Social media channels are great ways to communicate, network, and meet people. They can also be used as databases, contact lists, and bookmarks. Twitter, especially is a great medium to keep track of your professional contacts, thanks to the "lists" feature.
First, you have to know that the lists are meant only to read tweets. You can't message or tweet to all members of a list at once.
You can organize your list of contacts by industry, geographical location, event you met them at, etc. If you prefer to use the lists as bookmarks and organize websites and newspapers you follow for example, you can group them by country or type of news.
When you add someone to a list, he or she gets a notification. It's a good way to get people's attention if you are looking to get more followers. Most people see being on a list as recognition of their expertise in a specific field.
How to create a list?
Access your Lists page via the wheel icon at the top right and select "Lists," or by clicking on "me" and then "Lists" under the "More" tab. Click on "Create New List," enter a name (25 characters max.) and decide if the list will be Public or only for your own personal usage (the description is optional).
If you already have a lot of contacts that you want to put in lists, I suggest you create all your lists first. Then, you will be able to add one contact in different lists if needed.
How to add someone to a list?
When on a Twitter profile, click on the wheel icon and select "Add or remove from lists." From the pop-up window, check (or uncheck) the list(s) that you would like to add it to. Let's note that you don't need to follow a user to add it on a list.
How to view tweets from a list?
From your "Lists" page, click on the list you are interested in to see the tweets by its members.
How to view members on a list?
From your "Lists" page, click on the list and then on "Members" on the left.
What lists am I on?
To see who added you to their lists, from your "Lists" page, click on "Member of."
How to subscribe to other people's lists?
When on a Twitter profile, click on "Lists" (on the left), select the one you want and click on "Subscribe".