Comments on: About social networking, I’m not all a’ Twitter

By: Lynn Morton

Lynn Morton — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:47:00 +0000

I have a Twitter. Do I use it much? No. I don't tweet that often, but I do read what other people Tweet about. Though in some cases I could find that on Facebook. (I used think Facebook was lame too, but now I've found what purpose it serves in my life) I think for Twitter it depends on what kind of tweet you want to write. It is great for sharing quick links, letting people know where you are (like at a conference), general updates or quick opinions. They are very similar to me as status updates on Myspace or Facebook. It all depends on whether or not you want to be personal or professional with your tweets. I also think that you can use Twitter for updates on what is happening with the association. It's a great service that you can incorporate a widget onto the association's website to keep up-to-date on events or legislative happenings. It doesn't have to happen on Twitter, but quick updates make people feel like they are involved. Inter-office communication can also benefit from a product like StatusHQ, which is basically Twitter for your office. I would love to know when my co-workers are working on certain projects and what I can do to facilitate that. I had heard of this product before (though I forget where), but Maddie Grant wrote a quick little blog on it. I hope you find you voice in the Twitter world, but if not there is always Plurkistan. (which i use for more personal musings)

By: Rebecca Smith

Rebecca Smith — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:35:32 +0000

Beth,
I’m totally with you. Running a writing business and blog (as well as a home, family, dog, etc.) is enough responsibility for me. To Twitter I say, No Twank you.

By: bc

bc — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:46:32 +0000

Beth, I used to be the same way, and then I accidentally (thank you @matthewbaldwin – of http://www.defectiveyeti.com fame) started following some of the brightest, quirkiest, funniest, and most influential techie people on the planet. And now … I get at least 100 twitters a day on my phone that never got any use before — and I like it. A LOT. I can’t believe I’m even writing this because 6 months ago I thought twitter was even lamer than Facebook. (I still think Facebook is lame, BTW). And, true story, I still don’t use don’t use IM, either.
I’m afraid that makes ME the introverted eccentric techie.
Like that’s news at all.

By: Rebecca Eberle

Rebecca Eberle — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:28:46 +0000

How funny! I am at this very moment attending a women’s networking event that had a guest lecture on social media. I’ve never heard of twitter before twenty minutes ago.

By: Koka Sexton

Koka Sexton — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:35:21 +0000

Thanks for adding me to your list of Twitter resources. Twitter has a slight learning curve but once you get connected to some friends, it becomes addicting.

By: Lindy Dreyer

Lindy Dreyer — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:45:10 +0000

Great post! I have to say…until about five months ago, I was in your camp. But consider this—who are the people most likely to become addicted to Twitter? People who socialize online. They’re likely introverted in person, but get them in front of a computer and they have quite a lot of influence over their circle of followers. And, by the way, it’s not so difficult to end up with hundreds and hundreds of Twitter followers. Much easier than building a blog audience, for example.

That said, it’s not for everyone…especially considering all the “noise” it creates. What got me hooked? Following a couple of key thought leaders who make it their mission to tweet web links that are relevant to their expertise. I think there’s an opportunity for some associations to be that thought leader for their Twitter audience.

Thanks for continuing the conversation!

By: chris uschan - Omnipress

chris uschan - Omnipress — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:11:03 +0000

Beth – I’ve been hearing the buzz at ASAE on twitter for two years now. So I signed up to twitter and with the help of Lindy Dreyer and twitter in plain english, I kind of got it.

RIGHT?

Well, let’s say it was a less than fun experience. I started following association bloggers, then viola, I have 30 people following me (why?). I thought I’d set up my phone to get tweets… big mistake! I have this cool door bell (ding dong) sound for new messages — you guessed it. My phone was ding donging every 5 to 10 minutes. I disabled that for almost everyone (except you Beth) since most messages were categorized in two ways: (1) meaningless such as “These lines are long and I’m hungry” and (2) Linked tweeks … For the cell phone guy, this does my little good. For my downloaded Twirl application, I can at least follow it.

However, let’s talk about that. At work, on average, I get about 30 internal messages and 45 emails a day. That’s about 20 and 30 too many messages already. Then add in the blogs I should be reading and top that off with 30 tweets. Whoa!

I guess if I followed a close group of friends and colleagues who twittered appropriately and with a purpose, it would make sense.

That’s me…

Check out Lindy’s post on Twitter and associations… it may be helpful.

http://associationmarketing.blogspot.com/2008/08/associations-using-twitter.html

BTW — this comment would have taken up 13 tweets.

By: steph

steph — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:32:52 +0000

I thought this was hilarious!! “Who gives a crap?” HAHAHAHA!!

Indeed. I totally agree. I blog and that’s it. I couldn’t care less about the other stuff. Hard enough to keep track of myself let alone the blogs and whatever else, and yeah, I’m not one for little tidbits of useless info or small talk.

By: D.J.

D.J. — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:19:11 +0000

I am not all a’ twitter either. In fact, if anyone sent me little half statements on my phone, I would hunt them down and throw their phone in the ocean.

It is a craze that I choose to do without, as it is certainly not needed and a complete waste of time.

Should I tell you how I really feel about this?

D.J.