So You Want to Know Why I Twitter?

April 7, 2009

The other day, I wrote a quick email to someone I’d met at a conference who was still trying to “get” the appeal of Twitter.  I realized that from the outside, it’s just a confusing mass of people posting what could seem like endless noise & then telling their friends “it’s so amazing! You would love it if you understood it!”

So what’s to love?  Well, I think I broke it down pretty well – so rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I’d post it here.  Granted, there’s a little tweaking so it’s more ‘blog friendly.’  But here you go.

The Basics of Twitter’s Appeal

The thing about Twitter is that it’s so powerful as a tool, it’s almost daunting.  Because you *can* do so much with it, it’s often hard to know where to start.  I liken it a bit to a Swiss Army Knife – the uses are endless – unless you don’t really have a goal in mind, then it’s just a series of complex little do-hickeys that pull out and push back in.

For me, I primarily use Twitter on a number of levels:

1) Networking
2) Information
3) Sharing
4) Socializing

1) Networking — I’ve met so many people via Twitter that I would never have had ‘access to’ under normal working situations.  From “A-list” internet folks to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to “celebrities” – people that I couldn’t just walk off the street and say “Oh hi! I want to meet you!” and have that become a reality.  Additionally, I’ve found that I have formed bonds with many of these people despite geographic distance.

2) Information – you know that little news ticker at the bottom of CNN? In a way, Twitter is like that for me – only customized.  I don’t get repetitive news about something I don’t find important – but rather I get breaking news, industry relevant news (like upcoming conferences!),  information that is coming out of a specific conference,  information about people and their current experiences.  The wealth of information in one place is amazing – but it’s tailored to my interests, because if I don’t think someone provides value? I simply don’t follow them.

3) Sharing -  if I’m someplace and someone says something I think should be shared with my network? a few keystrokes and a send and it’s shared.  Rather than thinking “oh! I have to remember that so I can tell everyone later” and running up against “how did she say that? I forget” – I’ve already shared it and I can reference it myself later.  Anything that I think would be useful, entertaining, or informative? It gets twittered.

4) Socializing – sometimes, it’s more conversational – not necessarily earth-shattering information, or work relevant even.  Just touching base with my friends and being social. A lot of people take issue with this use, saying it shouldn’t be used “as a chat room” – my reaction is simply “then don’t use it that way.”

The thing about Twitter is that everyone uses it to the ends that best suit them.  A lot of folks will tell you how they think you “should” use it (or shouldn’t) but in the end – it’s always a customized experience.

There’s no right or wrong way to use Twitter – there’s just ‘more effective ways’ to use it to get out of it what you want.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of how folks use Twitter to meet their needs – it’s just a simple ‘why I, GeekMommy, find it appealing and worth so much of my time.’

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