TUNING IN TO TWITTER

What are you doing?



If you have twittered, you have answered that question everytime you twitter. If you are reading this, you know what Twitter is. However, if you are like me, much of Twitter is still a mystery. Twitter allows you to "follow" experts - all in 140 characters. What you get from Twitter depends on what you put into it. I thought I'd post some things I've found that have helped me get followers. Here goes!!!!

1. Be active - post regularly. I try to post something every day just so my name is "out there" regularly. The more frequently you post, the more people will find you.
2. Share - send an interesting tweet you see to your followers. This is done by placing "RT" in front of the message and then it becomes a "retweet". When I don't have anything to say, I "retweet" interesting tweets or quotes that are posted.
3. Say something interesting - do your followers want to you know you are doing your laundry or brushing your teeth? Unless some laundry detergent or toothpaste is following you (and brands do follow you), chances are they don't care. Think about sharing information that your followers will find interesting. I found I get retweeted the most when I say something about my painting process. I posted a tweet that said "i need to keep a record of what I'm layerng in paintings. right now gesso, then soot, coffee, run a comb through it, dry, start again" - it got retweeted several times. I also post the link to my blog and my Facebook fanpage when I have a new posting. This always results in more followers and fans on Facebook. Ask questions too - I often ask if anybody knows what is going on in #atlanta art (more about the # later).
4. "Shrink the Link" - Back to the link mentioned above - shrink it! I do this by going to Tinyurl.com which gives me a much smaller link. You don't 1/2 of your 140 characters be the link.
5. Getting Retweeted -a good rule of thumb for retweeting is to post around 110 characters. When you are retweeted, your name, becomes part of the 140 characters. That is one of the reasons you shrink your name. If you are using a name with 20 characters, it makes retweeting an entire post tough. I learned this and finally adjusted my name on Twitter to @vmartinart
6. Interact - comment on other posts. Think about the old Dale Carnegie model to listen to your customers (followers - and don't get a big head because you have "followers", everybody on Twitter does).
7. Be searchable - if you are reading this, chances are you have an interest in art. To find other artists - use the hashtag (#) in front of key words. In Atlanta, both Art Relish and Creative Loafing use the hashtag for #atlart. I was able to read a book with a group of artists by using #dekooning. To find these people, go to search.twitter.com and type in the # - with whatever keyword you are interested in. Of course, put this in your post so you can be found by those with the same interest.
8. You want more followers? Use #follow Friday (#ff). Tweeters post the names of their favorite twitters with #ff in front of it. Look to see if they are of interest to you and follow them and they will generally follow you back. And, post your own favorite twitterers on Friday too.
9. Before you follow someone back, make sure it isn't a spammer or a porn sight, unless that is what you are looking for. They are lurkers and are always looking for new twitterers hungry for followers.

I'm still learning. I have found some amazing artists around the globe. Ok, some of them are from another globe, or planet. I have had success with connecting with artists. So, if anybody knows how to connect with COLLECTORS, let me know.

I'd like to know how you find Twitter, and how it has helped you. And, I'm sure I left much out, so tell me what else we should all know!

CONNECTING INTERNATIONALLY WHILE READING ABOUT DE KOONING

If someone had suggested to me a month ago I'd be reading a biography of an artist with people around the world on Twitter, I wouldn't have known what they were talking about. I had heard of Twitter, but I didn't know what it really was, or that people connected there. To start at the beginning, this began when I took a blogging class from Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris. Alyson is known to many artists are the "ART BIZ COACH". Well, after several weeks of working on my blog and reading fascinating blogs by other artists, we were told to subscribe to Twitter. At first I resisted. Understand, I don't text, IM, or have any phone apps. But, I succumbed and dutifully signed up. At first I was totally lost, but I slowly started getting the hang of it. Alyson thought it would be a good idea to use Twitter to read a book as a group. This helped me learn to navigate through Twitter, interact with people internationally, and read a great book - all at the same time.

The book, De Kooning, An American Master, is 600 pages long. The intent was to read 100 pages a week and discuss it for 6 weeks. Unfortunately, once I began, I couldn't put it down and completed the book in less than two weeks. We use #dekooning to connect through Search/Twitter.

The book is rich in detail, the world De Kooning inhabited is alive within the pages of this fascinating story of a fascinating era in American art. Heavily researched and ten years in the making, it deservingly won the Pulitzer Price.

It begins with Dekooning's childhood in Rotterdam; his mother beat him with wooden shoes, he was trained in old school portraiture, he arrived in the US as a stowaway, and then made his way to the bohemian art world of New York. It covers his marriage to Elaine, his womanizing, his ascent to being one of the most important artists in the 20th century, and his descent in alcoholism and finally Alzheimers.

It is a page turner, with people like Jackson Pollock, Gorky (his mentor), Franz Klein, Rothko inhabiting the pages. (Paul and Linda McCartney make an appearance, as does David Bryne.) The book is both chatty and educational as many chapters end with a lengthy dissertation on a particular important painting of the era.

DeKooning put his work above all else, and it took him a long time to get a body of work. He never learned to drive, he didn't have a checking account until he was in his 40's, he was always worried he would be deported, as he entered the US illegally. He was both charming and abusive to his friends and lovers.

I highly recommend this page turning biography!

(above painting EXCAVATION)