Into the Batcave (Hootsuite Dashboard)

If you were around for the "Batman TV series" (I'm dating myself) starring Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) and others, you'll remember how they would use special sleeping spray on whomever it might be so that they could not see the entrance to the Batcave as they were going in or out.

I'm spraying you now (indulge me ~ are you asleep yet?) as in we go to my "Batcave" as it were (at least one of them).

It's the Hootsuite Dashboard I'm wanting to give you a look at (click screenshot to enlarge). And I especially thought it might be helpful if you're newer to this whole social media thing.

The Hootsuite Dashboard is the place where I monitor various social media outposts: Twitter (hashtags and lists), Facebook ~ and you can include LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc, too.

The first screenshot was grabbed early in the morning. In the first column (1) I have a Twitter list that auto updates. (Each column does. You can set the timing.) It happens that @warriorwoman91 is overwhelming it. (I tease her about it. She's my daughter.)

In the second column (2) I have my @ ("at") mentions. This is the place where I can go to see everything that anybody might be saying that includes my Twitter name (@aheartforgod). I have it set up similarly for my other Twitter sites (@aheart4god and @blogboy2). (Notice the tabs above the first column.)

In the third column (3) I have the #Tworship hashtag. Of course, there's always good stuff (Bible verses, praise declarations) all day long, but this column really gets flying on weekday evenings (9 pm Eastern USA) when dozens of Christians gather to worship the Lord "Twitter-style." (If you would like to find out more, click here.)

In the fourth column (4) I have my "Believers" list. This is the top list I like to monitor. I have close to 500 Christians that I keep my eye on for good "retweet-able" material (among other things). It's a great list.

Two last things I want to point out.

The first is: Hootsuite Dashboard allows for many more columns than just these four. (See second screenshot where my searches for "church" (5) and "Christ" (6) along with my direct message incoming (7) and outgoing columns (8) are included.)

And so you can see the Hootsuite Dashboard is really helpful for "listening" which is one of the incredible advantages of social media.

The last thing I want to point out is the "Compose message" box (9) in both screenshots. You can tweet directly from the Hootsuite Dashboard! I can think of no better convenience.

Of course, there is so much more to say that a single post won't allow me to talk about (tweet automation, tracking stats, etc). Maybe I'll have a follow up post. (Watch for Part 2?) I hope this was helpful.

Now, please forgive me. I must sleepy spray you again so you can exit the Batcave. ;P

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• Pastor Mike Speaks at 140 Characters Conference
• Testimony of a Video Blogger