Twitter is one of those tools that you either "get it" or not. It’s really that simple. With that in mind there are ways for you to learn how Twitter can be a tool for success for you, you & your peers, or your organization.
While I dislike the "why Twitter is bad" articles that pop up around the net, this post by Michael Krigsman over at ZDNet does bring up a good point. Like all social networking and media tools, it can be used for improper uses as well as productive ones. Had to get that out of the way before we continue – I do recommend you read Michael’s post though.
So, how do you get value from Twitter? Easy: participate.
Ok, it’s more than that. You’ll not only need to participate, but have people on Twitter that you want or need to participate with. The key to Twitter is to recognize that it is an unfiltered conversation stream. Having people to converse with, whether that’s special interest groups, friends, coworkers, project teams, departmental groups, or an entire enterprise – it’s having the people there that brings the value.
Imagine having geographically diverse project team in a live conversation outside of a conference room during the entire business day. Set aside the "time waster" argument for a minute (it is valid) and look at the communication and thought-sharing aspects.
Additional features of Twitter, help enhance communication and build community. Here are a few;
Public – It is, in essence, a public forum so a person needs to think more about things before committing them. Or at least realize that what you "tweet" can be transmitted to as many followers as you have, and optionally to the public Twitter stream.
Brevity – This is my favorite one. Twitter imposes a 140 character limit for each post. What this does is keep interactions short and quick. It also encourages you to (again) think about what you are trying to say. It really helps a person become a better communicator and writer.
Unstructured – Your "Twitter stream" will have tweets from everyone that you follow (your friends list) that can sometimes appear out of order. There are also no "threading" tools (though many request these) to sort conversations into manageable threads. Also, there are usually several conversations going on at once. It can be a bit overwhelming.
Overall, if you find the reason to give Twitter a try, you will likely find value in the tool. If you just want to see what the hype is all about, you may not. However, if you do jump in – use the search tool to look for people you know – that helps the learning curve a bit. Also, look for your favorite bloggers – they may already be there! There is also some greatsearchtools as well.
Finally, you can find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rickmahn – I’m on every day and am happy to answer any questions or help find people on Twitter if you like.
I’ll admit my original interest in having a Facebook profile was part of the fad. Going along with all the other cool kids at the time, racing towards that socially-connected future that promises so much.
Along the way, I’ve been duped by nearly every cockamamie “app” that’s been launched on Facebook. Or at least it seems that way. Very few have been of any real use. Most were a large waste of my time.
So I just wanted to let my Facebook “friends” know I’m stripping out all the useless Facebook apps from my profile. My intention is not to insult anyone who’s invited me to use an app. My plan is simply to trim down the mess, clutter, and useless apps so I can actually make sense of my Facebook page again. And no, I won’t be accepting new apps that don’t add real value.
Are all those apps really bringing you any value beyond entertainment?
A post by Mathew Ingram got me thinking. All these social networks. All these separate services that we willingly give our personal data too. Why?
Why can’t they license this data just like they license marketing research data? Why can’t they pay me royalties for my data? Instead we all give them this valuable information.
Hmmm.
There has just got to be a way to do this opposite than the way we have been – giving free information away in a trade for a Facebook applet of questionable value. Our personal info is worth money – is your vampire chump?
I’m frustrated with how Facebook handles relationships. Set aside for a moment that I think it’s inferior to a blog for social networking. If I was to entrust my social network to Facebook, I’d have a hard time to keep track of all the different types of interrelationships.
We all have family, friends, associates, co-workers, employers, vendors, suppliers, and so on that we deal with on a daily or weekly basis. Why can’t we classify our "friends" according to type of relationship? There should be more choices, like following relationship types: family, friends, followers, & associates.
Doing this would allow us to organize contacts to be more aligned with groups, apps, and sort out what each type of "friend" could access. I’m one of those people who want’s all contacts to "see" everything I do on Facebook – but I would still like to be able to sort my contacts by type.
This is one area that Facebook and the rest of social network services will have a hard time to provide PIM functionality that many people still use. That’s my $.02 – what do you think? What other types of relationships could be included?
There are many good social networks to be a part of, but as I delve deeper into social media and personal branding I’m coming to the conclusion that your blog is becoming more important.
On your blog, you have a direct feed to your readers. Those readers can be friends as much as it can be potential employers or business contacts. Your blog can take on more of your characteristics, from the way you write to the theme that presents the information to your readers.
A blog can interact with other social networks, augmented with whatever tools you choose to bring into your branding strategy. Adding additional communications, video, audio and so on adds more value to your ability to network and share with your community.
The one big thing about viewing your blog as a social network is to remember the social aspect, which infers the interaction in a community. A blog’s comment system is there to enable the conversation, you are there to help drive the conversation. If you’re disabling comments because you don’t like some criticism, you may want to take another look. That feedback could help you grow in ways that aren’t readily apparent.
Also, your blog is your online hub. Use it to send information to other social networks that you frequent. It’s also the one place on the Internet that you can make sure people find out about YOU. You can make sure to let them know how to find you, to find your profiles and networks that you have left profiles, feedback, and articles on throughout the Internet. From your blog people can download a copy of your resume, talk about your latest work, and so on. Don’t forget that you can have an easier to remember URL to get to your blog than your profile on any service or social network.
Overall, the advantages of having a blog that you can interact with others is a statement about you. You took the initiative, you are reaching out, you are placing your ideas in a public forum, you are inviting feedback. Don’t get me wrong; in phrasing it that way it sounds like The Great You Show – but it doesn’t have to be. It’s up to you to be able to show it’s really about conversations.
On your blog, and through your interests and reading habits, you will find other bloggers in the same genre and begin to share links and comments with. This is one of the best ways to grow your network. No, it’s not like getting 250 ‘friends’ on Facebook in a weekend, but that’s because it’s more valuable. Having two or three blogging friends is more valuable and powerful than large numbers elsewhere. Your interaction in the blogosphere with others is what builds that value. It’s more than any number can represent because it’s real exchange of ideas, real interaction. And that my friend is social networking.
So what else am I missing? What else helps make your blog your entry point to social networking?
@MAC_Arms Pay taxes when you make your money, pay taxes when you spend your money, pay taxes when you successfully invest your money, pay taxes when you save enough taxed money to afford a house, pay taxes to live in your house, pay taxes when you sell the house that you paid taxes on to
Yup, taxes are criminal and we need serious reforms. I've always said that if you want to see a tax revolt, make withholdings illegal and have Americans write a tax check every payday. They'll revolt for sure. You don't miss what you never had.
Sen. @berniemoreno says voter ID and proof of citizenship are simply common sense.
“We’re talking about a very low threshold — identify who you are and prove you’re a U.S. citizen when you register to vote. I think we’re getting closer to
