When I came onto the blogging scene in 2013, I had no idea what a Twitter chat was. I’d never seen one or heard of one and when I finally came across one (Lord only knows which one it was), I wasn’t particularly eager to get involved and I didn’t think it would be for me. When I finally did take part in my first one, I wasn’t nervous at all – I just thought I would answer some questions on Twitter and see other people’s answers to the same questions. I realised it was quite fun so started to take part in more and more, particularly ones in different topics.
What is a Twitter chat?
A Twitter chat usually takes places over the course of 1 hour and is hosted by 1 blogger. It usually revolves around one topic and there’s are separate chats for different topics (e.g #bookbloggers will be about books) The host will ask around 4 or 5 questions in a average chat and everyone taking part will answer those questions. You can then search the tag’s hashtag and see everyone else’s answers and meet and interact with different bloggers over the same topic.
Are they worth it?
Well, it depends what you want to get out of taking part in a Twitter chat. If you’re a newer blogger, I think they’re a great way to meet other bloggers and share thoughts and opinions on the same topic, which you obviously both like. e. It can be so daunting as a new blogger in a sea of bloggers which already know each other. I remember feeling like the new kid in school! But chats are a great way to get involved and put yourself out there as an active member of the blogging community in a way that’s subtle and low-key, as during a Twitter chat with sometime hundreds of bloggers taking part, you’re rarely the centre of attention but often engage with a handful of likeminded bloggers. Even has a more experienced blogger, sometimes I’ve found Twitter chats (particularly #bookbloggers in the past) as kind of a way to ‘catch up with friends’. Because I know all my book blogging friends are going to be in the same place at the same time. In that sense, I think they’re definitely worth it. You also learn a lot about some people during Twitter chats – particularly if it’s a serious topic that will divide opinions.
What do I think of them?
I used to take part in so many Twitter chats. Every night I would find out what chats were on and be frantically tweeting for the hour. I’ve also hosted a Twitter chat before which was so terribly nerve wracking at first but it was an important thing for me to do as it majorly grew my confidence. However, with there being so many Twitter chats now, I don’t take part in many at all anymore. I feel that with so many, topics over-lap regularly and every week or so the questions, “What made you start blogging?” or “Where do you find inspiration from?” crop up. The amount of bloggers has grown dramatically – you can’t swing a cat without hitting one. So, maybe with the mass of bloggers the increase in chats is a good thing as it can cater for everyone. I mean could you imagine just 1 chat with thousands and thousands and thousands of participants? It would be chaos! Especially for the host (gosh imagine the notifications). But at the same time, personally, the appeal of chats has declined slightly – probably for the reason that there’s just too many and too many of the same. I admire those bloggers however who have organised a chat and run it every week, sometimes multiple times a week, without fail. It must take a lot of work and hats off to them for that.