Follow the Reader: A Twitter Interview

For all the time I’ve spent on Twitter, I had never done a Twitter interview until Friday when I participated in Charlotte Abbott’s & Kat Meyer‘s Follow the Reader weekly #followreader chat. Every week these two book mavens ask other industry folks to sign on to Twitter and drink from a fire hose of 140-character questions. It was a thrilling experience and, despite the furious pace, amazingly info-rich.

Here’s my quick summary breakdown.

The pace: furious.
The line of questioning: non-linear.
The character limit: 127.
My answers: brief.
The result: awesome!

I encourage you all to read through last week’s interview, and then to come participate in next week’s. I won’t be the resident industry-insider again, of course, but I will be in the audience firing off questions.

I’ve pulled out some highlights from Friday. Enjoy!

1. charabbott: Hi everyone and welcome to today’s chat on building reader communities with consultant @jsmcdougall #followreader
2. charabbott: Yes, our guest is @jsmcdougall – a pioneer in building reader communities in his work with @chelseagreen #followreader
3. jsmcdougall: Hello! Thanks @charabbott for inviting me. #followreader
4. charabbott: @jsmcdougall For readers who are online, what are the unique benefits of joining a reader community? #followreader
5. jsmcdougall: Well, books have always been social objects. People share/discuss them all the time. Doing it online makes it faster & public #followreader
6. jsmcdougall: Members of a reader community get the benefit of knowing their publishers–kind of like knowing your farmer. Very healthy! #followreader
7. CollectedMisc: What are strategies for keeping people engaged w/a gazillion apps vying for attention; & seemingly short attn spans? #followreader
8. jsmcdougall: @CollectedMisc Great question. Pick 2-3 apps/sites that have your core audience already. You can’t put everything everywhere. #followreader
9. AMACOMBooks: #followreader. Can communities grow around subjects, authors, or publishers? Where do you see most people joining in?
10. jsmcdougall: @AMACOMBooks Building a community is most effective when it IS based in a subject or niche. Pick a niche audience to start. #followreader
11. charabbott: @jsmcdougall It’s a paradox that reading is a solitary act, and yet readers are intoxicated by instant connections #followreader
12. jsmcdougall: @Writing_Is_Fun Reading is solitary. But what is the first thing you do when you finish a good book? You tell someone about it #followreader
13. abbystokes: #followreader A 3D social event (dinner party) is successful w/only 6 pple. Pressure says online success is #s. Loyalty wins over #, yes?
14. jsmcdougall: @abbystokes Good point. Online success is both #s and focus. Start with focus, the #s will follow. The internet is…huge. #followreader