How to Use Twitter

I love Twitter—or I guess I should call it X now. There’s been a lot of talk about its downfall since Elon took over, and the algorithm changes have noticeably affected my experience. But it’s still my most-used social network, so I was glad to see Nabeel write about how to use it well. He said that his thoughts haven’t really changed in the past year-plus, so these tips have clearly stood the test of time. —Dan

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Twitter is one of my favorite software tools in the world. (I know it’s called “X” now, but it’ll always be Twitter to me.)

Before Twitter, I did not know what a jhana was (it’s a meditative state). I made various COVID-related decisions in January 2020 after reading a few threads from trusted sources. I’ve met more than 100 people through the site, many of whom are now good friends. Random famous people have invited me to dark smoky rooms full of interesting people and parties I would never have gone to otherwise—all because I tweeted something. 

And if you’re curious about practically any topic, you can immediately get a sense for what’s being discussed at its edges by following 10-20 experts. Twitter is a serendipity machine. 

However, onboarding is challenging. For most people, it's not a rewarding experience; your posts barely get any engagement until you have at least a few hundred followers, and the process to get there can be punishing. It takes a lot of time to curate a good Twitter feed; the median content on the site is often trash.