Fixing Wordpress with Twitter

August 16, 2007 · Comments

Today, I used Twitter to fix a technical problem that my hosting provider couldn’t help with. I had FOUR people respond almost immediately and walk me through various suggestions. Each had a little something to add to the puzzle, and each really made it better a little bit at a time. (One reminded me that I hadn’t backed up my site in forever).

And then, I read this great article by Anne Zelenka from Web Worker Daily, telling about ways people use Twitter to friendsource information.

If you’re still wondering why you should use Twitter, it’s probably because you’re using it wrong. Want some tips?

Make a Smarter Twitter

  • Fish around for Twitterers who write intelligent twits. (No really!) Add them.

  • Look for @somefriend responses from YOUR friends that seem intelligent and point to someone smart. Add THEM.
  • Remove all the post-Twitter users like news and stuff. Use RSS for that.
  • Remove all the faux celebrity Twitterers.
  • Ask better questions with your 140 characters. You’ll get better answers.
    Use Twittersearch to fish for answers.

Do you have any further suggestions? How do YOU use Twitter better?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Tagged as:

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Thesis WordPress theme

Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.

With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like ChrisBrogan.com, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.

  • check out my website - http://www.jspuzzles.com - to play jigsaw puzzles online...
  • One thing I've found useful is subscribing to my own replies RSS.

    From the replies page on Twitter, you can find a link to an RSS. It needs a username and password, but will give you all of your @yourname replies - Even people you're not following.

    I've found it to be a great resource to see who out there is responding to questions I post. I've discovered a few people who were following me, too, that I didn't know were following me before.
  • "friendsource": I love that!

    Did you notice that Twitter doesn't show you @messages when your contacts reply to people not on your list? I noticed that when I went to your page and saw all these responses you made to people that I never saw, because those people aren't on my contact list.

    This makes it significantly less useful for social search, although I can understand why they did it.
  • Eh, why search through all those people, just do like PornChrisBrogan did and add all the friends on Chris Brogans list... If they're good enough for Chris, they're good enough for you.

    Glad to hear you're getting this 500 error straightened out Chris, I know how frustrating these modules can be when they don't perform the way you expect.
  • Roy, great idea. I'm going to write a new post like this now. : )
  • Is there a "clewless noob's" guide to Twitter?

    Also, it seems that Twitter, it be down at the moment.
  • Yo mofo.
  • one more thing,

    Get people to find ways to follow you. Then when you ask for help. People drop in.

    Great to here it was fixed and whomever those others were I would love to add them to my own twitter list. ( Yep I am selfish ! )


    Nik
  • Yep twitter is awesome. One way that I search around for new folks to follow is by going to the pages of twitters that have a lot of good stuff to say and see who they are following.

    But the "are you saying something or just posting links" is usually how I decide if I should follow someone who just started following me.

    Oh and testing 1...2...8...
  • Mindy Koch
    Hey, glad to see your site is fixed!
  • Sorry I missed the twitter call for help! Glad to see things are working :)
  • jumping on the testing bandwagon. Good post, by the way. Just sent it to someone who doesn't "get" twitter.
  • Test, test, test.... Hey Chris this is a test
  • I've a funny feeling this post may reach record comment levels *grin*

    I agree though, twitter is where it's at right now, you just have to hope people are watching when you ask..
  • check check, check. is this thing on?
  • When I reply to someone's tweet, I try to refer to the key topic of that person's tweet, so that my followers get a hunch of what I'm writing about. Otherwise they need to go find the original question, which is really a hassle.
    I like what @popquiz is doing, following him together with a bunch of others.

    A more solid Twitter search function is dearly missed. I won't mention search to RSS. Oops. I think I just did.
  • Also, thank you for the inspiration to not use Twitter for moronic updates -- rather, for the community.

    Annnd check out the Nerve Video Blog today because I did a Rick Roll tribute to you. ;)

    Keep on keeping on, Chris!

    -Jessica
  • Yep, we are a go
  • Testing testing, 1 2 3?
  • Thanks for sharing the value of Twitter and how to take it beyond the "Sandwich I had for lunch" post.
  • stewart mercer
    My hovercraft is full of eels.

    Yep, it seems to work :)
  • No 500 Error, only Love.
  • Shhh... Be Vewwy Vewwy qwiet. I'm hunting ewwor codes.
  • Hi Chris, just testing...
  • So, come on out, 500! I'll "Internal Server Error" your butt!
  • I agree Twitter and Jaiku have improved my social standing/undertanding of the web.

    Use them for then what's for dinner.
  • Cows Rule!
  • Knock, knock... anyone home?
  • I thought they were called "Tweets", but I could be wrong. :)
  • Skype breaker! It's all you!
  • Hello. Hello. Chris tells us he is testing for a 500. Really. Really. Really?
  • Hey Chris. Your website seems to be working now. I'm glad that twitter came through for you.
  • Ashpreggo
    Just testing, you rawk Chris!... I can't believe I just said rawk...
  • Comment comment - Are you just tweeting for traffic? Nah. You really did want troubleshooters on the comment system.

    Twitter networking works, and works well. I'm living proof ;)

    http://twitter.com/susanreynolds
  • Twitter is an excellent resource. Great information and happy to hear you got all the issues worked out.
  • Community is cool!

    Hope this isn't a 500.
  • Test. Is this thing on? :)
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: