As a designer on the Central Coast you’ve probably found it to be somewhat difficult accessing the kinds of resources available in more urban areas. Well, I’ve found that Twitter can be a phenomenal outlet for inspiration, tips, techniques, free resources and it is available virtually anywhere. Twitter has become an exceptional platform for both giving and receiving the most innovative information surrounding modern design trends and secrets. It’s not really Twitter itself that has become the resource but more the links to external information being shared via Twitter as a communication device.
The key is to find people that are the most influential in whichever field it is that you may be interested in and following only them. By limiting your Twitter stream following to those who surface only the most useful of information, in essence filtering out “clutter,” you make for a more powerful experience.
"The qualities that make Twitter seem insane and half-baked are what make it so powerful" - Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard law professor and Internet expert
It is not always obvious who will be an influential person to follow and who won’t. Sometimes this can be accomplished only through trial and error. One of the greatest things about Twitter is if a person proves to be of limited or no use you may simply opt to un-follow them and look to follow others. Personally, as I come across Websites and design blogs that contain the types of information I’m interested in, I will look for a link to follow them on Twitter. Then I will try following them for a week or two and if I don’t find them to be very useful I will simply stop following them. I tend to keep the number of people I follow minimal, thus keeping myself connected to only the most pertinent of information available.
I’ve included a list of people/organizations below that consistently produce useful content for me:
As designers we have become more empowered than ever before with the addition of this most unique tool to our arsenal, so, happy Tweeting!
Oh, and feel free to follow me if you’d like at twitter.com/brianmtreese