What I'm Saying on Twitter

    Thursday, May 21, 2009

    Twitter - Why Do I Do It?

    I'll be the first to admit - I got on the Twitter bandwagon relatively late in the game. Ironically, what kept me from participating was actually their tag line, "What are you doing?". That turned me off because I couldn't find value in the concept - the thought of keeping people posted on the mundane just wasn't relevant. So, it was a good year that passed between hearing about Twitter and finally joining. Once I signed up, I realized I could write my own rules, so to speak, and make the tool work for me in a way that I found valuable.

    Now it's been nearly three months I can't stop Tweeting - I log on almost daily, but I use Twitter in a very specific way. Here are the three core elements of my personal Twitter strategy.

    - Educate and share: Because I like to share current information with my Tweeple, using Twitter forces me to keep up with all the latest happenings in the digital world. Each morning I check a few of my favorite sites (Ad Age, CBC, CNET, NY Times - the list goes on) and post the most interesting tidbits for my followers.

    - Get educated: Part of what I like most about Twitter is following the trends of conversation. What are other people talking about? Is there a new site, a new buzz word, a new person I should know about? Just like I like to keep my Tweeple informed, I look for the same from them. So much of my knowledge about current industry events comes from the information other Tweeple have shared with me.

    - Network: Twitter is a super way to connect with new people - people you may share interests or common work with. Or people who are just plain smart! I don't follow hundreds, and, in turn, I don't have a massive following, but that's partly because I'm very particular. I want to follow people who can teach me new things about the industry I work in. This is a core concept in my Twitter strategy.

    In my opinion, these are three darn good reasons to use Twitter. So many people are still asking why anyone would Tweet (I'm telling you, it's that tag line...). I think the trick is to make it work for you. Try it, identify what you like about it, and work it!