How to Use Twitter Lists (and Why You Should)

Twitter Lists are a great way of building a curated feed, away from the clutter of your homepage. Here's how to build a Twitter List of your own.

Twitter Lists are a great way for you to organize your feed, track people while keeping your follower count down, and offer an easy way for members of a community to easily find each other.

Lists are useful whether you use Twitter for personal or professional reasons; they're straightforward to set up and will streamline your Twitter experience.

We're going to explain what Twitter Lists are, how to create and manage them, and why you should even use them in the first place.

What Are Twitter Lists?

Twitter Lists are a way for you to curate different accounts based on a common interest, job occupation, type of account, and more. Lists act as a separate Twitter feed, isolated from your main feed, that you can share with other people. You can discover and follow lists from other people, and these lists have their own follower counts.

You can use Twitter Lists for plenty of reasons. The obvious one is to organize and categorize accounts around a particular topic to declutter your Twitter feed.

For example, say you wanted to keep on top of Star Wars news. You could make a list containing Star Wars-affiliated Twitter profiles. Fan accounts, official accounts, actors and directors who have worked on the franchise, and so on. You can shape the list over time, adding and removing accounts as necessary.

Similarly, say you're a graphic designer looking to network and grow your skills. You could curate a list based on graphic designers that you take inspiration from, or who lead interesting discussions, or perhaps are your competition; you can add them to a list and keep it separate from your personal feed.

Your lists can be either public or private. If you're using a list to monitor your competitors, you should make it private. It might be awkward if they notice that you're tracking them through a Twitter List! If you're using Twitter for a professional reason, consider setting up a professional Twitter account.

If you only use Twitter for personal reasons, like to track a hobby or movie franchise, then there's no harm in making it public. Plus, it means that other people interested in the same subject can find and follow the list, and discover the accounts on it.

How to Create a Twitter List

Creating a Twitter List is simple and can be done on any device that you use Twitter on. To create a Twitter list on the web app:

1. Go to the Twitter website and log in.
2. Click Lists from the menu at the side.
3. Click the New List icon at the top.
4. Fill out the Name, Description (optional), and set the list to either be Public or Private.
5. Click Next.
6. Click Add on the Suggested accounts that pop up if they are relevant. If not, click Done.

To create a Twitter List on the mobile app:

1. Open the Twitter app.
2. Tap your Profile icon in the top-left corner.
3. Tap Lists on the side menu.
4. Tap the Create icon.
5. Name your list, give it a Description (optional), and set it to Public or Private.
6. Tap Create.

By following these simple steps, you now have at one Twitter List to help you organize your feed. You can create plenty more, if you like.

Should Your Twitter List Be Public or Private?

Twitter Lists can either be public or private, and there are benefits to both. A public list means that others can see your list and choose to follow it. Likewise, you can find public lists related to your interests and follow them to keep on top of the accounts featured, without following them individually.

A private list means that only you can access the list and nobody else will be able to see it—perhaps you want to avoid alerting your competitors that you're tracking them.

Keep in mind that lists default as public. To set it as private, select Make private when creating or editing your Twitter List.

How to Add and Remove Accounts From a Twitter List

If you're making Twitter Lists, then it's likely you value organization and want your Twitter experience to be as streamlined as possible. However, people change and so do their accounts, so what happens if an account that's part of your list stops being relevant? Or you've added someone mistakenly? And how do you keep your list relevant as find new accounts you want to add?

In all of these cases, adding or removing certain accounts from the list is your best bet. It's easy to do.

To add an account to a Twitter List:

1. Go to the profile page of the Twitter account you wish to add to your list.
2. Select the ellipsis icon to the right of their name and display picture.
3. Select Add/remove from Lists.
4. Select the list you'd like the account to be a part of.
5. Select Save.

To remove an account from your Twitter List:

1. Go to the Lists section on Twitter.
2. Select the list you'd like to remove an account from.
3. Select Edit List.
4. On the dialog box that opens, select Manage members.
5. Select the account you'd like to remove, then Save.

By following these steps, you should have removed an account from your Twitter List. You can also remove an account from a list by going to their profile page and selecting Add/remove from Lists, but the method outlined above is usually quicker.

Use Twitter Lists to Organize Your Feed

If you have countless interests and accounts that you want to keep up with, you'll find Twitter Lists very useful. It means you don't need to flood your Twitter feed with accounts, and can keep everything sectioned and viewable at your leisure. It's especially helpful when it comes to splitting your personal and professional life.

Despite the flak Twitter receives, some warranted, Twitter Feeds is one of the best and underused features of the platform. Give it a shot—create a list, share it with your friends, and you might grow a community of your own.