|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
ISSUE: JUNE 2009 In This Issue: |
The Value of Twitter: It’s All About the Follow By Karen Solomon, Freelance Lifestyle Writer When I mention my Twitter addiction in casual conversation, I’m met with either an equally earnest glint of excitement, or the pale and trembling glaze of a traveler lost. Eventually, I believe that microblogging in some incarnation will become as ubiquitous as email. But for now, we are divided as a community into the Twitter-haves, and the Twitter-have nots. If you fall into the latter category, and you’re simply not certain why anyone would waste their time learning about what their friend ate for lunch, read on. The message about the value of everyone’s favorite new network that is not getting through is this: The quality of Twitter is based on the subject, timeliness, and quality of the reporting of those that you follow. While following your best friend (“OMG I am soooo sleepy!”) may be a courteous protocol carried over from other social networking sites (Facebook, etc.), these sorts of status updates get tedious quickly. If your personal or business interests lie in venture capital, hi-tech, politics, food and farming, etc., the keys to the kingdom of Twitter are finding those with real input and value in your subject matter of choice. For example, numerous reporters from The Motley Fool, BusinessWeek, or the New York Times have their own personal Twitter feed which are indispensable for any news junkie. Unlike the stories they write online or in print, their Twitter feeds are unedited, unexpurgated, and because of their brevity, they’re a preview of news that’s in the making (“Working on a piece now about the CEO of Company X stepping down.”) But those offering valuable content aren’t always in the media. Venture capitalists, software developers, sales and marketing people, nutritionists, scientists, musicians, etc. all comprise a hands-on expertise that, while individually may not be 100 percent factual and accurate, collectively create a chorus of information that has merit. In addition, rather than relying on a single news source’s updated feed (say, the ticker atop CNN.com), you can create your own from a multitude of sources (CNN, two reporters from the BBC, a handful of bloggers covering social media, etc.). And unlike an RSS feed, with a client like TweetDeck, Twitter can gather information from these useful, but unofficial “reporters” in the background, rather than demanding that you return to a specific reader or website. So how does one find these quality news sources? A good place to start is by doing a topic search using any of the tools below. Once you find a source that you like, peruse their list of followers, as this will often unearth more quality sources of information. A subject search on Hashtags.org is a useful tool in finding those whose interests interest you. Or, of course, you could always just continue to follow your pals as they decide what to eat for dinner. Twitter Search “Twools” To Get You Started Twellow.com ______________________________________________ Karen Solomon is a freelance lifestyle writer, a specialist in spin for copywriting and marketing projects, and the voice behind speechwriting and corporate communications for both start-ups and Fortune 500’s. Follow her @bolognarose and @chef140 for food and farming news, interesting tech tidbits, and daily recipes. For lifestyle clips and a glimpse at her upcoming cookbook, visit www.KSolomon.com. For business communications, contact her at ks@ksolomon.com.
|