- Going Solo Live – during the Going Solo conference, some interesting thoughts and issues were shared about Twitter. In the meantime I was trying to convince the editors of HRM the Journal that had just launched a social network to open HRM the Journal on Twitter.
I asked my Twitter network and new Going Solo friends for some advice on this issue why one might be able to benefit from using Twitter. Here are their responses and my interpretations and FAQs #GoingSolo
We have already posted some FAQs about Twitter here:
ComMetrics – social media – ropes to skip – Twitter – FAQs
So based on some presentations at the Going Solo conference I thought I would pose a question to my Twitter followers:
ComMetrics Non Twitter user ask:what makes Twitter different from having a social network just send me e-mails-how can I answer, suggestion?LinksThanks
Africa and Europe (2008-05-18 – early evening)
derekabdinor @ComMetrics you see thought-leaders canvass and formulate on Twitter before they even blog it. Like you are doing now
thibautthomas @ComMetrics Twitter is about conversation ecosystem, not so much about hardcore networking. Its faster, simpler like IM vs Email.
North America(2008-05-18 – noon-evening North American time)
Pistachio @commetrics friend asks “what makes Twitter different from having a social network just send me e-mails?” @ reply him your answers?
goldiekatsu @commetrics Twitter allows you to expand your connections in ways that an email doesn’t. And you can chose who to listen to.
Pistachio @commetrics look at the web link on my twitter page. That web page includes links to my blog posts about twitter that should help answer 
kathrynjones @ComMetrics twitter is far more dynamic, immediate and conversational than an email from a social network
pprlisa @ComMetrics Twitter is like being able to hear every convo in a crowded restaurant an being able 2 join in whichever sounds most interesting
jtyost2 @commetrics emails take time to process, feel like you have to answer
tomguarriello @ComMetrics twitter lets you peek at people who’d never email you and see what they’re interested in. Letting someone follow is low risk.
RobinMaiden @commetrics it is very different. it accesabl. it is now. it is short and sweet.
Europe / North America (2008-05-19 – early morning)
HRMtheJournal @ComMetrics sending a question out via Twitter: great responses within a very short time (e.g., 6 hours or less) from experts all over.
Europe (2008-05-19 – early morning)
BoscoGurin @ComMetrics depends on how careful followers read your tweets=resp. rate could be.5% from 2,000 followers= 10 high qual answers=GREAT help
InfoSec @ComMetrics if zero-exploit of softw. vulerabilit happens now, Twitter = immediate feedback from fellow experts around the globe, great tool
CASEScontact @ComMetrics for our info sec portal for micro biz and home-usersTwitter->support subscribers fast,URLs where they get more info about
SMIuk08 @ComMetrics ? use Twitter-responses you got ceteris paribus: women & North Americans more personal AND some countries &biz tweets > reserved
CyTRAP @ComMetrics think Twitter great to follow knowledgeable others and learn from them while sharing by giving URLs to white papers,great posts
What does it mean – based on these and some other responses we got?
Looking at the responses, I discovered the following without putting it in any order of importance.
1) Looking at the responses, North American Twitter users tweet more extensively on weekends than Europeans.
2) People use Twitter for different purposes. Some for getting expert input, others prefer lurking (i.e. observing what is happening) in the background – or quietly follow ‘important’ people.
3) Business (e.g., conference organizers) provides followers with more focused tweets than individuals. The latter may send out a lot of love and chatter to their friends using @… or letting everybody know that they are getting coffee or feeding the cat.
4) Thought-leaders and experts can canvass or inform followers about important issues (e.g., security alerts, why and how do you do X, etc.) and if need be can get a few quick responses (web-, mobile-, browser-interface for responding using Twitter).
5) The response rate will be very low anywhere from <.2 to .3% or so. However, if 3000 people follow you, better to get six thoughtful and helpful responses than be flooded with garbage. Most important, what one gets shows the person responding has insights that help you get a better handle on the issue(s) (i.e. quality is much better than quantity).
6) From Going Solo delegates and looking at their responses (some via e-mail) it seems as if freelancers watch Twitter during the workday. However, they choose not to get active if possible until after working hours (i.e. when getting out of bed – checking Twitter first, going to bed – checking again) or during weekends. This allows freelancers in keeping focused on the task they are working on right now, thereby not getting distracted by Twitter.
7) Learning curve and Twitter use – most accounts do not narrowly focus their tweets on the unique needs of their target group(s) (e.g., friends vs. business associates vs. clients). Naturally, there are some very notable exceptions:
Old media has learned this a while back; different readers or viewers need different fare. The result has been an ever-increasing number of TV channels, newspapers, etc.
Many Twitter users serve you 10 or more tweets each day including weekends. In between these mini-posts, you will find some gems. Unfortunately, the rest is chaff. This can result in the situation where because of the trees you can no longer see the forest or vice versa. The result is the same, more confusion than order, more data instead of better information…
Conclusion
While much seems to change, even more stays the same. A while back, TV stations and newspaper barons decided to offer us more specialized channels and print publications to serve our needs better. This has allowed advertisers to spend money for media that supposedly reaches a desirable target audience.
When will those Twitter users with the largest following (e.g., 5,000 and more) start offering specialized feeds from different Twitter accounts? In turn, it might be easier to follow more than 150 people that send out three tweets or less per day. This is especially true if these tweets are focusing on what one’s followers are truly interested in.
Twitter users still seem to be grappling with this concept – Fact is that if you try to follow more than 150 users, there is no way you can check each tweet carefully and, therefore, follow the conversation. Of course, the choice is yours. Cut down on TV, limit contact with your family and kids even more to tweet more or else cut down Twitter use. Whatever you do, please choose wisely by doing the following:
- A) reduce the number of people you follow to 150, ANDB) make your tweets highly relevant to your target audience (have you identified your target audience – better do it now you might be surprised).
Nevertheless, the benefits of using Twitter can be manifold and range from such things as:
– Meeting interesting folks online, while running into them finally somewhere at some event – what a pleasure that can be – nothing beats a face-to-face meeting ;
– getting interesting URLs and information from knowledgeable others you might otherwise never come across;
– getting support and advice using d …. (direct message others cannot see) from people whose ideas, opinions and knowledge you trust; as well as
– a business, conference or journal you can keep its readers, editorial board, conference reviewers informed about what is happening ==>
(e.g., 
goingsolo, SMIuk08, HRMtheJournal).
Some caveats
The sample we used is NOT a representative one. The conclusions drawn are not based on what I call science but just interpretations. Nonetheless, take them and make your choices wisely to avoid spending too much unproductive time on Twitter and other micro-blogging services.
Great posts about these issues you also find here:
Stowe Boyd – The Growing Backlash against PR Spam, And the Rationale for MicroPR – Twitter
Laura Fitton – How I Got My Start in Social Media- Twitter
Laura Fitton – Twitter Makes Us More
Suw Charman – Going Solo: Stephanie Booth; Laura Fitton – you only get what you give – Twitter
Kevin Anderson – future of news: attention, distraction and information glut – see Twitter
Call for Assistance
I am convinced that I have forgotten many important reasons and pointers why somebody should join Twitter. As well, what one can contribute to and gain from participating we have not covered well.
Hence, my plea to you is to please add your insights below by writing a comment (problems, just click on title of this post, go to bottom of post, voila – window for adding comment). This will make it that much more easy for others to decide to either join or stay away from micro-blogging, such as Twitter.
We made a start with some links to interesting posts addressing this issue in more depth above, care to share any links you have? Then please put them in a comment below:
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