Building the Perfect Echo Chamber

I went ten years between Twitter posts after initially joining. I didn't understand the platform's power until I became interested in investing. That's when I discovered FinTwit ("Financial Twitter").

One of the first warnings I received was, "Make sure you don't create an echo chamber." At fair value, this is good advice. If you don't expose yourself to multiple sides of a particular debate, you can create a thesis with missing information. For this reason, I try to follow a variety of investors.

After a year and a half on Twitter, I discovered that not all echo chambers are bad. If you understand what you are looking for, you can filter your feed to make the most of your time. I have three echo chambers I filter for that have molded my investing process.

Long-term focus

I am investing funds that I won't need for 20 plus years. When I first started on Twitter, I found myself drawn to the accounts of short-term traders. I convinced myself that it would help me with proper entries, but the reality was it made me greedy and caused me to start positions in companies I had no business owning.

Technical analysis is a valuable skill, but following these feeds distracted me from my long-term goals. At some point, I might become interested in T/A and learn how it can benefit my process. With the time I have to dedicate to investing, now is not that time.

Aligning myself with Bulls and Bears with a similar time frame has added significant value to my feed.

Learning Machines

There are billions of accounts on Twitter. Sometimes it can take a while to discover someone's true motivation. In this case, I am looking to follow others that are consistently improving their process and willing to learn. They share with the hope of engagement and pushback. Iron sharpens iron, and I want to connect with folks that will challenge me and help me improve. I follow accounts that offer original thoughts and welcome feedback. Building and curating a network of 'Learning Machines' gives you an edge that you can't get anywhere else.

Kindness

This is one area where I am quick to act. If you're not careful, you can get sucked into unproductive conversations that end up adding zero value. I filter for kindness to make the most of my time on the platform. I go by the golden rule of Twitter … 'Tweet others as you want to be tweeted."

It's that simple, if someone cannot have a civil debate, then I move on. I understand everyone has bad days, so there are no hard feelings. I just mute and move on.

The End Result

I have created an echo chamber that gives me a unique edge by filtering my feed for long-term oriented, kind learners. It's comprised of investors worldwide and all over the growth spectrum. Twitter is an incredible tool when used correctly.

What about you? How do you filter your Twitter network?