I committed myself this month to updating some aspects of this blog, notably the “inside pages” on which I list links related to applied storytelling (Links to Interdisciplinary Storytelling Resources, Links to Organizational Storytelling Resources, Links to Storytelling Platforms, Tools, and Prompts, Links to Blogs that Relate to Storytelling, Links that Relate to Storytelling and Career, and Links about Memoir-Writing, Journaling, and Personal Storytelling).
I was also planning to update “Kat’s Definitive Twitter Story Follow List.” I’m not usually the type to make bold pronouncements, such as “my list of story people to follow on Twitter is definitive,” but I did so a few years ago in a fanciful mood.
I was horrified to discover during my updating process that I had not updated my Twitter-Follow list in almost three years!
I’m guessing that I initiated the list before Twitter enabled users to create lists there. As I considered updating my Twitter-Follow list, I wondered whether it made any sense to simply copy the information that appears on this page of my Twitter profile to a page within this blog. No, of course it doesn’t when I can simply provide a link to the list.
I follow, at this writing, 412 Twitter entities on a list I call Storytelling Practitioners. Despite its name, it’s a pretty all-encompassing list that includes brands and story tools as well as people. Most are in applied storytelling, but a few are traditional oral-performance storytellers.
To be honest, I use Twitter much less than I once did, and I was never a devoted Twitter user. I just never got into it the way some folks do; all the FF-ing, RT-ing, and thanking seemed exhausting and time-consuming.
Twitter is a great way to find out about new content in the applied-storytelling realm, but one must wade through an awful lot of repetition and noise to get to the gems. At one time I had a wonderful desktop app called Twicker. Icons of folks who used the #storytelling hashtag would move across my screen in ticker fashion. It was a great way to keep up, especially when I could see icons of my favorite story peeps. I can’t make Twicker work anymore, and it doesn’t seem to be supported. If I still had Twicker or something like it, I’d be much more into Twitter than I am.
I have other ways of uncovering finds now, and one can be enmeshed in just so many social-media venues. As I’ve said before in this space, I’m a long-time Facebook gal. I’m sure I miss some story goodies by putting so many of my eggs in the Facebook basket, but my experience on Facebook is much more enjoyable than it is on Twitter.
Each to his or her own when it comes to social media. I hope my friends for whom Twitter is a big deal don’t feel neglected and unappreciated when I don’t notice a shoutout from them. I am grateful for the attention, even if I fail to say so.
If you’re new to the story world or just curious about whom I follow in that realm, please do check out my public Twitter Story Practitioners list.