I logged in to my Twitter account today discovered a new item next to my “following” and “follower” count. It says “Listed”.

I was naturally intrigued and soon discovered that its a funky new way that Twitter introduced for us to organize our Twitter feeds. It’s really timely as I was beginning to find my massive list of constantly updating Twitter feed becoming increasingly ineffective under all that volume.

What Are Twitter Lists?
Well you can think of them as “Categories” for your Twitter feeds. Instead of having one massive list, you can now break them down into as many categories as you like.

When you click on each “list” you will only see the friends you follow and even the people you don’t follow in the feed column. Yes, this way, you can keep track of topics and people without following them.

How Do You Create a List?
Well, its simple, just scroll down the sidebar and find the “New List” button.

You can create a “Public” or “Private” list. A public list can be accessed by people who visit your Twitter page and a private lists is for your eyes only. Then hit the “Create List” button.

Adding Feeds To Your Twitter List
You can do a search for a particular topic or just click on anyone on your existing feed that is relevant to your list. On that person’s Twitter page, you will find a “List” icon on the same row as the “Follow” icon.

Click on the “List” icon and select the relevant list you wish to add this feed to.

Congratulations, You’ve Created Your First Twitter List!
Now, when you click on your list, you will only see the feeds of the people you added there.

I have to applaud Twitter for adding this cool and yet very necessary feature. I know have a new dimension to my Twitter account as a way to follow topics and people more efficiently!

Desktop Applications & Twitter Lists
I’m also happy to report that desktop Twitter clients, like Seesmic Desktop (what I am using), also support Twitter Lists.

My only complaint is that the desktop lists are not synchronized with the web-based lists I create on Twitter.com. Nonetheless, I am happy to have the feature available.

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Tags: social media, twitter, twitter lists