Someone DMed (direct messaged) me on Twitter the other day and said, “Wow. You really really love social media.” Yesindeedlydo. And out of all the tools I use, I love Twitter by far the most. Which often perplexes colleagues, friends, and family who say they just don’t “get” Twitter. So while I am sure lots of people have blogged about why they love Twitter, I am hoping that by sharing a few of the concrete things that I have actually done with Twitter lately, it might help a few folks who are still standing at the other side of the chasm get over it.
1. Getting a Gig. I got my job through someone I met on Twitter, albeit somewhat indirectly. This was written up on Mashable and on MarketingJobWire.com. In a nutshell, all I did was get active on Twitter and a chain of events unfolded that made me a partner in an agency and gave me one of the biggest, coolest challenges of my career.
2. Conversely, I use Twitter for Recruitment. I chuckle quietly to myself when I get calls from sales reps from job sites that want me to buy recruitment ads, because I generally don’t need them, and they don’t understand why. Twitter is why. I am not at all likely to hire anyone who is not active on Twitter and several other social tools.
3. Q&A. Two days ago, I was in a meeting, and needed an insider point of view on a Greek word from a Greek person. I tweeted “I need a Greek person. A really, really Greek person.” and with in seconds @spoon had hooked me up with the fabulously helpful @im_X1 and my question was answered. Also personal Q&A, which I use much more rarely to avoid being annoying. But yesterday, when I was standing in Nordstrom and having trouble deciding between two pairs of new shoes, I tweeted a photo and again, within a couple of minutes, had several “second opinions” that confirmed my decision. Sometimes, when you don’t have a friend with you, or the “right” friend for the task at hand, Twitter is like having hundreds or thousands of friends in your pocket. If you’re in the “I don’t need Twitter, I have Facebook” camp, like one friend who shall go unnamed, the feedback and interaction you will get on Twitter is much more real time and instantaneous than Facebook, which is the main reason it is my first love; I am all about instant gratification.
4. For “little people” bloggers like me (not that I am, you know, a dwarf. What I mean to say is that I am extremely minor in the world of blogging), Twitter is a primary blog traffic feeder. Sure, if I spent more time blogging and more time on SEO, I might be able to eventually rank high for certain relatively obscure search terms. In the mean time, Twitter is really the only decent way for me to point the three or so people who read my blog here on a regular basis. Granted, if you’re not yet digging Twitter, there is a high likelihood that you don’t dig blogging, either. But, once you “get” the Twitter, anything is possible ; )
5. Twitter chats. There is a Twitter hashtag chat for everything from Agriculture to Young Nonprofit Professionals. There is a list here. It’s a truly great way to immerse yourself in whatever topic you are trying to learn more about.I try to do Sunday night #blogchat whenever possible, hosted by the inimitable @mackcollier, and I never fail to walk away with some great ideas and great new people to follow. And this and conference attendance are the main ways that I get new followers, too. If you want more information about how to participate in a Twitter hashtag chat, I can help you set that up.
There are lots of other things that you can do with Twitter. What other “killer apps” do you use Twitter for? Help me beef up the list for those who have not yet experienced the wild bounty that is Twitter.
There is also a great new book that just came out called TwitterWorks written by some of Milwaukee’s finest Twitterpreneurs. If you want to learn more about Twitter, I recommend it highly.
P.S. This post is dedicated to @markfairbanks, who really loves lists.
