Thinking Twitter lists

What are twitter lists?

Twitter Lists are Twitter's long awaited “groups” feature. They offer a way for you to bunch together other users on Twitter into groups so that you can get an overview of what they’re up to. Lists aren't just static listings of users, but rather curated Twitter streams of the latest tweets from a specified set of users. ((Mashable))

How to use them?

Using lists is simple. You can do two things with lists, you can follow them or you can create them, other people can also add you to their own lists. The last bit there means that you do not have control over which lists you're on except for your own.

Lists are on the right hand side, below the Saved Searches menu. You can see my lists on the screenshot, you won't have any if this is your first time playing around with this feature off Twitter.

Following a list

The easiest thing to do with a list is to follow it. Lists can be found on individual Tweep's profiles and they're listed on the right hand side near their Bio.

Creating a list

To create a new list, follow these steps. It's easy.

1. Click on New List



2. Give the list a name. (25 character limit)
3. Give the list a description. It's optional but I recommend it, a list tends to be better if you give it a description, its like giving it a focus. If you can't define the type of people you want to add into the list, then you should ask yourself if you really need it before you create it.
4. Choose the list to be private or public. When you choose your list to be public, the tweeps you place into the list will increment the count for the number of times they've been listed and show in their own profile. Private lists are only viewable by you, these are marked with a small lock icon next to them

I also have lists in other networks and I use those lists extensively. How do you use lists in Twitter?