The anti-Twitter brigade should get over themselves!
I’ve been encountering a bit of a Twitter backlash of late. First, there are the people who seem to think it’s not a justifiable use of my work time to be tweeting. Um, wrong. Just the other week, Twitter was the biggest referring website to dynamicbusiness.com.au with both myself, as editor (as well as a real human being) having an account, as well as our online team (@dynamicbusiness) pumping out a daily news feed of small-to-medium business new, tips and blogs.
It’s the first time in my life I’ve not minded being ‘followed’. In fact, I actively encourage it. It’s no coincidence that my blog on free PR got almost 2,000 hits in one day after I repeatedly tweeted it, knowing half of the Sydney PR world is following me. So, that’s my first gripe; the people who think Twitter is a waste of time and tweeting doesn’t actually constitute work.
But it doesn’t end there. Second are the people who call me—and I quote—a GEEK for being a tweeter. People who use Facebook don’t get called geeks. Successfully using Twitter to market your business or website, connect with interesting and useful people and to get the news before even the news sites do are not geeks, they are smart (if I don’t say so myself)!
The Facebook snobs really bother me too. Recently a ‘friend’ on Facebook ‘messaged all’ to inform everyone that “I will no longer be using Facebook because it just isn’t personal enough. I prefer email and real life communication.” Oh, get over yourself (you were boring anyway)! The implication there is that people who rely on Facebook have no social skills and somehow aren’t good friends. Facebook shouldn’t be your main or only way of staying in touch with people but the fact that you do use it doesn’t make you lazy, a bad friend, or socially retarded. I personally use it all the time. I have a lot of friends on the other side of the world who like seeing what I’m up to over here. I still speak to them on the phone, and my friends here in real life, but what’s the harm in using Facebook as well?
Back to Twitter, in most cases, it’s a classic case of mocking what you don’t understand or aren’t capable of using cleverly yourself. Each to their own and all that, but enough with the Twitter bullying. I’m not saying you have to start using it, but if you think you’re too busy, too cool or too important to tweet, think again. You probably aren’t.
The May issue of Dynamic Business magazine is a social media special, telling you all you need to know about maximising the use of Twitter and the like for your business.
Facebook is impersonal but sitting at your desk emailing your mates is not? Someone should email your ‘friend’ the meaning of irony!
First of all GREAT blog Jen – totally resinates with me particularly with so many of the discussions I have been having recently about Twitter with friends and family.
I’m a technology junky and I’m a huge Twitter fan and it frustrates me when people ask me why I bother with Twitter. These people have in all cases not bothered to educate themselves on the benefits of Twitter before criticising, which frustrates me even more. Twitter let’s me keep in touch with old colleagues, friends, other PRs and media, and most importantly lets me do this quickly. While the Twitter hype might not last forever, I’m going to continue to enjoy this great tool until the next new version comes along and helps me multi-task even better.
While I understand that Twitter isn’t for everyone, there’s another zillion different types of communication platforms out there so go and explore all these great advancements in technology and finally move into this century – because the rest of us are excited and there already!
100% agree, for most Facebook is not usually used as a business tool and certainly distracts us from work, and even for the dedicated staff . Twitter on the other hand encourages quality communication without the fluff.
Great blog Jen.
I can’t help but feel a certain “deja vu”… didn’t everyone slam Facebook when it took off for being too social/too revealing/too much of a distraction? And then a few months later I was having a quiet chuckle to myself as they cottoned on to exactly how beneficial Facebook, as an element of social networking with the potential to be a huge and successful component of an effective PR campaign, could be.
Groundhog Day, anyone?
Being new to Twitter I must admit I was skeptical at first and did have the impression that it was for people who have way too much time on their hands, but now I must say I have been astounded by the phenomenon it is. I have made so many new business contacts, had access to quality information it would have taken me ages to find researching the web myself and can honestly say it is one of the best business decisions I have made. So to those that bag Twitter, you really should try it because you could be missing out!
Completely agree – it isn’t for everyone but having recently joined the Twitter conversation, I realise how invaluable it is. OK I’m not generally interested in what people are having for breakfast but running a PR agency, specialising in tech, it’s proving to be not only a great way of finding new opportunities for clients but also, it’s a great way to promote my business. An inexpensive marketing tool in the current climate has got to be a good thing, right?!
As a Corporate Comedian, Hoax Speaker and Lateral Thinking Trainer, I am gradually working out how to use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to market myself more effectively. But the birth of these three networking sites was a bit like the birth of my three children – none came with an instruction manual. (Let’s face it, we are all just making it up as we go along!)
Twitter is neither good nor bad. It’s just a tool, like a mobile phone or PowerPoint. It’s how we use the tool that counts. The trick with Twitter, if you’re after a business outcome like I am, is to connect over time with the right people, and to avoid the Airheads: the ones who keep telling the world what they had for lunch, or that their train is running late. (Surely it borders on insanity to think that several hundred ‘followers’ – otherwise known as strangers – could possibly be interested in such mindless trivia.)
Unfortunately, some of the ‘right’ people on Twitter have their Airhead moments, too. You would hope that each tweet would be preceded by a thought such as – ‘Could this message be of any use or interest to another human being?’ – but clearly this is not the case. For some people, tweeting about every inane thing on their mind simply becomes a compulsive habit. The trouble with many Twitterers is that it’s all about them, whereas the first rule of good communication is that it’s all about your audience.
So I can see why a lot of people take one look at Twitter, cop an instant overdose of banality, then run like hell in the opposite direction.
But me – I’m hanging around, making potentially valuable contacts, trying to ignore the Airhead moments, and looking for diamonds amongst the rocks.
I was in two minds when I joined and wrote a blog post about my observations after just 20 days tweeting. I agree with Graeme that Twitter can be leveraged as a legitimate business tool – but you do need to also put up with the seemingly inane tweets to get the rest. Bottom line, people do business with people they know, and it’s easier to get to know someone if they include a bit of personal info about themselves and their day. I can’t abide the ones who are constantly pushing their product, auto DM-ing with their latest download, or telling me how ‘popular’ they are because they have 57,000 followers. For me it’s about quality, not quantity, and in a short time I’ve made some really worthwhile connections. These haven’t equated to ‘business’ per se but it’s early days and I’m still getting to know them and vice versa. Traffic to my site has peaked though since I’ve been tweeting.
It seems we work in a communist style environment where one cannot express MY views on the subject. Having been threatened with torture I will toe the party line and say this:
Jen – I know I am definitely one of ‘those’ people that this is aimed at.
Using it for work is great and the results from the last two weeks are evidence of this – No argument from me here.The key word in all of this however is MODERATION.
The Happy Comrade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w
Very VERY funny video, thanks Ed!