So You Really Want to #Couchtour ? A Starter Guide to Phish Twitter
I have many friends in the Phish community who don’t “get” or “like” twitter. For most of us that know our way around, Twitter is the greatest tool for all things Phish. I wanted to create a bit of a user guide for people in case they wanted to try it out or improve their Twitter experience. With tour and #couchtour kicking off today, here are some tips to improve your experience.
Twitter is a very simple idea. You choose who to “follow” and read everything they “tweet”. A tweet has to be 140 characters or less, so you can’t be long winded. People can do the same to you by “following” you and reading everything you tweet. It is that simple.
Why twitter is so great is because it is the most instant form of social media. In my experience, everything “breaks” first on twitter. You can follow pretty much any interest you may have. I follow Phish, sports, music, local news, comedians and even feeds that send you shopping deals. The other great thing is you have access to celebrities, athletes, musicians etc that you might never otherwise have the chance to interact with.
It just so happens that the Phish twitter universe is alive, huge, and amazing. It even has an unofficial name… the twibe. Setlists, teases, blogs, opinion pieces, ticket re-releases, general Phish discussion, ticket trading…You name it, you can find it on twitter. #Couchtour is especially a great time to be on twitter. Here is an easy what to do and how to do it.
I use Tweetdeck as my twitter client on my laptop (where I do almost all my tweeting). What has helped me the most, is the easy to use “lists” and then “columns” you can create with Tweetdeck. This helps me sort everything and helps me not to miss any tweets. I have created lists for Phish bloggers, Phish band members, Phish friends etc. I have this sorted from my main feed that is a mess of all topics.
For mobile users I know many people use “tweetbot” for IOS. I just use the regular Twitter app for Android (not any options much better).
What of the first things you should do is make a column and/or search for the hashtag (#) #Phish. Anytime someone purposefully writes #Phish it will show up in that column and/or search. You will find tweets and useful stuff from people you know, and people you don’t know. On nights when I am available to couchtour I try to get everyone tweeting with that hashtag. We have had some super fun nights streaming shows and reading some of the awesome comments on that hashtag. It makes couchtouring that much more fun. I honestly feel like I am sharing the show with thousands of people all around the country on twitter. When Tahoe Tweezer dropped, the place went nuts, it was a blast.
That is a real basic start of twitter. I wanted to give you a rundown of some of the great Phish feeds to follow are on twitter. If you don’t do anything I said above just by signing up and following these accounts you will have a great time on twitter.
Feeds to Follow (Going to do this in two parts)
Note @YEMBlog wrote a similar post yesterday I just saw, I am running this anyway. His post can be found here
The Essentials
@Yemblog-If you only followed this one account you would get 90% of all the important Phish content. He is the best and works hard for the betterment of the community.
@Bizarchive Live tweets setlists, song times, teases, tour song counts etc
@rphish (from reddit.com) another account that aggregates all Phish content
@Phish_Forum see above and also some opinions
@CoventryMusic Live tweets, and some hysterical on lot updates. IMO the funniest Phish feed out there. His feed is better than Coventry Glide
@phishnet the twitter for Phish.net
@mike_Gordon-He plays bass for the band, he is the only one that tweets with any regularity. He forgot about the “second Mike’s jam”.
@Phish-they tweet important stuff, most of the twibe breaks it hours to days earlier however. They are so slow.
@phish_FTR-Official live setlist tweets and pics. Awesome account.
@TomMarshall111-Tom has been amazing since joining twitter. He has has given us unreleased songs, cuts, and interacts with almost everyone. Tom rules at Twitter.
@dudeoflife17-It’s the Dude of Life
@shapsio-Kevin Shapiro, Phish archivist. Brings us TIPH
@JHartswick-Jen Hartswick, diva de Tab
@cashortrade-Embrace the face and find the tickets you need.
@phishvids and @phishvideocol-Phish video aggregaters
@mkdevo @LazyLightning55 @telekinetica-Phish videographers
@kernelforbin-Phish remaster, and can answer almost any Phish related question. From tickets, tour info, etc. The man
@hoydog23 (Spreadsheet) @jeffplang (phishtracks.com) @phishows (phishhows.com)
@zzyzx-Phish stats
@thisweekonlot-Info from the lot
@tourtweet-Info
These are just Phish based feeds that provide great info and knowledge. In the next couple days I will create of list of the people that make the universe fun! That list is going to be much bigger. Happy #couchtouring! Fall Tour!!!