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Several weeks ago I was on Twitter and my 7-year-old daughter walks in.  She said “Daddy, are you on twitter again”?  I asked, “what do you know about twitter”?  Her response was a simple “I know it is about getting into other people’s business”!   Then, just last week I was meeting with a twitter newbie and he asked “what is the point of twitter” and “how do I use it correctly”.  So here are some bullet points on twitter as described to a 7-year-old and a twitter newbie;

What is Twitter? 

• Twitter is an outlet for providing and receiving information in a short format (140 characters or less).
• Twitter facilitates social networking, but it’s not considered a social networking website.
• Following is the act of subscribing to someone’s “mini feed” to get their “tweets” aka  “information they consider valuable”.

So What’s the Point of Twitter?

• Send and receive instant information on topics of interest
• Sourcing tool to find people with common interests
• Engaging contacts; Twitter connects you to your contacts
• Promoting blogs, brands or self
• Simplified form of getting updates vs. Facebook
• Get feedback from a large network in short bites of information
• Connect with people on a personal level that you may never get the chance to in “real life”

Describe Twitter “Best Practices”

• Provide useful/helpful information such as links to news, current events/trends or tips
• Good information is key, think to yourself “why would someone want to read this”?
• Follow people who provide valuable information; if you are into social media, search for people who tweet/send information on the subject.
• Provide a quick introduction in the beginning of your tweets; just blasting links will get you lost in the stream.
• Utilize the twitter yellow pages (Twellow and Listorious) to show yourself and find subject matter experts you wish to follow.
• Complete your profile and provide a website you want to direct traffic to;  I suggest your blog url or LinkedIn url (do not leave blank!)

Remember you control your on-line reputation.  Once you tweet it, it is public domain (literally, google catalogues every tweet)!  So pick a cool handle (no spam flaggers) and have fun!  Feel free to follow me @alexputman!  Happy tweeting!

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