By now, we’re all at least somewhat familiar with Twitter, the micro-blogging phenomenon that everyone seems to be joining in on. It’s on the nightly news, in commercials, on late night TV and talk shows – everyone’s “tweeting”. You’re probably wondering if you should jump on the Twitter bandwagon, or maybe you already have, and it’s still not making sense.
There are plenty of articles, tip sheets, and tutorials about how to use Twitter, and more specifically, how to use it for business. However, let’s back up a bit. I think there’s still a lot of confusion about what exactly Twitter is, and how to use it effectively and enjoyably. This confusion results from thinking that Twitter is something it’s not.
Some people say that Twitter is “just like Facebook’s status updates.” It’s true that Twitter is similar to Facebook, but it’s also different in very crucial ways.
The similarities
Your Facebook profile serves as an online poster that tells your friends “all about you”. It’s a hub where you can summarize what’s going on in your world, and other people can look at your page and see a snapshot of your life. You could conceivably complete your profile, and then do little or nothing with it, and it still serves its purpose – to stay in touch with friends. You can log in only once a week and still get a lot out of Facebook.
Twitter is not like this at all. Your profile is much simpler – it shows (at most) your photo, your location, a website link, a brief bio, and your most recent tweets. If you set up your Twitter account and do little or nothing to it, it doesn’t work at all. The heart and soul of Twitter is interacting with other people. If you only log in once a week, you may get something out of it, but you’ll be missing the true wealth of Twitter, which is constantly streaming information and connectivity, and real-time interaction.
Twitter doesn’t make much sense unless you’re actively using it. The foundation of your Facebook experience is your profile – you post updates, photos, etc. – and other people's profiles, and the interaction that takes place between friends. On Twitter, your profile is not the foundation. Most probably, the only time anyone will ever look at your Twitter profile is when they are deciding whether to follow you or not. They’ll spend about ten seconds on your profile and then move on.
The point of Twitter is to listen, talk, and engage in conversation with other people who are also using Twitter. This all starts to make a lot more sense as you follow more people who tweet on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are setting up Twitter profiles with the idea that it's something like Facebook - you create a profile that other people will look at, and then something will happen. But Twitter doesn't work that way! It requires you to be more proactive and more involved than many other social networking sites.
I like to picture Twitter as a river. All the people using Twitter all over the world are contributing to this giant river of tweets. When you join in, you’re adding your tiny stream of tweets into the river, and when you follow people, you’re taking in another tiny part of the river. No one could possibly consume the whole river, so don't even try! And if you just set up a profile, follow a couple people, and tweet once, it’s like sitting by the river in a lawn chair, sticking your toe in the water, and complaining that “this river is no good for swimming!” You have to dive in!
Once you’re following some people, and other people are following you, the conversation can begin. It takes time and effort to establish your own little “Twitter stream” and to get comfortable swimming in it. As you follow people, they will follow you back, and as you reply to people, they’ll reply back, or comment on your tweets. That’s when the fun really starts.
If this still seems confusing, let’s compare Twitter to something we’re all familiar with: email.
Interaction on Twitter is a lot like email:
@reply
Email wouldn't be very useful if we couldn't reply. On Twitter, replying is really important too. You can reply to anyone publicly, or reference them, by typing @ followed by their username (no space). If you’re talking about someone else, refer to them by their @username.
Example:
@harmonymatters I really enjoyed your class! (reply)
or
I attended a great class by @harmonymatters today. (reference)
Referencing other people is kind of like a cc in email. It includes them in the conversation without talking to them directly. On your Twitter homepage, there’s an @replies tab. This will show you any tweet with your @username in it. @replies that you send are visible to anyone and will show up in your public Twitter stream.
Direct Message
Talk to someone privately via direct message, or “DM”. You do this by typing “d username” (this time WITH a space!)
Example: d harmonymatters I really enjoyed you class!
These messages are private and go to your DM “inbox”. You can only send DM’s to people who follow you (and conversely, you can only receive DM's from people you're following).
Re-tweeting
The re-tweet, or “RT” is like an email forward. When someone else tweets something interesting or useful that you want to share with all your followers, you can re-tweet it. Be sure to reference the person you got it from by including their @username. Re-tweets are either preceded with RT, or are noted by including “via @username” somewhere in the tweet.
Example:
RT @harmonymatters Free organizing class! http://www...
or
Free organizing class! http://www... (via @harmonymatters)
#hashtags
Hashtags are a huge part of the functionality of Twitter, and are (loosely) akin to an email's subject line. (However, not every tweet needs to have a hashtag.) Hashtags are basically a way to “tag” a tweet in order to make it easier for people to find by searching. You add a hashtag by typing the # symbol, followed by your tag word or term of choice (no space).
Example:
@harmonymatters I really enjoyed your class about #organizing today.
or
Want to get #organized? Check out this free class by @harmonymatters http://www...
Hashtags are commonly used to organize around events or popular topics. For example, people tweeting about American Idol might tag their tweets #americanidol. Or, people attending a business conference could arrange a “tweet-up” (yes, that’s a Twitter meet-up) or share info about the conference by using a hashtag.
If this all still seems confusing, follow some people who tweet regularly and just observe. You'll see them using all these interacting tools, and it will start to make more sense.
Twitter is what you make of it. By understanding what Twitter is (and what it’s not) and by using @replies, DM’s, RT’s, and #hashtags to connect with others, you’ll be able to get more out of Twitter, give more value to your followers, and use Twitter effectively for your business.
Happy tweeting!
Learn more about the author, Naomi Pollack.
Naomi, this is great advice. I help clients with social media, and your article is easy for newbies to understand. I posted a link to your helpful article on my blog: http://virtuallyyourz.blogspot.com/2009/03/understanding-twitter-how-it-is-less.html.
Thanks for taking the time to share this info. (Oh, and I'm formerly from Bellingham - so it is great to see you here!)
Very good information. I tried to explain just this thing to a client the other day. Kudos!
@harmonymatters Great article about the diff between Twitter and FB: http://budurl.com/y6he
It's kinda strange seeing you in a different place and with a different name. :-) Thanks for writing this, and I'll see you in a bit on Twitter.
Thank you! As someone who is new to Twitter, I really needed this straightforward information. Just logged on to Twitter and experimented with my new knowledge! Diane
Excellent. I am finding, like email, Twitter takes discipline or it is a huge time sink.
Great article Naomi. Thanks for the smart strategies and tips on using Twitter. I especially appreciate how you have clearly defined the differences between FaceBook and Twitter.
Thanks, Naomi. You summed it up perfectly. I am going to R/T it! :)
Thanks for this great overview, Naomi. I am just beginning to fully understand Twitter and I think it does take some time and committed effort to realize the benefits.
I recently wrote a blog post on the "5 Irritating People You Meet on Twitter—and How Not To Be One Of Them." In that regard, I would just caution people to go easy on the @s. They can quickly turn into a stream of one-sided conversations that make no sense to other people (the people who are following one person but not the other). I see people on Twitter who post 8 or 10 @s in a row and, yes, it can be irritating.
Thanks for these helpful tips!
Thanks Naomi. Your explanation is clear, easy to understand and useful. I'm sure people new to Twitter will appreciate the How To's like hashtags and RT's.
Grokking that Twitter is not a site, it's a protocol might help us all understand how to use it and what is appropriate. Twitter's growth is largely because of the "easy to follow" nature...but it is also just as easy to "unfollow" where there's no value.
Tweet
I have friends on Twitter but hadn't jumped on the bandwagon yet as it seemed to just be another chat client to me. Your article has given me a little bit more perspective.
I think you will find me tweeting soon.
Another cool thing about twitter is that a lot of celebrities use it (in my case sports stars) so you can hear whats going on out there in the world straight from the horses mouth, up to date music release, and cutting edge technology news.
Awesome article, Naomi! I've been on Twitter for almost a month now (@annikahipple), and while I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on it, this straightforward article helped clear up some confusion. Nice job laying out the basics and the comparison with Facebook.
I'm going to go tweet a link to this article right now...
Great article Naomi. I like your explanation of the similarities and differences between Facebook and Twitter as well as the tweet examples you gave.
A very straightforward piece that I will use when talking with new clients.
Kimberly
Naomi,
Thanks! I started using Twitter two days ago and have been a bit lost! This article definitely points out the "how to" of Twitter...
Michelle
Great article Naomi. I concur with everyone. This gave me some useful information and demystified some aspects of Twitter for me.
Wow, thanks so much for all the fantastic comments! I’m so glad that this article was helpful to you. Thanks to everyone who took the time to tweet, link, and share this info. I’m so happy to connect with each of you on Twitter and Biznik too.
Judy, and others who may be overwhelmed with all the @replies, did you know you can turn them off? Yup! When you’re logged into Twitter, click on settings in the top right hand corner of your homepage, then click on the “notices” tab. Here you have the options to control DM and follow notifications, as well as @replies. You can set it to either “all”, “none”, or “@replies to the people I’m following". This will show you @replies posted by people you follow to other people that you also follow.
Another note on replies though, don’t feel like you have to reply to everyone, all the time. It’s true that Twitter is about communicating and interacting, but unless you’re going to keep your circle very small, it’s impossible to reply to everything.
Happy tweeting!
Thank you Naomi. I'm one of those who has been lost in psuedo-Facebook land and couldn't get Twitter to fly. I'm a newly hatched "chick" when it comes to this online networking idea. Now that I understand how it works, I feel like I can dive in.
Here are a couple other great resources for the curious:
This is a really good article by David Pogue (@Pogue) about Twitter:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/technology/personaltech/12pogue.html
Twitter's help section is a wealth of information on everything from account settings to Twitter ettiquette:
Why are so many comments double posting? Weird!
I've often said that twitter is email for exhibitionists. There are actually startling benefits to having some conversations "in public."
Naomi - you explained this so well - thanks for posting!
The comparison of FB and Twitter is spot on and I couldn't help thinking that FB is more a passive type of technology - people post their stuff and others have to look for it. Twitter tweets are more active and engaging because they have the potential to be more real time.
You can find me there @teamreba
Well done, Naomi - and a good follow up to the session you did here in Bellingham on using Twitter.
Looking forward to connecting to any Bizniks on twitter. I am scoremoresales.
i love using twitter! thanks for your insight. http://www.twitter.com/goddesskring
Naomi, Thanks for the great article. I am hosting a Biznik workshop on Twitter and started doing my homework by reading your article. Thanks for the info! Too bad you are in Bellingham...too far to join us for the w/shop but you will be there via your helpful info I can share with the group. I'll ping everyone before the event too and ask them to read your article and other relevant Twitter info.
Nancy
This post is EXACTLY what I needed! Thanks so much for posting this! Joined Twitter a month or so ago and then just haven't had time to figure it out at all. I definitely thought it was a micro Facebook and although I've read many other posts about Twitter, I still wasn't "getting it." Your article made it make so much more sense to me. I'm following you and am going to tweet this article too. Thanks again!
Excellent article. I have a Twitter profile but did not know why. Now I at least know I definitely do not have time to do anything with it ;-)
Thanks, Naomi. This has been helpful. Now I don't need to stare blankly at the screen and scratch my head in wonder.
I've been waiting for a Twitter explanation that combined the big-picture overview with practical tips for actually using it.
NO ONE had delivered that level of utility until you!
Thanks so much, Naomi! Jezra www.communicatewithpowerandease.com
Great article. So much to keep up with between facebook, blogger, and twitter @amberlights. oh my! Now I dont feel like I'm waisting time when I tweet. Got the lingo, right? Thanks again.
thanks- was wondering about all that.
will save this as a clipping for when I'm Twitter Ready -#DM@RT etc. to you too!
Great article! I shared this article in a class I am taking with Christina Hills- she featured Mari Smith yesterday who presented on Twitter and Facebook. Your article is a great resource for understanding how these social networks are unique and complementary. Thank You for taking the time to write it.
What are your thoughts on maximizing Twitter and Facebook to market a business?
My ASHSR group just discussed twitter, facebook, etc., at our meeting yesterday. This is an extremely helpful article that I will be forwarding to them. Thank You, Thank You!
Great, clear writing Naomi! To be honest, I have been spending quite a bit of time researching Twitter but since there is sooooo much information out there that seems to be growing every second, I hadn't had time to investigate the curious case of the "hashtag" or the meaning behind the @. Thanks for all your information. You have saved me and others considerable time that we can now better spend actually using twitter.
One thing I have personally been experiencing as I have been using twitter is that only the "big names" actually respond back to me when I send a DM or even send a tweet out. It seems as if many twitter users are just throwing tweets into the river but don't follow where their tweets go or pay any attention to what others have tossed into the river. I"m sure those people will eventually fall by the way-side but for now it is frustrating to me. Do you have any thoughts for increasing response rate from followers? Besides the, "throw interesting questions out," because I've tried that in my efforts to make this experience the interactive experience it is meant to be.
Again, thanks for the terrific information.
Thank you very much. I have been tweeting for couple month now but still have no clear direction. Your article really helpful and straight twitter up for me. As a business owner who are not Tech savvy, even though I have no clue what I'm doing but I got quite a good result by tweeting and doing my best. Keep tweeting people! http://twitter.com/asimplicity
Thanks again A Simplicity Decor
Thank you Naomi. I will be passing this article on. Now I know I will not be tweeting any time soon! I can see how a lot of people get a lot out of it though.
Naomi, thanks for making is so simple!
Thanks so much for your article, Naomi. I have not joined Twitter yet, but probably will be soon. I was apprehensive about how to use it for business purposes, but as I learn more about how it works, I can definitely see the benefits. Your article was a great help! You'll probably see me on twitter soon!
Thanks again! -Kalico Design, http://kalicodesign.blogspot.com/
This article does a great job of differentiating Facebook and Twitter, and providing a primer for tweeting etiquette ("tweetiquette?"). However, I would caution that, as a microblogging service, attempting to characterize how or why people use it is problematic - as is trying to explain how or why people blog. There are as many different reasons as there are [micro]bloggers. While some people are clearly seeking - and finding - interaction through Twitter, others are simply putting their thoughts / feelings / judgments out there (as Donna notes "It seems as if many twitter users are just throwing tweets into the river but don't follow where their tweets go or pay any attention to what others have tossed into the river") ... FWIW, I'm one of those tweeters who never checks for @gumption replies.
Having noted that characterizing [micro]blogging is problematic, I will hazard a judgment regarding one theme that appears to flows through the motivations of all [micro]bloggers, perhaps best captured by my favorite quote from the movie, "Shall We Dance?", uttered by the character Beverly Clark (played by Susan Sarandon). Although she is referring to marriage, I think the general human need to be noticed, to be witnessed, to matter, is behind much of the popularity in all social media, but perhaps most acutely in Twitter. Anyhow, here's the quote:
We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."
Thank you Naomi for a well written, informative article with even more great info in the comments. I was really sad I missed your class and I do hope you might have a class in the evening one of these days, hint hint ...I am just a part time twitterer but I do like jumping in sometimes.
Naomi,
Hey, very succinct. I love to jump into the river and see if I can swim. I thrash around a little and then watch those inner tube riders drift by with mint julips and wonder how I could be doing that.
I love it when one of the inner tubers lets me hang onto their float and whisper in my ear the facts of life....twittering.
Thanks so much for the tips! These are invaluable.
Ciao....Anne Lindsay Photography and Redheads and More Redheads
Looking for redheads! http://annelindsayphotography.blogspot.com/
REDHEADS UNITE. We are a minority and are proud of it! Oh okay, if you are not a redhead but are a redhead friend, come on by. We love you too!
Thanks, Naomi, for writing this illuminating article.
Thanks, Naomi! My favorite part was the simile of "Twitter as a river." I have TwitterFox (http://twitterfox.net) and enjoy watching the river stream by as I work on other things.
I'm going to head over there now and follow you.
p.s. Were you at the Money Wi$e Women conference in Bellingham last Saturday?
--Debbie
Naomi,
As someone who works with many Social Networking newbies, I found your article to be very informative and useful. I have posted a link on my http://www.snfornewbies.com blog. Well done.
Looking forward to connecting with you and others on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stayingintouch
Naomi, I really like how this article explains things in simple and clear terms. While I've been using Twitter for a while now and it seems intuitive to me, there those who are still new to the platform and can benefit greatly from what you've posted here.
I'm following you now on Twitter as well and look forward to connecting with you there! http://twitter.com/jkvirtualoffice
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. --Carl Sandburg
Thanks, Naomi! It was nice to have a summary in writing of what you taught us up in Bellingham when we did our class on Facebook and Twitter.
Twitter still seems to me to be a huge time consumer and to call for a person being in front of a computer a lot or to have a phone with a computer connection, true? As the quote above says, consider how your time is spent and if it adds value to your life. If so, great! Tweet away... if not, then unplug. Same with Facebook, e-mail, etc.
What I love about Biznik is that it's high tech AND high touch. We are based on face to face events. I would say the same of Twitter, Facebook, etc. It's the up-close and personal encounters that still hold the most meaning for me. How about you?
Blessings, Rev. Meredith Ann Murray Bellingham, WA
I'm new to twitter and this tutorial was exactly what I needed. Thanks so much for writing it!
I'm new to twitter and this tutorial was exactly what I needed. Thanks so much for writing it!
Way to nail it with a fresh new take on Twitter!
Just yesterday I tweeted how twitter DM was a 140 character email substitute: http://twitter.com/FreeRangeMom/status/1391601387
Nice analogy here. I thought the most crucial point you made to newcomers of twitter is that if you don't tend it, then it dies. FB can just sit there but twitter is useless unless you use it.
Great article, but I have a question. Is the 140 character limit related to SMS message length limits? Seems to me that twitterers (?) would tie up a lot of trafic on the net, and SMS uses a different protocol. How are you billed for its use? Again, as in SMS, as a text message?
Great job Naomi! You really nailed it. I find that it takes more time to build your Twitter network than FB because you don't necessarily know anyone in the river when you dive in. But the longer you're in, the more "tweeps" you encounter who enrich your day. Take the time to find folks you really want to follow, and you'll build a buzz around yourself, your company, your brand. http://twitter.com/Teresa_Schmidt
Naomi,
Highly informative article with very useful advice. I just started tweeting last week, and appreciate your nudge to get out there and be more active. Thank you.
~ Patricia (@CoachZing)
@Joe -
That's a great quote. Seth Godin (who always has something compact and perfect to say on such things) said this in his blog earlier this week:
Why people choose to visit online social sites:
Thanks for the simple explanation and easy to understand examples of how to use these features in Twitter. I have been on Twitter for a month and never looked at the @replies page. I guess I didn't think my updates would be retweeted or that people would respond like that.
I had been getting direct messages, but this piece was huge. I had some replies to catch up on.
What I am enjoying the most about this experience with Twitter is that I am really feeling like the people I see in my "stream" are becoming more familiar almost like friends or family. I would have never connected with so many people so quickly, all over the world.
Thanks again for the great article.
This is the Twitter 101 that I've been missing.
@Dan: thanks for the recommendation of the Seth Godin blog post ... which in turn references a post at http://writingboots.typepad.com (whose author does not identify himself by name) about Shel Holz vs. Kurt Vonnegut, in which he shares the "Kurt Vonnegut Rule about Farting Around" (and its realization through Twitter):
The other reluctance we should all have about Twitter, even as we grudgingly accept its occasional social utility [story about Twitter-enhanced overreaction to a speaker's travel exhaustion at a conference omitted], is the Kurt Vonnegut Rule of Farting Around. "Electronic communities build nothing," my favorite humanist wrote near the end of his life. "You wind up with nothing. We are dancing animals. How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something. We are here on earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you different."
He also proposes an interesting test to evaluate the relative interestingness of virtual communities vs. physical communities:
Here's a test: Spend one day surfing the Internet and spend another roaming your neighborhood. See how many good dinner table stories you have after each. There won't be a contest.
Oops ... pardon my HTML. I guess only some HTML is permitted in comments ... would be handy to list which HTML tags are available shown somewhere around the comment box.
That's a great quote, Joe. My response would be: why not both? The cool thing about Web 2.0 is that it isn't an either-or world any more. The line between online and face-to-face gets blurrier every day.
Re: html - that's a good idea for us to put a blind-down thing that shows you formatting help. I'll see what we can do.
investment is one's time. best used minimally, can be addictive, then potentially a waste of time. used well, good for quick info coming in, quick responses going out without the stigma of 'will I be sounding like I'm spamming' of course, careful not to get too personal if you use it for business. keep it private for family if that is the only use. this article lays all that etiquette and simple usefulness of Twitter right out there. kudos.
Useful article that I found very helpful. Thanks!
Naomi,
So many have already said what I wanted to communicate to you. Just know that I wasn't sure if I wanted to jump into yet another vehicle for communicating but you're article cleared up many questions I had.
You have a great writing style. Thanks again.
Mickey Lane LiquidGratitude.Com
Wow, thanks again for all the wonderful comments and questions!
Richard asked about maximizing FB and Twitter to market your business. Social media is social – ultimately it’s about creating and maintaining connections and giving value. Whatever you’re promoting – a service, a product, a blog – the magic of social media is in the connections. It’s up to you what you DO with the connections.
Donna, you asked about increasing response rate from followers. It can be frustrating if you’re interacting and putting your best stuff out there and you’re not getting much back. If the group of followers you have now isn’t interacting with you much and you want more interaction, then I would say expand your network! Follow people who you would like to have following you. Many of them will follow you back, and start interacting with you.
If you’re tweeting links and curious about whether your followers click on them or not, you can use a URL shortening/tracking service (http://tr.im/ is one) that will let you see statistics about the links you tweet. You may be getting more interaction with your content than you realized, even though people aren’t @replying or DMing.
Kevin, the 140 character limit did originate from text message limits (I’m not sure when/why it was shortened from 160). You can tweet from text, or from a twitter client on your phone. If you tweet from your own text plan, you would be charged per your plan, but if you use a service like TwitterFon or TwitterBerry, it’s free (of course you pay for your data plan, but that’s your phone service package and not Twitter itself). Right now Twitter is free, but there are rumors that paid “pro” accounts may be coming soon.
Joe, thanks for your insightful comments!
I LOVE the quote from “Shall We Dance”. That is one of my favorite movies too! Among all the reasons for using social media, the common thread is wanting to connect and to know that we matter in some way. Of course this can be taken to the extreme. Check out this cartoon, "Twouble with Twitters":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w
It makes some good points and highlights the main critiques about Twitter. One of the characters says at one point “If we’re disconnected we can’t Twitter! If we can’t Twitter we don’t exist!” This is, unfortunately, an honest critique of many people and how they use social media (myself included at times).
I also really liked your challenge to “surf” the neighborhood vs. surfing the social web. It’s true that all this “connectedness” isn’t worth much if we don’t translate it to the real world somehow. For me, Twitter has opened up doors I my local community that I wasn’t even aware of. If I could only follow one group of people it would be locals, hands down. These connections are turning into real-world relationships that are very valuable to me. I think more and more, our virtual worlds and our real worlds are converging. Witness the upswing in popularity of “hyperlocal” news sites and neighborhood blogs. Exciting stuff!
It’s true that Twitter can be a huge time consumer and does require regular monitoring, as Meredith pointed out. This is next to impossible to do on the web. My computer crashed earlier this week and I couldn’t use TweetDeck for a few days. It took hours to do on the web what I was used to accomplishing in minutes on TweetDeck. I honestly don’t know how anyone follows more than 20 people without a desktop client! Websites like http://www.retweetradar.com and http://www.twitscoop.com also track trending topics and can be a way to get news/info without monitoring your personal Twitter stream. For example, I “watched” the superbowl on Twitscoop this year – as soon as a big play happened, it “trended” because so many people tweeted about it. That’s a silly example, but the point is, with the proper tools you can find the nuggets of value in the midst of all the noise, and you don’t necessarily have to follow 10,000 people or even 100.
Another facet of this is that you don’t necessarily have to use Twitter constantly (every day) to get value from it. You could spend one or two days a week paying more attention to Twitter, or even an hour or two here and there, and not spend so much time with it other days. Or you could use Twitter to find information about a specific event.
Thanks everyone for your inspiring comments and for adding more VALUE to this article!
It's most like group SMS text messages... online.
You should try www.swaggle.mobi It's actually more useful.
Wow, I've been to a couple of biznik events that have really "rocked" but this particular interaction as we all share our twitter experiences together has been my favorite to date. I have learned so much from all the comments in addition to Naomi's wonderful moderation of our questions and comments. I say bravo to all of us for fitting the "new stuff" into our already packed lives. That is after all what makes us entrepreneurs.
Does anybody know of any social media conferences where interested parties could take say, a couple 2-3 hour intensive workshops in some of the various platforms (e.g. FB for business, Twitter, Ping. etc..)? If not, are there any experts out there interested in entertaining getting something like a "Social Media Expo" together? I have been thinking this would be really well received right now. Hmmm?
Neat, I hadn't heard of Swaggle before. That definitely sounds like a useful service. Tatango is another similar service:
They're located right here in Bellingham! (And they got a shoutout from @scobleizer recently - very cool.)
Thanks a great idea Donna. I bet there are enough experts on Biznik who would love the opportunity to speak at an event of this kind. Organizing an event of this kind is not a trivial matter, though. We decided not to host BizJam again this year because of the huge time commitment.
Thank you so much for the very useful article. You explained thing so well....
so many people up for twitter. Fun Fun Fun
I would love to participate in a social media expo and I agree, the time is definitely right. I can imagine it would be a huge job to organize though, even with all our great tools like Biznik and Twitter!
Perhaps the best solution is for us to each organize smaller workshops in our own communities and tap the knowledge of our local experts? I'm blown away by the response to this article and I'm going to plan another Twitter workshop very soon. Clearly there is a lot of interest!
thanks for the article. Maybe I will get better at twitter now.
This has really put Twitter into a different perspective for me and gives a very helpful way to explain Twitter to others including my clients. Thanks
The Social Media Expo warrants further conversation, I think. I am out of town 4/2-4/7 but would love to get together with anyone interested in brainstorming some ideas. Even if the best practice does turn out to be smaller workshops in various communities, our collective energy could make the task (I shouldn't call it a task because it sounds like a blast to me) smoother and more productive? If some Biznik event planners participated, it might actually be possible to pull something off on a large scale. Thoughts? Anyone want to play a bit at least to discuss the possibility?
Donna, I would love to talk more about the possibilities! Who knows what can happen when we all put our heads together. :)
Thank you Naomi. I've been contemplating starting a twitter account, and this was the perfect primer for a newbie!
Do you have any other shortcuts or suggestions?
Hi Carole,
I think as a follow-up to this article I'd like to do a "how to set up your twitter account" article, and a "how to use tweetdeck" as well. What questions would you like to see answered?
Hi Naomi,
One frustration I have about Twitter is that I have four things I'd like to Tweet today, but then I get busy and forget to do it. Is there an easy tool that let's me schedule my Tweets in advance?
Indeed, there is! Several actually. The one I've heard talked about most is http://www.tweetlater.com. I've also heard about http://twuffer.com and http://futuretweets.com/ You could also ask your followers and see what they recommend.
I haven't used any of these tools myself but it is a good idea if you want to time your tweets. This can be helpful if (like me) you get good ideas at 2am but don't want to send them out to the Twittersphere until your followers are likely to be online.
Very informative article. In the past two weeks, I've participated in an "online" twitter event and attended a seminar on social networking. The virtual event might be useful way to help twitter users figure out what all the tweeting is about. It's also a useful way to get more followers.
Thanks! I really needed this info - glad to find it on #biznik!
Well I guess it's time for me to just dive in!
Dan, Definitely check out the TweetLater which is one of the tools I mentioned in my Twitter-Tango article. You can manage multiple accounts and schedule your tweets in advance.
Naomi, let's touch base tomorrow via phone (I'll DM you my phone number) and get something on the calendar for the second week of April. I am excited to meet you and collaborate. And I'm not looking to make any money for myself by setting something like this up. Just think it would be a fun challenge and a great opportunity to show off the power of Biznik.
Thanks Donna and Naomi. I tried all three and liked Twuffer the best. Already qued up five posts. That's what I'm talkin' about!
@Namoi - the topics you listed all sound useful. Another area I struggle with is juggling facebook, twitter, blogging, etc. Sometimes it seems so redundant - is there a way to know what to put where? Also, is there a way to integrate my Tweets with my facebook status updates? @Dan - I like your new picture BTW. It fits better with your recommendations :-)
@Dan - you chose one of the 3 tweet later websites @Naomi recommended - can you share why you chose one over the others? I'm looking at them now and feeling overwhelmed!
Thanks Naomi for a great article - could you add me to your workshop email lists? Would love to attend a workshop on this type of stuff..
Donna, when you get your events up and rolling, I'd be open to having one in my area.. Thanks again ladies!
I wish one could get a shorter link to share it on twitter J
Gee, do you get the feeling many of us were just DYING for someone to translate Twitter in some form of sense? My online networking heart now has wings – and soon it'll tweet!
Oh, hadn't heard of twuffer but like the sound. I will check it out as soon as I post this.
Naomi, for some reason when I said lets connect tomorrow I thought it was Sunday at the time ... OMG so much good stuff on my plate right now I am losing all sense of time. Off for the weekend so back on Monday.
Or maybe tomorrow a.m. (more than 140 characters is good sometimes. )
I'm new to twitter, and I sure appreciate your article here!! Thanks!
@Olga: TinyURL is a web service that will produce a short URL for any web page. For example, here's a tinyurl I created for this article: http://tinyurl.com/cyo6lq
Thanks for a great article! http://www.twitter.com/vernelindner
Wow, I'm fairly new to Twitter and had seen some of these symbols but had no idea what they truly meant. I really appreciate the time you took to write this article. Good stuff!
Wow! Awesome information Naomi. And all the comments were interesting and helpful. I wish I had read this before I joined twitter a few weeks ago.
Great article Naomi. I've been using Twitter for sometime now, and am just scratching the surface of how it can be useful. Your article clarified quite a few things for me!
Naomi...Naomi...Naomi - I finally get it. Until your article, I did not have a clue and I'm registered with Twitter.com.Thank you for explaining this so...well...."organized". No wonder you are so good at organization.
Sandy www.CivilSplit.com
I've been using Twitter since 2007. For me, Twitter is less like email, and more like eavesdropping on the useful, interesting or mundane conversations between people.
But it has only been in the last year when its value has really hit home for me. As a user experience designer, I started following the thought leaders and practitioners of my field, and have gotten great insights, advice and information sharing.
Once again, thanks for all the awesome feedback, everyone! I'm thrilled that this article has been so helpful to so many people.
Lucilla, your explanation of Twitter makes a lot of sense to me too. I follow many more people than I have time to interact with, and I often feel like I'm "eavesdropping" also. But of course, the people we follow WANT us to eavesdrop! It's very fun to follow the movers and shakers. We can learn so much from them!
Twitter is such a great tool on many levels, whether it's for listening, communicating, marketing, etc.
Great article, Naomi!
I've been tweeting for months and I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't understand the hashtags until now. (Thank-you!)
I have also found the "search" function INCREDIBLY useful in finding like-minded people, even potential clients.
I'm MoneyHealer and BestSellerCoach on Twitter, fyi. (Love biznik follows!)
Kate
Naomi, Thanks for demystifying Twitter! I've been struggling with how to incorporate this new media into daily life. Your river analogy and description of conversations provided needed clarity. Tweet on!
Mark
excellent - timely! i have begun using twitter as a way to connect people and the results so far have been amazing. twitter (without the spam and mlm) can be a great tool to build community.
Dear Naomi:
Really good article. Could be used as a text book for new users. Twitter is an excellent vehicle but time consuming if you don't watch yourself.
Congrats,
Bill Frieday
Love your article. Thanks for taking the mystry out of something very valuable that can be a little intimidating. I like the analogy of the river.
After reading your very insightful article, I decided to create a twitter account only to find out that someone had already claimed my favorite user ID. Fortunately for me, I know just the person who did it. After few emails, I manage to reclaim it from myself. Yes… I created a Twitter account and did nothing with it. Thanks to your article; I was able to post my tweets.
Just discovered an interesting article at the PBS Media Shift site about "Warning: Dependence on Facebook, Twitter Could Be Hazardous to Your Business":
Nice job! I never would've thought to use the analogy of a river.
Brilliantly stated, Naomi! I was just trying to explain the benefits of Twitter to a friend of mine the other day. He happens to be in web design and social networking. I'll pass your article along! :) Thank you.
Hallelujah! I'm an "over-30" (and that's as high as I'll tell you) who was on the leading edge of moving from print to web writing and who still teaches Enhancing Your Website's effectiveness. But I could not find anything (including on Twitter!) that made it clear how to use Twitter. I registered and posted a couple of my own notes...and that's as far as I got.
Thanks Naomi for getting past geek speak and putting this in plain English. As someone who's biz motto is "Turning the complex into the comprehensible" (I do it for companies in health areas), it's a skill I really appreciate! Thanks!
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