Yesterday I tweeted:

So far this link has been shared, retweeted, and favorite’d 15 times, which is a lot more than most of the links, pictures, and observations I share on Twitter.

Why this tweet? I have some ideas.

1) Clear Audience. I addressed this tweet towards China-philes. This is a relatively broad, inclusive, and self-defined category, and there are a lot of China-philes on Twitter.

2) Specific Keywords. A grad student friend once referred to Harvard as the H-bomb. This name catches people’s attention!

3) Immediate Benefit. The course is available online. It’s free. A Harvard education for anyone with an internet connection and the attention span to sit through a lecture (or 37!)

What do you think? When do you find that your tweets get a lot of attention?