Twitter Is…

Feb 27, 2009 | blog

twitter-2 Since Twitter is the current social media darling, I thought I’d record a few thoughts I’ve had about one of my favorite online tools.  I’ve had the privilege of using Twitter for two years, and each and every person I’ve followed or had follow me along the way has taught me something new.  So here we go.

Twitter is…

  • a place for friends
  • a news outlet
  • a place to share your greatest failures & your most stunning achievements
  • an attention getter
  • a publishing platform
  • a customer service tool
  • a researcher’s dream
  • vulgar
  • the ace up your sleeve
  • brilliant
  • a new entertainment channel
  • a social network
  • a micro-blogging platform
  • a marketing tool
  • your community
  • overwhelming
  • 24x7x365 (always on)
  • a level playing field for your ideas
  • a sounding board for your thoughts
  • a comment reel for your new book
  • your starting place for your online excursions
  • the place for your organization to learn about it’s customers
  • a multicasting instant messenger
  • a game changer
  • a PR tool
  • a messaging infrastructure
  • a simple way to share & trade information
  • can be inane
  • is faster to publish to than anything else
  • is where you go to learn
  • your online “water cooler”
  • a conduit into the lives of others
  • a conduit into the idea stream of smart people

I’ve got a lot more input on what Twitter is than I could fit in this post, so I’ll work on fitting that into another format of some type.  What is Twitter to you?  I mean, what has Twitter brought to your life that you can’t believe you lived without before you discovered it?

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rickmahn

Enabling Tweetbacks

Jan 11, 2009 | blog

image I’ve installed Dan Zarrella’s new Tweetbacks WordPress Plugin today, and will be monitoring it to see how well it works out.  I’ve seen a number of folks over the last week taking a close look at this new idea, and have always been trying out some of the cutting-edge Twitter tie-ins and tactics.

Have you tried out this new plug-in? What do you think?

Why the sudden interest in Twitter?

Sep 30, 2008 | blog

twitter I’m curious (and cautious) about the sudden business interest in Twitter.

Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe that Twitter is a great tool for businesses to listen to customers, even forge new relationships with them. I’m just curious if it’s due to real acceptance of the concepts of social media, or the more likely scenario of upper-level interest because of buzz in the usual places.

Either way given a chance, social media tools such as Twitter can make a difference and prove themselves. The difference is that organizations looking to build relationships through the tools will have successes much quicker than those that "don’t want to be left behind".

Through this sudden interest, I do believe that any organization willing to listen, engage, and learn from & with their customers will have great success. What’s your take?

Good things, good habits, in moderation

Sep 26, 2008 | blog

So it’s been a great day here in Minneapolis this Friday. Got a chance to know a few folks from the office better – that’s a good thing. Got to spend a nice evening as a family this evening – that’s a good thing. Made myself write a little bit – and that too is a good thing.

What will be more interesting is if I can continue to write a bit this weekend. That’s my plan, and I think it’ll be worth the time invested to get back to blogging, which I really do enjoy. It’s bothersome that I ever let myself get off track and worried that I wasn’t writing what people wanted to read. Wrong thing to worry about, I know.

What is or was wrong was to allow myself to get sidetracked by too many side-shows on the social web. It’s a great time-sink to explore the latest & greatest. Fun too! However, it really is a delicate balance of habits, and knowing when you’re spending too much time on any one tool, network or site is key to gaining the strengths of those sites and leaving the weaknesses behind.

What’s the answer to it all? Moderation. Just like enjoying a nice adult beverage, it’s only enjoyable in moderation. Also, you get the chance to explore and learn things more in-depth and find how they can augment your life positively rather than simply taking up time just to update statuses and read walls.

So take a break from Facebook, lighten up on your twittering, take a walk and bring only your thoughts with you. You’ll learn a lot more than what folks are doing right that moment if you can let yourself take a breather.

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