Using Twitter To Stay In Touch
On our web site’s Social Networking page, we start off discussing Twitter by saying “Imagine if you could get constant, real-time updates from some of the most respected people in your industry and other areas of particular interest to you. Now you can, and that is the underlying power of Twitter.”
To have a device in your hand that is constantly streaming thoughts, ideas and links from some of the brightest minds in your industry is nothing short of brilliant, and certainly nothing to scoff at. I’ve spoken with many people that just don’t seem to get what value there is in Twitter. Twitter is an incredible application that has the ability to keep you up to speed on what your favorite people are doing. It’s really that simple. In addition, it gives you the chance to find out who wants to follow you and what information you have to share that may be of value to others.
Twitter is best served up on a mobile device, specifically your cell phone. Most modern day mobile operating systems, such as Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android, have applications that make the Twitter experience virtually seamless and easy-to-use. When someone you’ve chosen to follow sends out a new tweet (a message limited to 140 characters), you become an immediate recipient of that tweet. The more people you follow, the more tweets you’ll have feeding into your device on a regular basis. Ignore them if you like, or simply scroll through and see if any of the tweets spark some interest. It may contain a link to a story that goes into greater detail about the subject of that tweet. It may link to a photo album depicting details about the subject of the tweet. It may offer a link to a video or some other type of digital media.
The point is, Twitter gives people a forum to share their thoughts, ideas, opinions and other information in a brief, concise, interactive format. Followers don’t have to check their email to get your news and they don’t have to visit your web site or blog to know about a new article you’re promoting. All they have to do is glance down at their cell phone and review their latest tweets. If they like your tweet, they can retweet your tweet. This means that they’ll forward your tweet on to their list of followers. Your tweet comes through their follower’s device with your info and a link to your Twitter profile, potentially becoming a follower of you themselves. So your followers can propagate your messages for you if they believe there is value in doing so. Naturally, quality tweets are the goal, as you want your followers to become your brand ambassadors and share your news and ideas.
Twitter lets you share with people what you ordinarily wouldn’t. The 140-character messages ensure no one post is too long-winded. It also allows you to keep in touch with people you want to with out harassing them. As more and more people navigate toward depending on their mobile devices for their communications and web browsing experiences, Twitter will continue to grow. At last count, Twitter has over 175 million users.
Much like Facebook, Twitter lets you stay in touch. You won’t be able to see pictures of the friends and family of those you follow on Twitter (unless they tweet them), but you will be able to keep up with the latest news in their world – at least whatever they’re willing to share. And you’ll also be able to share with your followers what’s going in your life. You might be surprised at who’s interested.
-Benjamin Gray
Principal, Gray Spectrum
