[TromboneAl]

I've been using twiangulate.com to find users who like to read science fiction. I follow them, and usually, they will follow me back.

For example, I asked it to show me all the users who have both the words "bibliophile" and "scifi" in their bio. It tells me that out of the 232 million Twitter users, on three have those two words in their bio.

Only three? That doesn't seem right.

 

[MyraScott]

They have to have both of those words to meet your criteria?  Then yes. I imagine most people wouldn't identify themselves as a bibliophile even if they love books.

 

[bethrevis]

1. "Bibliophile" isn't a word that a lot of people would use in their twitter bio, which is limited in how many characters you can use.

2. This seems like an excruciatingly complex way to find followers.

 

[TromboneAl]

2. This seems like an excruciatingly complex way to find followers.

It's pretty simple, really. I search for something (say. "Avid reader" 13,73, then tap, tap, tap to follow readers.

I'd be grateful for other suggestions. I see that you have over 21,000 followers (wow).

One thing I've done follow people who follow scifi authors like me.

 

[Mark E. Cooper]

It's pretty simple, really. I search for something (say. "Avid reader" 13,73, then tap, tap, tap to follow readers.

I'd be grateful for other suggestions. I see that you have over 21,000 followers (wow).

One thing I've done follow people who follow scifi authors like me.

It's kind of neat. Searched "science fiction reader" !writer !Author

Works

 

[Stephanie Marks]

Just wanted to say thanks for mentioning this site. I've just given it a go, I got back all authors, lol but it seems cool.

 

[daringnovelist]

Bibliophile tends to be a word used by collectors and academics.  And also by wordy people -- who have a bazillion other choices for their 140 word profile.  Try "book lover" and other related words as well: you'll get more hits.

Camille

 

[bethrevis]

I'd be grateful for other suggestions.

I definitely have a boost for having been on Twitter for a long time and having a background with a traditional publisher, which lended me a lot of credence and exposure. But beyond then, I think it really just helps to engage with Twitter. I'm a fan of the slow build of authentic relationships. Find some chats, use some hashtags, and just participate--they will come

 

[Alan Petersen]

Just wanted to say thanks for mentioning this site. I've just given it a go, I got back all authors, lol but it seems cool.

That's the problems with those tools, you end up with a bunch of other authors following you and not readers. Yes, I'm an author and I read a lot, but you know what I mean, a reader who isn't an author.

 

[daringnovelist]

BTW, a much more effective way to find people to follow on Twitter is to look in the follower lists of people you admire/follow.  You're looking for mutual interests here, so list your favorite sf authors, and see who follows them.

Camille

 

[TromboneAl]

Bibliophile tends to be a word used by collectors and academics. And also by wordy people -- who have a bazillion other choices for their 140 word profile. Try "book lover" and other related words as well: you'll get more hits.

Camille

The other phrases I've used are "kindle addict" "Avid reader" "scifi fan" "book lover" etc.

I'm still surprised when it finds only one or three people with a certain combination. But I've done some testing, and it seems to be correct.

Yes, I've also followed followers of other authors in my genre, and that works pretty well.

 

[Mark E. Cooper]

Just wanted to say thanks for mentioning this site. I've just given it a go, I got back all authors, lol but it seems cool.

I put the following string in the search box (under the keyword tab)

"science fiction reader" !writer !Author

It lists members with science fiction reader BUT NOT writer AND NOT Author in their profiles. I can then look through and see if any are good to follow. Also, "book reviewer" works, as does "agent" and "editor"

 

[Alan Petersen]

Any concerns about what we let the Twiangulate app with our Twitter account?

This application will be able to:
Read Tweets from your timeline.
See who you follow, and follow new people.
Update your profile.
Post Tweets for you.

 

[Guest]

I've been using twiangulate.com to find users who like to read science fiction. I follow them, and usually, they will follow me back.

I've always considered this weird. I follow people I am friendly with. I follow people I find interesting. I don't follow people just because they follow me. It seems spammy to me. Sneaky. Like befriending someone only to try to sell them Herbalife or something. And the few times I did follow someone and their twitter feed was nothing but "buy my books" I unfollowed fast.

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

Isn't there supposed to be some advantage to following those who follow you?  Seems like when I first started looking into Twitter, the recommendation was to follow people who followed you...

Betsy

 

[daringnovelist]

I've always considered this weird. I follow people I am friendly with. I follow people I find interesting. I don't follow people just because they follow me. It seems spammy to me. Sneaky. Like befriending someone only to try to sell them Herbalife or something. And the few times I did follow someone and their twitter feed was nothing but "buy my books" I unfollowed fast.

Yes, and I avoid such people by waiting at least a month before following people back who follow me. If they're just following to get a follower, they will have unfollowed in that time.

Camille

 

[daringnovelist]

Isn't there supposed to be some advantage to following those who follow you? Seems like when I first started looking into Twitter, the recommendation was to follow people who followed you...

Betsy

Marketing people and spammers recommend followbacks, but basically that just crowds up your feed with marketing and spam.

Twitter actually has some quiet rules about all that following-for-the-sake-of-following activity. When you hit 1000 people you are following, you can't follow more if you don't have enough people following you. (It has been a while, but I believe the number is that you have to keep a ratio within ten percent or something like that.)

The idea of that rule is that you should be relatively picky about who you follow. Some people take it as the opposite: trying to insist that everyone follow you back so you can keep following new people. That's actually pretty rude and not what the rule was intended for. It was intended to cut off people who were aggressively following people in order to pump up their own follower list.

Camille

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

Ah, thanks.  I could never figure out the point of it...

Betsy

 

[♨]

On the follow-back issue, it comes down to what you are using Twitter for.

I try to follow-back everyone who follows me (excepting obvious spammers) and I try to unfollow the people who unfollow me.

When I started on Twitter, it was all about interacting with other Twitter users.  You used Twitter to be part of a conversation or a big party.  In a conversation or party, everyone can talk and hear each other.  Sure, it may get noisy, but everyone can interact with everyone else or anyone else.

If one person is not following the other, then it's not a conversation, it's not a party.  So, that's why I follow-back.

 

[TromboneAl]

Hey, Dan, I just signed up for your newsletter. That signup page is funny. I really like your style of humor.

Note that the font on that page is real hard to read (for example, the letter e and the letter c are the same). You might want to change that.

I'm going to go rest my eyes now ...