I've been required to use Twitter by two separate classes (a notion which I will address in another blog later). I already had a bias against Twitter prior to the class, so needless to say I wasn't thrilled. But I went in with a mostly open mind and tried it out.
I can see the usefulness of Twitter--instant broadcast of whatever you have to say to everyone and anyone. Companies no longer have to wait for slower announcements through radio, TV, or other bloggers: one Tweet and you've connected with the world.
However--and this is a big however--Twitter is also used by people who simply want to share their thoughts. On everything. One example is Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). Simon loves Twitter. He posts everything that he does and thinks of immediately. I love Simon's Twitter so I hate to use him for example, but if he were anyone else--any regular everyday person--this would apply more.
It seems that half of Twitter's usage includes mindlessly posting your daily activities in hopes that others will care. And frankly, we have enough social media outlets that are used for that very purpose.
Active Twitter users (or "Twits" as I prefer): post useful things. Or else you drive Twitter into uselessness.
This ties into Blogs as well. Many will use blogs for information and discussion. But then there are those who use it as an online diary of daily events, and frankly I deem this a waste of internet space. I used to do this. I try my damnedest to not anymore. There are places such as Facebook and MySpace for things like that (more on MySpace later). Use the blog for insight or information dissemination.
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I completely agree! I actually resisted twitter for a very long time before jumping on board, but now that I have started to see its usefulness I think it can be a wonderful PR tool. I wrote a very similar post a few weeks ago. Check it out at: http://prtakesfromkate.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/twitter-madness/
ReplyDeleteAs someone who does use Twitter for personal use and for the public relations aspect as well (specifically for class), I think that it's a great way to keep in touch with people. I don't necessarily like using it for discussions, but for those people who want to know, they can. For those people who don't want to know, they don't have to. Twitter is now a place to not only tweet your thoughts, actions, situations, inspirations, but it's a fast an easy way for people to keep up with your life... if they choose to keep up with it, and if you choose to let your tweets open to the Twitter world (me, not so much- I keep mine limited to family and friends).
ReplyDeleteI must confess that I use Twitter for personal use more so than I once did for professional use, although I do intersperse links, authoritative words, and RTs from the experts, but I also must ask why of the Twitterverse is this happening? I attempt to answer this question in my blog here: http://www.littlegreenmonster.net/blog/2009/11/25/twitter-the-worlds-chatroom.html
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most useful things about Twitter is being able to quickly search what is being said about your organization. That is key for big organizations that must manage a well-known reputation. also think Twitter is really useful in building up your PR credibility and almost like a portfolio to show future employers. It shows that you understand the technology and can effectively communicate with others on Twitter to benefit the organization!
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