Kevin Simler

THE PROBLEM: Twitter can be an *amazing* experience, but it's hard for new people to get into. First of all, misconceptions run rampant. "Isn't Twitter for posting what you ate for lunch?" "For following celebrities?" "For getting angry and yelling about politics?" No, no, no!

(I mean, yes — some people use Twitter that way. But those aren't the good parts of Twitter!)

Once you get past the misconceptions, though, there are still huge hurdles for new users. The two biggest ones, IMO, are: (A) How to find good communities; and (B) How to actually *use* Twitter — i.e., what to do in the open-ended playground

THE SOLUTION: A facilitator — ideally someone with an outside audience — decides to run an onboarding program for new users. Presumably the facilitator has already figured out how to use Twitter well. They just need to show others what to do.

Think of it like an onboarding experience tailored to a very specific audience. *Generic* onboarding doesn't work, because at scale Twitter has to be everything to everyone. And therefore it can't exercise any taste, judgment, or perspective. It has to be bland.

But a *custom* onboarding program can work, because when a facilitator brings their own audience, they already share so much in common — interests, attitudes, context, etc. Importantly, an individual can bring taste and perspective to the onboarding process.

Personally, I don't want to run this kind of program. (I'll explain why in a minute.) But if I were to run one, here's what I'd do:

1. Post about the program on my blog and mailing list. Explain the value I get from using Twitter, and why others might be interested too (especially if they've been considering it but don't know how to get started).