1. Search feature is #hashtag based, so use them liberally)
2. Per @mmasnick, the #lists feature here works well.
3. You can #verify yourself if you have access to the source code on your blog/website/etc. Details in account settings. #verification
4. Make sure your server is federated if you don't want to be an island. counter.social is an island, FWIW. (Learned that the hard way.)
First up >