Many are discovering the joys of social media, and as more people are pushing out their materials, whether opportunists or conversationalists, I feel like there is more and more pushing happening, than actual listening, are better yet, engaging.
3 Points of Evidence
What’s Your Observation?
Okay, I shared with you mine, and some other people’s opinions, what about yours? Do you feel people are still connecting online? Still engaging in that personal, authentic and communal spirit?
flickr photo credit: Orange_Beard
]]>As a new Twitter member, one may be wondering a series of questions that I hope this post offers a “quick guide” to successful Twitter use and community, with the key ingredient reiterated at the end.
“What is Twitter?”
Twitter is a micro-blogging social media tool that asks the question, “What are you doing?” Individuals, who have logged in and registered for the free service, answer the question within 140 characters or within multiple updates and then ‘update’ their status. Twitter works by individuals agreeing to ‘follow’ a certain Twitter account. Once following this account, the person then gets the account’s updates. It is a great medium that lends itself to both one-to-one communications, as well as one-to-many communications. In the past six months, Twitter has gone from 600k accounts, to 2.9 million accounts.
“How can I/We use Twitter?”
The list below outlines 13 different functions that both individuals and organizations can use Twitter’s platform to accomplish:
1. Inquiry Response
2. Reputation Management
3. Promotion
4. Event Planning
5. Brand Equity
6. Marketing
7. Fundraising
8. Reminders
9. Emergency and Disaster Response
10. Provide information, news and tips
11. Research
12. Conversation Tracking through Hashtags (i.e. #WAD08, #healthcomm)
13. Social Networking
“Now what?”
“How do I connect?”
“Where can I learn more?”
In sum, just add meaning. This may seem easier said than done, so I want to help. What are your other Twitter questions? I can already think of a few (tools, metrics, etc.) Feel free to comment, and I will offer more in the comments. Finally, I too am on Twitter: @socialbttrfly. Feel free to follow, and I look forward to creating meaning together.
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