If you have followed me in the past month, seen my video(s), you will know that I have gone Twitter crazy. I’m not sure if it’s an obsession yet, maybe I am still in the denial process, but Twitter is a very interesting social media channel that is full of surprises. What I find most interesting about Twitter is the following: it constantly changes. I realize all the other social media sites change and grow to better suite their customers, however, Twitter just never stops surprising me. Ok, so maybe I will admit it now, sounds like I’m hooked!! I remember a past blog post I had written on Twitter only having used it for a short period of time. I didn’t really understand it completely and I read tons of articles about it, most of them saying the exact same thing. Create an account, follow people, post interesting information that will keep people following you etc. So, taking the advice from the experts, I did exactly that. However, no one really told me to be patient that it will take a long time. When everyone spoke, it was as if this stuff occurred over night, and that it was a no-brainer. Well, it definitely didn’t occur over night, and it definitely wasn’t an easy task. At least not for me. I remember thinking what on Earth I was doing on Twitter and how would I ever make this work. It was a slow painful process that involved me following people who weren’t as kind to follow me back.
My posts felt like they were reaching no one, and that it was all a waste of time. I was about to give up on Twitter, when I wrote a post on Linkedin. I asked professionals there if they thought Twitter was a waste of time or not. The majority said that it wasn’t, and that I should pursue. So, with a little bit of steam left I stuck with it. What changed my views on Twitter were the following occurrences. An elderly lady on Linkedin had told me Twitter was a waste of time. So I asked her why and she pretty much said the same thing that I was thinking although she sounded like she hadn’t really even done the right things, like follow people. So I told her what everyone else had been telling me and I added in my thoughts and that she should be patient. I told her that we should keep each other updated on our progress. She worked with a women’s group, and it wasn’t even a month later she emailed me excitedly telling me that she had more than 200 followers and that she was thrilled with how Twitter was another means for keeping her women’s group connected outside of their usual meetings. I couldn’t believe that an elderly lady had 1. Surpassed me with followers! 2. Made it her own. She inspired me to soldier forth and I must admit I am rather pleased with my results. For some unknown reason to me, TV shows have their characters on Twitter, posting about either their show or who knows what.
The news keeps people updated on the latest news with tweets. Article sites such as Digg have created various accounts for different categories that you would specifically like to keep updated on, for example if you would just like the science section or articles that have been dug 2,000+ times. Companies are using Twitter to promote sales and events. Inspirational quotes are sent out everyday to keep you up-lifted. Politicians are using Twitter to post their speeches and political views. Celebrities are posting their latest events aswell. I am sure there are more amazing accounts out there that I have yet to find, but Twitter definitely does allow ANY business to express themselves in which ever way they please.
Twitter even has an array of tools that you can use to enhance your experience such as Twhirl, Tweetdeck, Twellow, Mr. Tweet, Tweetbeep, Tweetminster, Twithority , Twitterfeed etc So if you take anything from this post, it is that I truly believe any business or person can use Twitter however they wish. You can use it to chat with your customers, post news or events, post pictures, links to your blog, links to any sort of promotion. Twitter does take time and patience, but once the balls starts rolling you won’t regret having spent the time or money on it.