Monday, February 8, 2010

All that Twitters

So I've renewed my involvement on Twitter lately. I took a hiatus for awhile-not really on purpose, but the initial hype around it had died down and I wasn't making a conscious effort to Tweet on a daily basis. Now that I've been back for a week-ish, I'm debating two sides of an issue: Is Twitter really an important social media tool that is imperative for people, especially in the PR world, to be involved in? Or is it more just a fun way to share mini updates with friends, check out links and occasionally learn about breaking news, but doesn't require regimented, regular interaction?

I'm on both sides actually - normally, when I Tweet, I scan people's Tweets for interesting news tidbits, fun links and to just see what people are up to. However, I've also seen and shared breaking news and used it to learn more and become further involved in social media engagement.

Sometimes it seems to me that the majority of Twitterers are just selfish, me included, Tweeting their location in the grocery store or that they binge-ate Starburst at the office today (ahem, wasn't me...) But, at the same time, don't we also live in a time where it's all about being selfish? Making the news work for and apply to me? Sharing what I'm doing because that's what I care about? Checking out my friends' updates to see if what they're doing is something I should do?

What do you think? What's the value of Twitter? I'm still deciding what side I'm on. But I also might just stay in the middle because that's what I want to do...and I can because it's MY social media experience.

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4 comments:

  1. Sandi M. CombsFebruary 9, 2010 at 9:43 AM

    Interesting thoughts. I've been wondering what's going to happen to Twitter given the reports that it's "flatlining." It seems to be dying out among casual social media users, who may not see the value of constantly checking out what their friends are eating for lunch (after all, there's Facebook for that), but it's an entirely different medium for PR people, journalists and bloggers. For the latter, it's a way to share industry information and insight. I feel that these people will be the driving force behind Twitter as it is unique in offering that value.

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  2. BlondieFebruary 9, 2010 at 8:00 PM

    I really need to start Tweeting more too. Isn't there a way to tie Twiter to Facebook? Or visa versa? But what if my Facebook updates are 239487239472 words long and they don't fit on Twitter? Someone please explain to me..

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  3. Brown Eyed GirlFebruary 10, 2010 at 11:23 AM

    There is, Blondie, but I highly advise against it, and the fundamental reason is that Twitter is more effective for sharing information - links to news, links to photos, retweeting other's news, etc. Typical FB status updates like "Happy Birthday to my bestie!" don't fly on Twitter. Think of FB Status as the modern-day AIM "away message," and Twitter as the "omg this is cool, I have to share it"-tool.

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  4. BlondieFebruary 10, 2010 at 3:39 PM

    Ah- I get it! No wonder I like Facebook better. :)

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