Felicia Day

I have had a big influx of followers on Twitter the last several weeks, in some part due to being on the “Recommended” list for new users. I’m excited to meet so many new people, but my heart broke yesterday when I asked how people liked it, and I got many responses to the effect that they felt like they were “talking into a vacuum.” Well, I aspire to be a good hostess, so I’ve compiled a list of how to build your Twitter community.

1. Who do you know?
Invite your friends and family to start accounts. Unless you do this your interest will wane. Twitter is all about building community. Use the Twitter feature “Find People” -> “Find on other networks” to search your mail contacts and see if they have accounts. Then, if you’re active on Facebook, add the Twitter Facebook App to automatically update your Facebook Status. Great first step to connecting your worlds and encouraging a dialogue with your existing contacts!

2. Who can I learn from?
I’m totally against elitism, but I admit it’s good to add some of the “popular people” on Twitter in order to get a feel for the service. I would never have stuck with it without first following@veronica because you learn the ropes quickly through watching how experienced Twitterers do it. A site called Twitterholic lists up to the top 1000 Twitterers by follower count and Twitter Elite has a system where they rate people by “quality” (somehow.) Use these services, as well as the built-in Twitter “Suggested Users” feature to add people who look interesting to you, and then unfollow them if you find them dull later. These guys have so many followers they won’t get insulted.

3. What do you do?
Twitter is a great networking tool but it’s not super easy to find people by profession. I’ve found a few directories you can use. Check out Twellow and JustTweetIt for people listed by self-submitted category (and add yourself while you’re at it). But the main way I find people is through other people I follow. If they’re in web video, like me, I click on who they’re following and find a lot of people who would be good to listen to in my area and follow them. Easy!

4. Where do you live?
Twittercounter lists the top Twitterers by Time Zone in a drop-down menu and TwitterGrader allows you to search the “Twitter Elite” by location. Adding people this way is a nice way to build a local community. Eventually you can arrange a Twitter Meetup, why not!?

5. What interests you?
Have a hobby? As listed above Twellow and JustTweetIt list people in category, and the Twitter Fan Wiki has some interesting categories under “The Cast of the Twitterverse” in the righthand sidebar. CelebrityTweet has a huge list of supposedly vetted celebrity Twitters, and many companies have Twitters, just search their names on the Twitter site. There was a great article on Mashable last month “40 of the Best Twitter Brands” and why they’re good; interesting read and list.

6. Who can help?
I signed up a few months ago to MrTweet a “butler” service for Twitter who will suggest people for you to follow based on your Twitter habits, etc. I was skeptical, but the list I got back was actually pretty aligned with people I would be interested in following, so I would give it a try if you don’t want to do a lot of legwork.

A few last Twitter tips while I’m at it:

-Some Twitter users do a LOT of interaction through @ replies, and if you don’t follow BOTH people you can find yourself listening to one sided conversations all the time. There is a feature under “Settings -> Notices” for @ Replies, allowing you to filter all @ replies, none, or just the ones where you aren’t hearing both parts of the conversation. EDIT: For the record I LOVE@replies, so don’t stop! I mention this so YOU can turn them off if you want to, little known feature

-Do not ask people to follow you and don’t confront them if they unfollow you. It’s nothing personal. I myself limit the number of people I follow because it’s the one thing I keep to friends and colleagues on the web. Otherwise it would be impossible to manage. I read every reply and frequently Direct Message people who send @ messages to me, so I do my best!

Hope this helps people make their Twitter experience more enjoyable! Also, I wrote posts previously with other Twitter Tools and a Twitter Author List, check those out if you’re interested. Any other tips I’m sure people would love to read in the comments, so feel free to add your advice!

I cannot believe it’s actually finished!! Please check out the last installment in the Guild Season 2 saga!

View it streaming on MSN Video download it in HD or SD off of Xbox Live Video Marketplace under “Independent Videos” or download it off the Zune Marketplace!

This episode was a MONSTER! Director/editor Sean Becker AND I had to ruthlessly cut EVERYTHING we could to get it under 9 minutes. It was jam packed and we shot on such a crazy truncated schedule with such a small crew, the fact that the shots go together at all is a testament to how amazing Sean kept us on track.

A few people made outstanding contributions to the finale, including special effects guru Doug Luberts from ILM of all places (@dougluberts on Twitter) and uber band “The Main Drag” who allowed us to use the last song in the show “Love during Wartime”. Check out their website or their MySpace page for the actual song.

AND to add to the craziness of today, two other videos were posted today as well! A behind the scenes video “Episode 4: The Stunts” edited by our behind the scenes expert Kenny Mittleider AND a Gag Reel for episodes 8-12! What a ride!

Ustream chat tonight. I should probably do a dry run to figure out how the angle of the camera looks, lol.

Rather than link a bunch of things on my Twitter and then feel guilty for constantly spamming self-involved links, I want to post a centralized list of places I’m appearing in the next several months for easy browsing and some advance warning! As with all engagements, they are subject to change if I get a big “pay the bills” acting job, so don’t hate me, I will do my best to live up to my obligations!

1. To celebrate The Guild season 2 Finale tomorrow, I will be doing my first Ustream live chat from 7:30 to 8:30 pm Pacific time! I am luring various cast members and crew to my house with free pizza and hot chocolate, so whoever shows up will join me. Or it might just be me. Who knows. It is my first live chat, so please bear with any technical difficulties. I was going to use my iMac webcam, but if you guys have a better suggestion please post here, I can use any tips!

2. Wednesday night, here in Los Angeles, some members of The Guild, including me, are doing an improv show! Jeff Lewis (Vork) and Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo) will be there, as well as many super funny performers.
Info:
Theatre Asylum 6320 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
9-10pm
Plenty of Street Parking, meters free after 6pm
10$ cash only at the door!
Call (323) 463-2942 for reservations!

Here’s a link to the Facebook Invite.

3. Feb 28th I will be appearing at the Browncoat booth at Wondercon in San Francisco for two signing times. Guild DVDs, Headshots, picture taking, whatever. Their table is F6/F7. I’m not sure of the times yet, but check their website for more details next week. I’m sure it will be hectic, but I love meeting people and haven’t done a convention in a while, so I’m looking forward to it.

4. SXSW in Austin! I’ll be on a panel at the interactive festival “No Budget to Low Budget” Sunday, March 15th at 10am. It should be fun, it’s a cross-over panel with the Film section of the festival, so I will be interested to see who shows up. And I am looking forward to hanging out with my family in my home town and eating pancakes and queso at Magnolia Cafe on Lake Austin Blvd, YUM!

5. Starfury Convention in Birmingham, England! Can’t wait to get out of the country, this will be a treat. April 24-26th.

6. Comicon in San Diego July 23-26th. Plans are still in process, but we should have our own booth there and I would love to have a panel or screening. Working on it At the very least, the whole cast will be there signing throughout the weekend, very cool.

7. DragonCon or PAX. Haven’t settled on which. Why oh why do they have to be on the same weekend?!?!

There may be more added to the roster, but frankly, I have to be a bit ruthless and make time for creating new stuff, so I can’t do every convention An East Coast one would be great though, always open to suggestions.

Recent interview I did with Buzzine.

My favorite answer I gave from this article:

JR: My impression is that your fans and admirers are smarter than the average bear and don’t expect you to be a perfect role model who can’t be human and buy toothpaste without makeup. But being a role model in all of the capacities you’ve become a role model for (gamers, female gamers, people wanting to explore web content, etc.), is it ever more burden than honor? Can you explain what it feels like for you to be a role model?

FD: I don’t really think of myself as a role model of anything, except conveying the attitude “I’m just doing my best.” I’m not trying to be glamorous or “show up” anyone else with my successes, and I try to be the first to admit my failures. If I look crappy in a photo, well, that’s how I looked that day. The glossy “celebrity” culture that we live in kind of repulses me because it isn’t real, and yet we perceive it as real, so we can never live up to it. I just want to encourage people to find their passion and do it regardless of how great they are at it or how other people receive it.

Read the whole interview on Buzzine.