Convince Me to Use Twitter
December 8, 2009 at 12:09 am 8 comments
I have never been sold on Twitter, I don’t understand it. To be honest, I have never really tried to understand it. I have used Facebook since senior year of high school and that has been enough to keep me in touch with my friends and updated on their lives. Especially when Facebook changed to be able to add status updates, I definitely had no need for Twitter. I also didn’t like the idea of knowing everything right away, providing your friends tweet as often as Twitter is mocked for. Where is the fun and suspense in life if everything, EVERYTHING is right out there, all the time, and furthermore, how do we know what is true and what is not?
I am not the only one who has these reservations regarding Twitter. Simon Dumenco, who has a Twitter account (@simondumenco) and uses it quite often, seems to agree. In an article he wrote, “10 Things Twitter Taught Mr About Media — and Myself,” he also states that he doesn’t feel he needs to know everything right away and he is not sure what to believe. Though he sees these as negatives regarding Twitter, he admits he LIKES to know things right away, regardless of if he NEEDS to or not, and he finds an adrenalin rush in Twitter.
This all makes me a little curious, maybe even enough to create an account. But where do I start? What do I say? Do I have a theme are just tweet whatever I’m feeling? How often? Before I make any commitment to start a Twitter account I am going to need help. Any suggestions?
Entry filed under: Twitter. Tags: facebook, Social Media, Twitter.
1.
Mike Santoro | December 8, 2009 at 1:57 pm
My recommendation is to just start using it. If you are involved in public relations you need to learn and understand the new tools out there, even if it’s just to say they have no value. But without experiencing them you can’t pass judgement.
Besides once you begin using Twitter, I think you’ll find value in new ways that you didn’t expect and maybe ways that haven’t even been written about. Everyone use Twitter in their own particular way.
As for fear of knowing everything right away, you don’t have to be logged in 24/7. Pop in and follow the stream every now and then and stop listening when you are done. Easy enough, though I think as you start using it more and more you’ll be tempted to visit Twitter first for any breaking story.
Good luck!
2.
ChartingStock | December 8, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Twitter is an amazing way to connect with people in your field & with similar interests. The sharing of ideas & friends made can assist both in your own productivity & in ones overall professional growth. Twitters benefit depends in part on the effort someone puts into it but the speed in disseminating information is one of only many benefits Twitter can offer to users. All the best in your professional development & with your choice in whether or not to utilize Twitter moving forward.
@ChartingStock
http://twitter.com/chartingstock
http://chartingstock.blogspot.com/
3.
Samantha | December 8, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I see where you’re coming from. I think Twitter is attractive to me, and could be attractive to you too, because you can personalize it. I signed up in July 2008 and didn’t start actually using my account until this April. What really drew me back in April is the fact that you choose what accounts to follow, so you can craft your account based on an accumulation of interests. Since I’m interested in media, Most of the accounts I follow are based on that. Yes, some of it is opinion based, but I don’t see these people as a newsworthy source – I take their ideas with a grain of salt and appreciate the fact that someone might be expanding my views on a certain subject I was never interested in before.
However, Twitter is becoming the quickest way to get news. News sites like CNN and USA Today have become secondary for me, since the 140 character limit allows people to post breaking news informally.
Maybe create an account just to follow people, instead of just posting yourself. That’s always an option – I know a lot of people who do this as well!
4.
josmosis6 | December 8, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Below is a link to a blog post and PPT download of a lecture I gave to my PR online magazine course on how and why they, as PR students, should use Twitter. Hope it helps! – JM
http://bit.ly/5xSkuk
5.
emily074 | December 8, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I wish I had a suggestion for you about where to begin with Twitter, but I have to admit… I wouldn’t have a clue where to begin! Last year sometime I decided to go for the whole Twitter thing and give it a try… I think I have exactly three updates from the first day I started it. I guess for me personally, I just don’t feel like people are all that interested in my every day college student life, and that is what is preventing me from furthering my Twitter account.
That being said, I think Twitter is great for people who really want to put some of their thoughts and ideas out there. As you know, I have an internship lined up for next semester and I’m going to try to psyche myself up enough to use Twitter to discuss my internship, and hopefully connect with other people in the same field. I know that Twitter can be an excellent tool for networking, and you and I should both probably get past our stubborness and give it a shot! I’m in if you’re in… what do ya say?
6.
Jen W | December 8, 2009 at 8:34 pm
I think the thing that I like about Twitter is that there is something for everyone. You want breaking news? How about a way to keep track of friends? Are you interested in hearing what people are saying about your company? Maybe you just want to read a few 140 character one-liners that will make you laugh.
But I think the most compelling thing about Twitter isn’t how you will use it for what *you* want, but rather how you will use it to give your customers what *they* want. And in most cases, your customers are using it- for information from thought leaders, for networking, for news, or for customer service.
7.
josmosis6 | December 8, 2009 at 9:49 pm
You and Emily absolutely should both dive in – there’s no better reason to do something, than having no reason not to do it! Having the internship to tweet about will definitely add some substance to your tweets but Twitter doesn’t have a quota, so never feel like your account is inadequate. Most of your followers will probably be following so many people that just one tweet from you every once in a blue moon would be refreshing, something new! Check out my PowerPoint and see why PR students are already using Twitter and why I suggest other PR students should ease their way into it, with suggestions on how to. I’m a PR student and this is how I found my way around:
http://prisonerofinterest.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/twitter.ppt
8.
Allan Schoenberg | December 9, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Some good comments and I would have to agree. You should try it out, but don’t give up after a few weeks. It takes time to build a following and to understand how to search for items that matter to you. I’ve found that it works for a number of areas for people such as research, job hunting, connecting with people, etc. Is it for everyone? No, but with the groundswell of discussion around in, and your desire to work in this field, understanding more (not even needing to be a hardcore user) about it is important.