Twitter is great. As social media users (aka addicts) we love us some Twitter. Some even liken Twitter to a cocktail party. Cheers!
The trouble is when a cocktail party gets too crowded. There are too many conversation to try and keep track of. Or a bunch of loud mouths dominate the conversation. They talk and talk without listening to what anyone else has to say.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had a little mute button in your pocket that could silence conversations you don’t care about? Or zip the lips of anyone monologuing?
Well, you can. This is where 3rd party apps like Tweetbot (Mac app review) shine.
Built into Tweetbot (and Twitterrific as I understand it) is a nifty little function that allows you to mute a user for 1 day/week/month or forever (why not just unfollow?).
Let’s pick on one of my favorite podcasters, Erik Fisher. This guy loves bacon. I like bacon too, but Erik is a self-proclaimed “Bacon Connoisseur.” Let’s assume (wrongly) I’m tired of hearing about bacon and want to mute poor Erik for 1 week.
From his Twitter profile @ErikJFisher:
1. Tap on the gear
2. Tap “Mute”
3. Tap “1 Week”
Done. No more bacon-infused tweets for the next 7 days. At the end of the selected timeframe Erik will pop back into my Twitter newsfeed.
NOTE: This is only within the Tweetbot app. If I log into Twitter in a web browser Erik’s latest bacon haiku will be waiting for me.
The same muting function works if you tap and hold a user’s avatar or a hashtag you’re tired of seeing (#Bachelor anyone?). And the best part? Except for this article, Erik doesn’t know I muted him.
Now, a lot of people use scheduling apps (I use Buffer) to send out content throughout the day. Tweeting during office hours is frowned upon depending on your job. But let’s say you prefer to engage in real time conversation with fellow tweeps who are actually live on Twitter at the same moment you are.
Well, with Tweetbot you can mute apps too. (Unconfirmed if Twitterrific has similar functionality).
I’ll pick on Instagram this time because I like to segment content consumption. And I follow most of the same people on Instagram and Twitter so there’s no sense in seeing the same thing twice.
1. Locate tweet with Instagram link
2. Swipe left (or tap > gear icon > view details)
3. Tap and hold app name
4. Tap “Mute”
Done. No more Instagram invading a steady stream of tweets. So easy. So simple.
With the deluge of content flooding your feed, a little mute action might clear things up. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Why do you prefer 3rd party Twitter apps?
How frequently do you use the “mute” feature?
Craig McConnell says
I love the mute feature in Tweetbot. I use it mostly for muting hashtags. If there is a particular game / concert / event happening that I’m not interested in – MUTE! I didn’t realise it allowed muting apps. I’m gonna check that out now too. Thanks