Twitter Revisited
Twitter is the stupidest thing anyone could ever imagine inventing. If I said to you, “I’ve got an application that I want you to install that is addictive, time consuming, cross-platform accessible, and otherwise as sprawling as kudzu,” would you say yes? No. Of course not.
And yet, Twitter has single-handedly changed my 2007. It added tons more connectivity to my universe. It’s given me experiences I didn’t have the year before. It’s brought me new relationships of value with people who matter to my business life as well as personally.
There are tons of folks who have mixed opinions of Twitter, and how to use it, and why to use it, and what not. Here’s my take on how I use Twitter, and/or how you might find some use out of it, as well as some simple Twitter etiquette.
Twitter is a Build-it-Yourself Community
You show up with no friends, and the first thing you have to do is look around and see who you should add. Or you can dump your inbox into their machine and see if you know anyone. I recommend this a great deal (adding your inbox), but NOT necessarily inviting everyone in your box to join if they haven’t already. (Folks are starting to frown on that experience).
But there are some considerations before you jump in and add everyone. Here’s something to consider from a guy with 2500 or so people in my stream:
- Adding everyone to your Twitter stream means there’s more energy, more breadth of interest, but also less ability to focus on a smaller group of people who matter more to you than the others.
- Twitter is a conversation not a broadcast. If you add lots of people, expect to try and talk back and forth with them, or lose steam fast.
- There’s a lot of “noise” to go with most Twitter peoples “signal.” Choose people who talk about things that matter to you.
- Abandon all thoughts of Twitter being a professional marketing tool. It will have the occasional sway, but not as often as you need to make that worth it. (Not meant for that purpose).
- If all else fails, look for people you know and like, and see who THEY have as friends and add them.
Twitter is a Great Place to Share Ideas
It’s a virtual watercooler, for sure. You can stand around, blather about the news, about your dinner, about the movie you saw last night, or something that matters more to you. The “content” is yours. And you can work out quickly what your friends on the service choose to talk about more often than not.
But it’s not exactly the right place for a conversation. There are plenty better resources for that, such as IM, or taking the conversation onto a blog, or even into the real world. Don’t look at Twitter as a great conversation place, especially once you have a lot of friends. Look at it as an idea bank, a place to gather information or think of new things, or see what your friends are doing.
Twitter is a Gate Jumper
In the early 90s, email was a gate jumper. People would answer email, even if they had no idea who you were. Then, somewhere in the late 90s, blogs became the gate jumpers. People would interact with you if you commented on their blogs. Now? Twitter. Tomorrow? Not sure. It’s getting really thin.
But Twitter has brought me into meaningful conversations offline based on some reason or another with people I knew only through Twitter. It really redefined my 2007, my experience on Twitter, because it allowed me to communicate with some really great people, most of which I’d not yet met in person, but knew by way of their media.
I’m fond of saying that Twitter is the “director’s commentary” for our media. It’s in that form that I find Twitter to be a great gate jumper.
Twitter is the Matrix Stream
There’s a scene in the movie The Matrix where Tank (or one of those Matrix types) explains that he can watch the patterns of data and see something fairly clearly. I use Twitter like that a lot. I use it like a big smart computer. I ask Twitter questions (meaning all several thousand of you), and I get back answers. Sometimes, I share those on my tumbleblog, but other times, it’s just something I need, like driving directions, or an opinion.
If you choose to accumulate a whole lot of Twitter friends, expect to use Twitter more like a flowing stream than a one-on-one catch-up-on-your-friends tool. I rarely see my close friends rush by in the stream. Instead, I have to set up little ways to watch them (usually in Netvibes), and interact that way.
Twitter Isn’t for Everyone
If you’re a small business, and are looking at Twitter as a way to grow your business, I’m not convinced that it’ll be the right tool for the job. If you’re a big business trying to build relationships, you’d better really consider your Twitter strategy. Don’t be the business; be the human. We interact with humans. Yes, we know you want to talk about your business, but talk to us as humans. Here’s a weird one. Ask US what WE’RE up to, and mean it. And then, if we like you, we’ll probably want to talk with you.
Think that’s wasteful? Think how much money and time you’re wasting in the fast-forwarding wars.
There are whole swathes of the world that Twitter isn’t really meant to cover. That’s okay. There are other tools. Remember, being a “me too” and joining just because some people use it is like deciding you have to learn how to throw a 95 mile an hour fastball because you like watching baseball.
Try it out if you want. See if it works for you, and then decide what to do with it.
Some Twitter Tips
Here are some specific ways to use Twitter that you might not have considered, or that you might want to reconsider:
- If you want to promote your blog or podcast, at least try to do it conversationally. Ask people what they think about global warming as it applies to methane release on farms, and share the link. Don’t just blurt out your podcast url.
- If you want to follow a specific space, consider finding the right people twittering about that space, and building a blended RSS feed in Yahoo Pipes, and adding that to your RSS reader, instead of using the Twitter interface itself. Why build a persona and add people if you’re just using Twitter to scrape data?
- If you want to build real friends in Twitter, pay attention to who uses lots of @ replies, and see how they interact with others. Some folks use Twitter like a bullhorn, and others use it like a walkie-talkie.
- If you want to use Twitter to meet new business colleagues, do what you’d do in other social media spaces: learn more about the person. Follow their links. Read their blogs. Get to know them. Don’t just pounce all over them. It’s easy to unfollow people in this space.
- Try this. Instead of answering “what are you doing?,” try answering “What has your attention?” I find the answer is often more useful to others.
- Do your best to promote other people on Twitter, instead of talking only about you and your things. If you find the good stuff, share the good stuff.
Further Reading
Jeremiah Owyang has an interesting post on how to be “popular” on Twitter. There are some interesting gems in there, actually.
- Why I Use Twitter- Dave Winer.
- 5 Ways to Use Twitter for Good - an old thing I wrote for Lifehack.org
So, what do you think? How do YOU use Twitter? Has it changed your life any?
The Social Media 100 is a project by Chris Brogan dedicated to writing 100 useful blog posts in a row about the tools, techniques, and strategies behind using social media for your business, your organization, or your own personal interests. Swing by [chrisbrogan.com] for more posts in the series, and if you have topic ideas, feel free to share them, as this is a group project, and your opinion matters.
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Comments
Something about it makes it feel like a mix of a personal notebook/sketch-pad and the hallways at a conference. Twitter gives you the opportunity to play with ideas, try them out on other people, and get feed back without the formalness of a finished product.
I’m more likely to make a mistake on Twitter, and I’m more likely to just let it go on Twitter.
Although, I’ve met some great people on twitter, I’m still experimenting. When you don’t know too many people, it’s hard to “get to know” people in cyberspace.
But, I’m looking forward to writing more tweets.
BTW, on twitter, I’m diettips……………:)
Twitter=life altering experience for me. I’m sure that some people are going to read that and think good grief this woman is a freak. Not necessarily a freak, a little crazy perhaps.
I’ve been in the stream and drinking the KoolAid for 9 months. I think I use Twitter differently than most people. For me it’s about connecting, checking in on people and finding ways to contribute and give back. I’ve been tagged the social butterfly and the human part of Twitter by a few people.
Examples of good things that immediately come to mind, the Kandahar project that still continues, the Frozen Pea Fund that goes live on Friday (http://www.frozenpeafund.com), donations I have made to Kiva, Wishood and even a few tweeted in the stream by people that I know, admire and respect.
There are hundreds of individual connections and contributions that have added to my world. Connections that have moved to IM, email, phone conversations and the infamous bullriding tweet up in South Florida.
Where else would simple Ann from the cornfields of Ohio become AnnOhio? Where else would I come across people like Jim Long, Jeff Pulver, Connie Reece, Susan Reynolds, Steph Stockman and far too many more people to name, all gathered together in the Twitter stream.
Oh yeah, and that Chris Brogan guy that added me on a Stripper Friday and became my very first favorited Tweet. :o)
For me? It’s about the people and what you bring to add to my world.
Twitter has been the “glue” this year that helped me stay in touch with friends and brought together a handful of bloggers socially in meatspace. I can’t imagine my life without Twitter. But you’re right, it’s something you have to “tweak” and “adapt” as you use it. I don’t like to follow too many people because then I lose track of the individuals who are in my life whom I personally care about. On the other hand, I’ve made new friends online whom I will probably meet in person someday and I’ve come to care for them too, even if I don’t interact with them socially yet. I get to peek into the minds of intelligent people who offer bits of insight (ie YOU) that mean something to me, but it doesn’t overwhelm me with information. For me, Twitter has been a very “human” online experience and I suspect it will continue to be so in the future.
Chris,
I’ve only been using Twitter for the last couple of months but it has changed the way I think things through. I’ve always been pretty detailed, and am pretty much a loner when it comes to planning things out. Because of my training and experience, I trust the way I do things and they usually turn out just the way I expect and want them to. But the social nature of Twitter has caused me to begin to think about bringing other people in earlier in the process. I actually think about getting input proactively rather than reactively.
Too, I’m kind of a current events junkie and when things like this morning’s fire at the OEOB show up on Twitter a full 35 minutes before the news sources send out text alerts (thanks to newmediajim!), that’s pretty cool.
The way I often use twitter is I’ll meet someone at one or another meet up, conference, or whatever.. kinda connect, and then add them on twitter. It certainly adds to my feeling of connectedness..
On one level or another I see building relationships as an important part of my personal branding strategy.. So it seems like a marketing tool to me, all be it a kind of personal one.
The other thing is that sooo much of what happens in this space seems like sooo much serendipity. A serendipity of a sorta that I don’t know how you could ever really quantify.. I mean sometimes it just feels like pure magic. So much for the analytical mind, but I can’t help but feel that Twitter figures into this serendipity in a powerful way. I suppose it’s similar to the idea that X percent of success is luck, and in certain ways we make our luck, and it seems like twitter is a bit like the Woody Allen shtick about showing up.
Of course I’m not sure if that really makes any sense or not but..
I’m enjoying the Twitter experience for a few different reasons. It’s a small community now, deliberately. A quick way for some friends to just keep updated and feel connected from a distance, while also meeting a few new people and finding out what’s in their head as well.
I use Twitter primarily as a resource for learning. I’m following links to news feeds that will serve as a catylist for a broadcast or piece I’d like to write, and follow the links from others for this reason.
And I’ll plug my piece also, knowing that some of it isn’t for more than that small community following, but not all.
I’m in a state of multi tasking Twitter now, simply as I grow and develop the community for myself personally.
Which has already been more beneficial for me than other tools I’ve used. I can bookmark the links quickly, and rather than searching through topics I think will interest me, I can find topics that are interesting to others…which eventually, will lead to better conversations with everybody.
Nice blog Chris!
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[…] Chris Brogan posts an article on his blog where he takes a look at his initial thoughts on Twitter and how they’ve changed over the course of 2007. […]
Twitter has definitely changed my life, as corny as that sounds. I definitely dont use it for business or marketing reasons - its all fun for me. I have met so many amazing people on there and have made some true friends. It has also strengthened my connections with my cousins, who joined twitter when I was babbling about it one night - now we talk daily on there. Some people still dont get it - but its a daily part of my life and I love all the tweeple on my list!
the “what am I doing right now” vs. “where my attention is right now” is an interesting choice in terms of using twitter. What I like best about twitter seeing what people are reading and paying attention to, it’s a stream I visit once in a while for that.
Chris,
I enjoy the post but have to disagree. Does it beat Facebook as a time waster? Potentially. But Twitter makes me want to blurt out “Simpsons did it!” — everything you listed can be accomplished through other tools as well.
It almost feels as if a small group of the “PR blogging inner circle” is trying really, really hard to push Twitter as the next big thing just to finally be able to claim they predicted what the next big thing is going to be. If you really want to know what will be big, it’s pretty simple — follow the kids. They’re why the last few sites have blown up, not because of the hype of middle aged communications pros (myself included).
That being said, if I was a company like Vocus or NBZM and wanted to get the influencers within the PR/communications or even tech circles buzzing, it’d be one of the many places to do it.
Dave
I think I fall into the “wastes time” category on Twitter, though I have connected with folks there I wouldn’t have otherwise. I have found a measurement firm I like (and am now officially using … Radian6 … check them out) by chatting with a Twitter friend.
And, of course, I’ve found ways to utilize Twitter for a client that provided something of value to a community of folks despirate for it (The Beam Baja Twitter Tracker). So it’s helped me with my work and client.
The reason I can say it has changed me is that I really miss it when I’m not on. The people I chat with in that community are important to me. I value their opinions and want to know “What they are doing.” My hope is they feel the same way about me.
Interesting question - No, I don’t think Twitter has ‘changed my life’… yet!
Will blog a longer answer soon. I like the perspective of posting on Twitter to answer the question: “What has your attention now?”
I took that further to say: “What are you doing that might interest ME now?” - which changes focus to Tweeting about stuff likely to be of interest to others - than how you feel coz your airline got delayed!
All success
Dr.Mani
I agree that Twitter is a fantastic way to meet new people and to connect with others all over the world with whom I might otherwise never interact.
As mentioned, Twitter is also a great way to learn about breaking news and to spot trends.
One technique I find helpful in keeping up as I follow more people is to periodically check the individual pages of my “closer” Twitter friends (which I would loosely define as local, personal and/or professional contacts) to catch up on their Tweets since, as you mentioned, as more people are followed, it’s easy to miss Tweets from individuals.
I wish there were a way to choose to follow some followees differently than others, for instance, to opt in to SMS updates from a user on an individual basis.
With that functionality, as an example, a user could receive updates from family members, fellow conference attendees, or local followees on his or her phone some or all of the time, while saving updates from sources (like ZDNet Blogs) that are followed primarily for their news updates to catch up with back at the office.
[…] Twitter Revisited Good post by Chris Brogan on Twitter. Note the points of why Twitter at first seems a little counter intuitive. (tags: microblogging twitter chrisbrogan) […]
Excellent article Chris - I have an article on using’2.0′ tools for business early in 2008 - and goddarn it - you wrote half the article already! I’ll be sure to reference this.
Let me share two points:
1) Twitter has brought together some great connections, friends and contacts internationally, who have actively been useful in a business sense.
2) I find that using http://twitterfeed.com to automatically add tweets that announce link to my own blog posts (and a few favourite blogs) is a great way of starting conversations and sharing ideas. Adding a ‘follow this blog on twitter’ link is a simple way to build traffic and make connections.
The enforced discipline of brevity that twitter imposes is a great way to ensure that you say what’s on your mind effectively.
Great piece Chris - Think you’ve described Twitter really well for those who haven’t messed with it yet.
The thing I love about Twitter is that it helps me know what my friends or peers are “observing” …leading me to wonder if the act of observing someone changes the observer or not? :)
Great post again, Chris!
Here’s a post I wrote on the same topic last night — Seven Reasons to Join Twitter If You Already Haven’t.
As you can see, I agree with almost everything you say here.
Chris, your attentiionupgrade widget on the left side freezes things for like 20-30 seconds while it loads…
Anyways, Twitter is revolutionary. I’m going to tell you what you and so many others keep missing out on because you insist that social media is about marketers and businesses asking YOU what you want.
We already know.
You either just don’t know that we already know or you are looking at failed and struggling businesses who are desperate enough to try anything.
Like a leaf or sand can highlight the pattern of the wind, Twitter highlights psychological frames. You touched upon it briefly but, it seems, almost by accident. You referred to “gate jumping” but the gate is all in the mind. You would find a greater store of knowledge on this if you called it “frame breaking” or “frame making.”
For example, if I meet you on the street. I come through the frame of “stranger” and whatever “stranger” triggers for you, that’s what I get for it.
But if I have a friend introduce us, or I am with my friend who is a friendly policeman, then I come through a different frame.
Another example is my nephew hates (school) chop suey, but he loves pasta, beef and sauce… its the same food but “chop suey” reminds him of school lunch.
TWITTER is a plug into the stream of consciousness of 100000s of people. The immediacy of connecting is so exciting that people would meet total strangers if all you said was, “Hey, Twitter Meetup in 25 min at (coffee shop X)” because you come through a frame of “cool!”"
But businesses don’t have to ask you what you want. Humans, in their mechanical state, are not extraodinary and not difficult to figure out and no amount of drum rattling or whining will change that.
@Joanna- Hi and thank you. I’m not sure how unplugged I’ll get over the holidays. I think the plugging in keeps me feeling better.
@Dave- I think that’s a *really* great way to use Twitter, as a kind of scratch pad.
@Diettips- Cool! Glad to make the connection. : )
@AnnOhio - you’re right. For whatever reason, Twitter seems to bring much more connectivity to people who have good causes.
@ViceQueenMaria- true. Twitter makes a great glue. People say that to me about Facebook, but I guess I’m using Facebook wrong.
@Gregory- Interesting, so you’re using the collaborative effects of Twitter, and that’s shaping your off-twitter events, too?
@Matt- You’re right. Following someone just before and definitely just after an event really adds to the overall experience. It’s like having a longer relationship than you might have had otherwise. You’re not off base at all.
@Elizabeth- it’s neat as a resource for learning. I feel that it helps me see things faster than when I was simple reading lots of blog RSS feeds.
@TrueJerseyGirl - see? That’s what @ViceQueenMaria said, too, and I like that. Nice when it can be used in a more personal way.
@David - glad you like it. Twitter can certainly give us things to consider that we hadn’t before.
@Jason- see? You’ve even made business from Twitter. That’s what’s really cool. It’s a tool set that can be used different ways. None of us have a definitive way to use it, because that’s like saying computers are for calculating math.
@Dr Mani- if there were a way to filter out airline tweets, I’d do it in a heartbeat, and yet, folks like to commiserate. Twitter was definitely a great place to share my frustration when I got stuck in traffic for over 6 3/4 hours last week.
@Susan- deep dives is a great way to dig back in. I use a separate Netvibes page to do that, so I don’t forget to dive on certain people.
@David P- I don’t use an auto-poster because I like to follow my tip of turning the post into a conversation point, instead of just feeding a URL into the void. But your mileage may vary. Your point about forced brevity, however, rocks. I agree totally.
@Guarav - thanks for the link!
@Sam. Well hi, Sam. Long time no demeaning comment telling me that I’m rambly and short-sighted and wrong. : )
Oddly, I wasn’t talking about marketing while talking about Twitter. I understand that people use it for marketing, but I went so far as to tell people to abandon it as a tool for marketing.
Further, I didn’t ask marketers to understand me in this post. Never entered the conversation.
But I love your thoughts, enjoyed your blog a great deal, and encourage you to come back when I tell you marketers are poopy heads again so you can slap some sense back into me (and I mean that with all sincerity).
Oh, and I took your advice about the AttentionUPGRADE widget. Thanks for the constructive feedback.
[…] won’t be surprised I’m particularly fond of his Twitter Revisited post. (I’ve outed myself as a big fan of the micro blogging tool before.) Chris points out […]
Chris, you captured it much better than I did in my twitter epiphany, but I was getting at the same idea of twitter as an idea bank. I got an iPhone today and PocketTweets was the first app I installed :)
Chris, you captured it much better than I did in my twitter epiphany, but I was getting at the same idea of twitter as an idea bank.
@DavidBinkowski - Thanks for pointing out that my blog ate your homework. Sorry for the delay.
First, a clarification: I’m not in PR or Marketing. I’m a tech dude who talks about social media. Technically, I guess I help people with some of that kind of stuff, but I’m not paid to help people relate or market.
I don’t say it’s the next big thing. I just say that I like it more than other tools. Frankly, whatever works for you, is my mantra. I like it. It works well for me. Facebook? Not so much.
As far as other tools, how’s Pownce doing? How about Jaiku? Where’s the energy? Here.
Thanks for your comments. What were those other tools you mentioned at the end? (I was too lazy to google).
I just got in to twitter… I agree with you about it being a good tool. I asked a question and got awnswers in seconds. Oh and its really is a hot bed of ideas for blog posts.
When I first saw Twitter being used by two friends earlier this year I totally didn’t get it. Huh? What IS this thing?
Then as I saw the way work colleagues were using it and created my own account (jazzydee) I started to see the benefits of Twitter. Made my 1000th tweet yesterday. The people I have met, the knowledge shared, the immediate access to information..it’s been such a great way way to communicate ad hoc.
Thanks for the great post
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Not to “pounce” all over this, but wow! What a great post!! :-):-)
I discovered Twitter through one of my brothers, and quickly thought it would be great to spread the word about a charity art auction I was organizing. I had no idea how different it is from other social networks. When one of my brothers finally messaged me saying, “You DO know you’re only sending these messages to me and J and like 2 other people, don’t you?” …I guessed it was time to rethink my options.
So then I had to decide if Twitter was right for me…because no one of my friends, outside of my bros, was there. I was prattling to myself and “like 2 other people.” It was lonely. I allllmost left…then I saw a familiar blogger’s ID, and said hi. Then someone I don’t know invited me to participate in his idea ‘TwittyTales,’ writing a short story through one Twitter post a day. And then and then…
:-):-) Now I can’t wait to explore and meet new faces!
I’m trying so hard to want to love Twitter, but it’s a huge investment of time and energy. I’m wondering if everyone posting great experiences also find themselves constantly plugged into their blackberries?
It’s like the alcoholic who justifies drinking because the AMA said wine is good for you…
I’ll still try, but waiting for the big “ah-ha!”
[…] (and socially acceptable!) ways to using Twitter effectively, check out Chris Brogan’s Twitter Revisited blog […]
Twitter is my “home base” these days. It’s the first thing I open in the morning and with Tweetscan, I can search mrsb to see if there were any @replies that I’ve missed. I also use the DM feature every day.
I don’t go back in the stream, just jump in and keep it running on my sidebar all day. I never “just Twitter”. It’s an open app that I glance at while doing other things. I’ve also used it to make new connections by clicking on others’ @reply recipients.
Honestly, Twitter has become my main source of items to click on and read throughout the day. Even if I never get to open my Google Reader or email because I’m so busy, I still have a finger on the pulse of what’s happening by clicking on the links provided by friends.
I love Twitter! :-)
The 10 ways I learned to use Twitter in 2007… (aka Why and How I use Twitter)…
How have I learned to use Twitter in my online communication? Let me count the ways… After Chris Brogan posted his “Twitter Revisited” piece last week and on the same day Jeremiah Owyang talked about popularity and Twitter, I put…
[…] Chris Brogan posted his “Twitter Revisited” piece last week and on the same day Jeremiah Owyang talked about popularity and Twitter, I […]
I’m nearing my first Twitter anniversary this March and have been thinking about how big a part of my days Twitter has been. From my life in the Philippines to moving back to the US after 27 years, Twitter has kept me company and has served as my means of cyber-journaling.
It came into my life when I was on the threshold of making a huge change so at this point, all the friends I’ve made through and because of it, have provided me with an odd sense of stability in this challenging season of my life.
Now that I’m half a world away from friends, Twitter’s a great way for us to keep tabs on each other in real time.
Oh! Happy New Year, Chris!
Happy New Year to you, Thelma. I wish you the very best.
I’m glad to hear that you’re using Twitter to keep tab with friends. I agree that it’s a great way to use it.
[…] Chris Brogan a pu le dire dans son billet du 19 décembre, à la base twitter est la chose la plus stupide qui existe. Néanmoins twitter […]
[…] notes etcetc will get tiring. So how do you not create “noise”? Chris Brogan has great advice: “Instead of answering “What’re you doing?”, try answering “What as […]
[…] Publishing 2.0 - Why I Stopped Using Twitter Chris Brogan - Twitter Revisited ProBlogger - 9 Benefits Of Twitter For Bloggers, Tips For Bloggers Lifehack - Twitter: Use It […]
[…] why to use it. I know social media types have blogged about this relentlessly, and I really like this post for the why and the how, but I’ve yet to find a single layman’s definition of twitter […]
[…] to me. Keith Casey, Johnnie Moore, Paul Bradshaw, Anthony LaFauce, Maddie Grant, Peter Kim, and Chris Brogan (also on lifehack) blogged about the value of Twitter and identified the […]
From the point of view of Ed Tech, Twitter has a fair amount of potential. I could certainly see some creative uses within schools, where groups of students could keep in synchronous communication about a current project, especially if several separate classes wanted to work together or be in some kind of competition — they would be able to track the progress of other groups as they researched or brainstormed ideas about a subject or assignment. The trick would be to design the assignment so that using the application would be beneficial and not distracting. If it was some kind of “treasure hunt” of resources, that could be appropriate, or during a field trip students could utilize it for coordination of activities or to let others know about something they’ve seen (like telling the group to go see a particular exhibit at a museum). The usage would ideally be on school computers or school-provided texting devices, rather than on personal cell phones, so that it would be separated from students’ other networks.
Along those lines, using Twitter in a confined network has a lot of possibilities. I think at a large conference, each attendee could be given a rental BlackBerry or other wireless device that texts easily (keeping their own cell phones free for other usage). This would create a temporary network of a manageable size which allows people easy access to up-to-the-minute information and ideas. Perhaps refining the message threads to several categories: General chatter / ideas / thoughts; Logistics (what’s happening where and when, and who’s going); Reactions to specific events like major speakers; Need Help / Advice (Where is? Did anyone find my wallet?); and a Broadcast channel from event supervisors (Talk cancelled / Reception moved here) which would go to everyone’s threads. Again, there could be issues related to the “signal-to-noise ratio” of information, but hopefully as people get used to how the tool works, they would generally use it effectively. If the threads were well-defined and obvious as to their intent, this would help people filter and focus.
Once you have a good-sized network that’s manageable, I can definitely see the possibilities for getting ideas and answers to questions. In this usage Twitter certainly rivals forums or discussion boards, since the response is generally so much faster and more easily received. Since the messages are short, good ones get to the point fast; and since it’s so well-integrated into other communication tools, it can add a layer of interaction which could be quite useful. Again, it’s like any other new tool — people use it for a variety of purposes, and it takes a little while before “best practices” (which vary between tools) are established. The interconnectivity and immediacy of it is appealing, but this is balanced by the amount of information there. Filtering out the noise is essential for most uses and of course will take some practice.
Okey dokey, have joined, looked round, have a couple of ‘followers’ and I am ‘following’ a few people. But … I’m still trying to ‘get’ it. Oh well.. will carry on and see what becomes of it. Must say, I like the Twitterfeed feature. That’s pretty cool. Thanks for the article - interesting read and pretty helpful too! Cheers :)
reece’s…
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….
I’m coming round to Twitter Chris, and enjoy following your own tweets (if only I could keep up!) I admire the way that you point us towards great resources and sites, that you do your best to share and promote what others are doing. It says a lot about you.
Hope you have a great Christmas and New Year - and that at least some of it will be unplugged…
Joanna