(Updated September 2024)

Twitter comments are fleeting, and a time that’s convenient to a few may not be to everyone. That’s why it’s helpful to collect the tweets into a conversation that can be saved and others can read later.

You collect – or curate, if you’d rather use the usual buzzword – public tweets, pictures, video and other content from around the web to publish as a story. It’s great for summarizing a meeting or conference, relating a conversation or collecting reaction.

I used to use a service called Storify (shut down in 2018) to collect tweets, which of course makes me an expert qualified to share with you my do’s and don’ts if you compile these collections some other way:

DO find conversations using keywords or the humble hashtag, #. IABC used to hold a monthly #commchat. The Professional Writers Association of Toronto – Toronto chapter shared tweets during professional development sessions using #pwacpanel. Solo PR Pro ran a regular chat for independent PR consultants at #solopr. All summarized their chats.

DO give your story a title that explains the topic under discussion for later reference.

DO be selective. You don’t have to include the icebreaker questions that often start the chats.

DO group all answers to the same question. Move the answers that appear out of sequence.

DO pull out the best tweets, ones that help people make sense of the conversation or learn something new.

DO include a variety of media. Pictures especially add visual appeal to your summary.

DON’T use retweeted messages just to include another person, unless you use it to replace the original message. Otherwise it’s just redundant.

DON’T include apologies from people joining the chat late, even if your reason is to show their participation; just include the interesting comments they make.

DON’T include every single comment. You’re summarizing, not providing a complete transcript (unless you are, in fact, providing a complete transcript).

What other tips would you add?

I used to use a service called Storify that helpfully collected the tweets. Twitter Moments performed a similar service for a while but seem to have disappeared. (My own Storify summaries are now in Wakelet.)

Related posts:

• My summary of a session on fine-tuning your LinkedIn profile
• A summary on social media for freelance writers during Social Media Week Toronto
• A discussion I had on Twitter with Steve Crescenzo on how often to publish an employee newsletter.