3 easy ways to clean up your Twitter account

If you use Twitter, you probably love it. (If you don’t use Twitter, I recommend you go to Monitter.com and enter some search terms to see how stimulating the real-time web can be.) However, the more you tweet, the more your account gets cluttered.

After a few months, most users use too many applications, follow too many people and can’t keep up with the constant stream of information. Don’t fret. With a bit of effort, you’ll be back enjoying Twitter just as much as you used to.

Clean up your application connections

Twitter has been progressively tightening its login features to improve security. However, many users don’t realize that that once you allow an application access to you Twitter account, that access is open until you shut it off. This can lead to potential security holes, especially if you’ve authorized applications you shouldn’t trust.

What you should do now:
1. Log in to Twitter and go to ‘Settings’ then ’Connections’.
2. Go through and ‘Revoke Access’ to every application you aren’t using. (If it turns out that you are actually using it, don’t worry. You can always reestablish access.)
3. Remember to Google any application before you give it access to your account.

Clean up who you’re following

I know, you want to want to be like @TopTweets. You want to follow everyone. Unfortunately, that will make your Twitter stream more like a Twitter tsunami. The fact is some people aren’t worth following. Some  tweet too much, or too little. They may not Tweet at all–most users don’t, according to site statistics. Or you may just be following bots endlessly spitting out advice on how to get more followers. And since there’s no built-in tool to easily sort your followers, weeding out the users you’ve lost interest in can be time consuming.

What you should do now:
1. Log in to Twitter.
2. Try out ManageFlitter
3. Manage your followers.

You can unfollow those users who are too “talkative” or “quiet” or just plain inactive. You can see who’s following you back and see who hasn’t added a profile image, which is usually a sign of a neglected account, or limited creativity.

Clean up your Twitter stream

Even after you clean up your followers, you may still have hundreds of people in your stream. I understand. There are tons of interesting people on Twitter. And Twitter users in general tend to be active, interesting individuals who are engaged with life. So how can you make your Twitter stream digestible? Third-party dashboards like TweetDeck and HootSuite are powerful programs that offer real-time searches, groups and other filtering and collaboration tools. Twitter has also built a powerful tool right into the service—lists. It’s pretty self explanatory, but just case you’re interested here’s how it works.

What you should do now:
1. Log in Twitter.
2. On the sidebar, find ‘New List’
3. Create a list subject like ‘Newsbreakers’ or ‘Security Sources’.
4. As you see Tweets that fit the subject of the list, click on the user’s profile and add the account to your list.
5. Repeat as needed.
6. When you’re on Twitter via a web browser, click on your list you’re interested in and see what’s new.

Now you’ve got a Twitter account that’s even more useful. If you’re looking for tips on how to be safe and secure on Twitter, check out How To Tweet Safely.

Got any Twitter tips to add? Comment here or message us @FSecure.

Till next time,

Jason