Hidden among those who tweet their every
brainfart, there’s a rich vein of tweeters who actually have things of interest
to share. Here are six to follow
Do
Top Twitter Tips
And how not to behave
1. Don’t retweet compliments
This is like walking down the street
bellowing quotes from your school reports through a megaphone.
2. Don’t beg for RTs from celebs
Having your life validated online by a
celebrity is a bit like rewarding a dog for not wiping its bum on the sofa.
You’re better than that. We hope.
3. Don’t be an internet warrior
You wouldn’t walk up to someone in the
street and tell them you don’t like their face so why do it on Twitter?
4. Don’t hashtag everything
Very tedious. Not everything needs to be
reduced to a slogan. Signing off with a summarizing hashtag suggests that the
rest of your tweet was pointless
5. Don’t cross post content
Linking your social media accounts might
seem like streamlining, but the two should be different: Facebook for your
friends, Twitter for public
6. Don’t auto-post from apps
You might be immensely proud that your
sat-nav has successfully guided you home rather than into the sea, but nobody
else cares. Nobody
7. Twitter isn’t an email account
Don’t tweet as a means of organizing your
social life. why not send your mate a direct message? Or a text? Or even an
actual email?
8. Don’t brag
Boasting online doesn’t endear you to
anyone. Adding #humblebrag won’t get you off the hook (see point 4)
Follow
me!
@Fourzerotwo
In a past life, Robert Bowling was a big
cheese at Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward. But since leaving in March this
year, he’s set up a new company called Robotoki and announced Human Element – a
post-apocalyptic game that is being developed exclusively for the
Kickstarter-funded, Android-powered Ouya console, which is a project that
Bowling has donated $10.000 of his own money to. One to watch
@Edgarwright
With a CV that includes Scott Pilgrim vs.
World, Shaun of the Dead, Spaced, browser-based interactive graphic novel
Brandon Generator and, next up, a movie version of Marvel’s cult comic Ant-Man,
E-Dubs is the undisputed geek-in-chief of UK cinema. And with Simon Pegg, Peter
Jackson and Robert Rodriguez on his Christmas card list, it wouldn’t be
surprising if a promotion to Emperor Geek was just around the corner.
@Glinner
The writer of Father Ted might not seem
like an obvious follow for tech heads, but Granham Linehan has embraced the
internet more enthusiastically than any other UK writer. Expect tweets on
everything from the Twitter joke trial to pictures of himself on the toilet.
He’s also a big gamer, with a particular penchant for battlefield 3. Plus you
can also pass off his jokes as your own down the pub (please don’t really do
that)
@Trent_reznor
Trent Reznor’s DIY-themed band Nine Inch
Nails might be lying dormant at present, but his work with Atticus Ross on the
score for The Social Network, plus the soundtrack for classic PC first-person
shooter Quake, prove his wider (and long-running) geek credentials. His tweets
are sporadic (especially when compared with someone like @Glinner), but his
thoughts on the current state of the music industry and the internet are always
spot-on
@Davidbraven
If co-writing classic 8-bit inter-planetary
trading game Elite wasn’t enough for you (we’ll just pretend Kinect Star Wars
didn’t happen), games veteran David Brahen’s most recent venture was as part of
the Raspberry Pi project to create an affordable mini-computer that helps to
teach kids how to code (and you how to make a media streamer for peanuts). Worth
following if only to be the first to hear of any news on Elite 4
@Avantgame
With two TED talks undet her belt –
including one on how playing games can actually make you live longer – San
Francisco-based (where else?) games designer Jane McGonigal knows a thing or
two about living life in front of a screen, pad in hand. Expect thoughts on how
games can do you good (rather than turn you into a serial killer like the Daily
Mail would have you believe). You might also get the odd tweet about shoes.
