Hey Twitter, you're not the boss of me
Sure the Internet has changed everything. Everything is expected to happen quickly. Everyone is on call all the time. The Web is always on and someone is always up to interact with it. We've all complained about this but there are benefits.
There are elements in Twitter that have helped me in my daily life.
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Twitter helps me distill concepts
If I read something, I have to summarize in less than 140 characters. This can be a big challenge - the longer an article, the harder it is to summarize it in 140 meaningful characters - including the link! -
Twitter helps me think of headlines
You become the marketer for whatever you are talking about. You want people to be interested in what you are saying - otherwise you wouldn't have said it. If you want them to read more, you have to write something that piques the interest of your audience. -
Twitter makes me more open to explore new ideas
With URL shorteners (like bit.ly), I click on URLs all the time and have no idea what I am going to see. Sure, I occasionally get Rick-rolled, but most of the time, I just land on a Web site I would not have found otherwise. -
Twitter makes me think about market segments
My Twitter and Facebook accounts are connected - meaning my Twitter updates are also broadcast on FB. FB has some business contacts, but is for the most part, mostly friends that I have hung out with at some part of my life. I don't always know the people I follow on Twitter. Or if I do, I have met them only once or twice in person. If I have something I want to say, I think about whether or not it is more appropriate for my FB or Twitter crowd and then post accordingly. -
Twitter makes me realize I don't have to read and/or respond to everything
If someone emails something to me, I feel like I have to read it and either take action or state a point of view. I can't do this on Twitter. I would drown. I've gotten really good at segmenting Twitter times in my day and ignoring it the rest of the day. -
Twitter makes me remember to walk away from the computer
At times, I turn it off. If I am not interested in what the majority of my Twitter friends are interested in at any given moment, I walk away from the computer. A novel idea.
How have you begun to own your interactions with technology?
Comments
Thank you for these great tips! As a new Twitterer I have been learning how to use it. Your points have been helpful especially about market segmentation and being able to walk away.
There is a purpose for each social media avenue. Decide which one is best for you and how to utilize it.
Great piece. Thanks Virginia!
I too love that I have to work with so few words. It brings out the ad guy in me.
I also link my Twitter account to my LinkedIn page.
I've begun to distinguish and separate personal and professional spheres. I've also begun to use social media channels to address each of those spheres. I use Facebook and a Tumblr blog for personal communications. I use Twitter, LinkedIn and my portfolio Website for business.
I know there is overlap and exceptions: friends who I work with and family/friends who disagree with my social views. But it's a work in progress.
I have been thinking about disconnecting my FB and Twitter accounts - so that people in both worlds don't see my tweets twice. The feed from Twitter to FB has been spotty lately and not everything shows up. I've kinda liked that.
THanks for posting this. I'm struggling with having my Twitter and Facebook accounts linked. There have been some welcome and rewarding interactions on FB as a result of offhand Tweets, but i've also felt lately the need to censor my tweets in a way that I didn't before.
Although I like the idea of a business networking site, I really haven't seen anything useful come out of LinkedIn for me. Maybe I haven't explored it very much, but I don't find people's resumes very interesting.
Great post! One of the hardest assignments I was given in college was to summarize very long studies in one page double-spaced. Twitter one-ups that.
Walking away from the computer is easier said than done!
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