Twitter 12/13/08
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Twitter, a micro-blogging community filled with folks answering the question, “What are you doing?” in 140-characters or less. Twitterers can receive updates from others via cell phone (SMS), the website, or from dozens of different applications and browser plug-ins.
A few months ago, my staff and I wrote a Twitter 101 Guide to better explain what Twitter is and why it’s an important communication tool. Since we posted it, 2,740 folks have signed up for the guide and have hopefully started Twittering. (We ask for emails to receive the guide so that we can keep those folks updated with new versions and interesting articles about Twitter.)
I love staying connected with friends, colleagues, and folks I only know via their Twittering through the service. It’s even better when I meet up with someone I know extremely well in “real life” and we don’t have to waste time on the typical catch up conversation because we’ve always been connected.
When I first started DavidAllis.com, I didn’t Twitter that much. I’d post here and broadcast that post automatically to my Twitter account via Twitterfeed. Now I Tweet (post updates) much more often than I post here. Readers of this space probably recognize that. Transitioning back to Twitter for quick updates has allowed me to re-focus the purpose of DavidAllis.com to a much more personal conversation. I like it.
Part of enhancing and making the Twitter experience better for you depends, well, on you. You see, Twitter is all about your network. Follow the folks you find interesting and encourage your friends to sign up and join your network.
If you’re a conservative, one place to find interesting folks is TopConservativesonTwitter.org. It’s an interesting place filled with thousands of new and, ahem, experienced Twitterers. Activists, radio hosts, political leaders, authors, journalists, bloggers, and others are the folks you’ll find there.
If you’re not yet on Twitter, do sign up. Follow me by sending “follow DavidAll” as an update. Send me a message by typing @DavidAll [message here]” and let me know that you’ve joined the conversation. I’ll be quick to follow you back and welcome you to the community.
To be honest, the challenge you will face immediately is getting beyond the first few weeks of not understanding why Twitter matters. The first post of most new Twitterers is “Trying to figure out Twitter.”
My advice is to not give up. Give it an honest shot and you’ll find the reward.
