How I use X (formerly known as Twitter)

Social media is often criticized for being a distraction, but for me, X remains one of the most powerful tools for learning—if you use it correctly. Over the years, I’ve refined a system to filter out the noise and focus on high-signal information.

It starts with separation. I maintain two distinct accounts. The first is for getting a general sense of the world—the cultural zeitgeist and major news. The second is where the real value lies: a dedicated space for deep dives into specific subjects, currently AI and life sciences. By siloing my interests, I prevent the algorithm from muddying my focused feeds with general noise.

The "For You" section is my primary discovery engine, but I don't use it passively. When I find someone consistently posting interesting insights on a topic, I don't just follow them; I look at their social graph. I check who the smartest people follow. Following these trails helps me discover pockets of experts who are often light-years ahead of the mainstream conversation.

Curation requires aggressive filtering. If an interesting account starts veering too far into politics or other distractions, I don't necessarily unfollow—I use mute words. This allows me to keep the subject-matter expertise while silencing the noise. Conversely, if someone uninteresting keeps surfacing in my "For You" feed, I mute them immediately to train the algorithm on what I actually value.

Finally, I use a "probation period" for every new follow. Just because someone said one smart thing doesn't mean they've earned a permanent spot in my feed. If they don't continue to provide value or if their signal-to-noise ratio drops, I unfollow. This keeps the network high-quality and manageable.

In my experience, X is filled with smart people who are eager to show you how they think. By being intentional about who you follow and how you filter, it becomes an incredible window into the minds of the world's leading experts.

Generated by Antigravity based on my obsidian note.