It is difficult to communicate complex ideas in a tweet due to the 140-character limit. One approach is to make “tweet threads”. This is done conveying your thoughts in a series of tweets, each linked to the next by clicking “reply”. The danger of threads is they allow individual tweets to be read out of context, separate from the preferring and following parts of the thread. Any single tweet can be retweeted, or copied into a website or blog, where it takes on a new life divorced from its original thread.
Recently, Abike Dabiri, Senior Special Assistant to Nigeria’s President on The Diaspora, got into some trouble over a tweet. She was having a discussion with Nigerians abroad, when a doctor in Canada cited infrastructure and security challenges as a reason many do not wish to return. Mrs Dabiri tweeted in response:
“But who is asking you to come?” (See tweet here)
The backlash was immediate and fierce. The narrative that emerged was that the Government’s point person on the Diaspora was telling Nigerians abroad that they were not needed. After the fact, Mrs Dabiri and her aides explained her intended point: returning home was not the only way Nigerians abroad could make an impact and be part of developing the nation. They tried to draw attention to previous tweets that provided context:
“No one is saying come home. But rather, let’s all partner together.. it’s all about Nigeria.” (See tweet here)
The controversial tweet has been retweeted more than 400 times; this earlier one that gives it context, only 40.
Here are some tips to avoid writing tweets in a thread or a conversation that can be taken out of context:
- Don’t compose your threads on Twitter. It is tempting to tweet your big ideas as they come to you, direct from mind to app, hitting “reply” when the 140 run out. This approach makes it easier to write loaded tweets. It is more advisable to write your thoughts in a note, distill them into bullet points, and turn those into tweets.
- Read each draft on its own before sending. Try and think about the tweet-to-be without the others. Ask yourself “what would someone who saw ONLY this tweet think I’m saying?
- Repeat yourself, but only a little. Don’t be afraid to spend some of your 140 characters repeating context you have given elsewhere. Your tweet may end up travelling alone. This approach will slow you down since it reduces the amount of new information in each tweet, but may be worth it if it is a sensitive topic or one prone to misunderstanding.
- Don’t tweet “heated”. It is very easy for conversations on Twitter to become heated. This at times leads to off the cuff remarks almost designed to be retweeted out of context. It is best to develop the habit of reviewing every tweet a minute or two after drafting it (writing drafts outside the app/site helps with this).
- Tweet in aphorisms. Try and think of each tweet as a proverb, an aphorism or a verse of scripture. These pieces of literature stand alone, but are also linked to a larger narrative. This is a very nuanced writing skill to master, but will help you create tweets that resonate with the reader.
Twitter is changing not just the way we reach audiences, but also the way we write to them, and how they consume what we write. Discipline is needed to avoid getting so drawn in by the conversational, streaming aspect of the platform that we forget the permanence of our written words.