), last to own a digital camera, last to own an IPOD and last to send an e-mail.   I don't have a DVR.   Eventually I try most things and some I can't live without (cell phone, e-mail, internet, GPS), and some I have no use for (digital cameras; Facebook). 
 
I have to date resisted the Twitter phenomenon.  Obviously, you can't look at TV news or the internet without having some awareness of Twitter.  But generally, when I see tweets from famous people or regular folks I think to myself -- I don't care to know what you are doing today, or, it really makes little difference to me what you are thinking right now.   

I guess my reason for posting this today boils down to this: I think I see some value in Twitter (based on what I think I understand about it), but I also think there is so much uninteresting or superfluous about it that I don't know if I want to waste time with it.  I found Twitter sites related to sports (Celtics Pulse) and eventually find myself having a hard time following it or feel like I've wasted time as very little new info pops out of it. Endlessly repetitive.

I am wondering, given that I have interest in Celtics and Patriots (but probably nothing else that I have a need to feel up to date on), what do you recommend in terms of who/what to follow, and why?

BTW, I do plan to get a Smartphone soon.

You're not the last.  I don't know what twitter is.

TP.  You are my hero.  If I try it, I'll post if it's worth the effort for old or old-at-heart folks.

[Interceptor]

Agree with everyone suggesting to follow Wojo. I have him on alert for this offseason, since he breaks news constantly.

I also follow Simmons and Zach Lowe.

[Emmette Bryant]

I apologize if I sound a bit curmudgeonly. 

I am always the last in the ball game when it comes to new technology or social media.  I was last of my friends to move from vinyl and tapes to CDs, the last to own a cell phone (still do not have a smartphone), last to own a digital camera, last to own an IPOD and last to send an e-mail.   I don't have a DVR.   Eventually I try most things and some I can't live without (cell phone, e-mail, internet, GPS), and some I have no use for (digital cameras; Facebook). 
 
I have to date resisted the Twitter phenomenon.  Obviously, you can't look at TV news or the internet without having some awareness of Twitter.  But generally, when I see tweets from famous people or regular folks I think to myself -- I don't care to know what you are doing today, or, it really makes little difference to me what you are thinking right now.   

I guess my reason for posting this today boils down to this: I think I see some value in Twitter (based on what I think I understand about it), but I also think there is so much uninteresting or superfluous about it that I don't know if I want to waste time with it.  I found Twitter sites related to sports (Celtics Pulse) and eventually find myself having a hard time following it or feel like I've wasted time as very little new info pops out of it. Endlessly repetitive.

I am wondering, given that I have interest in Celtics and Patriots (but probably nothing else that I have a need to feel up to date on), what do you recommend in terms of who/what to follow, and why?

BTW, I do plan to get a Smartphone soon.

You're not the last.  I don't know what twitter is.

TP.  You are my hero.  If I try it, I'll post if it's worth the effort for old or old-at-heart folks.

For what it's worth, I don't think of myself as a luddite.  I just don't get the point of "following" someone.  If anything truly interesting happens, it gets posted on these forums.  I don't have a problem if I find out that Brad Stevens is the new Celtics coach 15 minutes after everybody else.  By the way, I still buy cd's and own a dvr.