I am all up for giving in to distractions, but there is a website that has gone far enough: twitter.com. Another social networking site that simply asks its members: what are you doing?
In 140 characters members can tell everyone on the Internet what they are doing at that very moment. Companies and even television shows have joined, along with businesspeople and average Joe’s.
My question is: who cares? What can possibly be conveyed in 140 characters that would be of any significance to me?
I understand that Twitter is a way for companies to do marketing, and it is another way for job-searchers to find prospective employment. But I suppose I choose the more personal route when it comes to communicating on a professional level. I believe that I will get farther through in-person interviews, phone calls and e-mailing.
If I want to communicate with my friends, I prefer the old fashioned way of e-mailing, instant messaging or, if I’m feeling really bold, calling them on the phone! If I want to send messages to people where the medium gives me limited numbers of characters, I will go old school and send a text.
There may be a circumstance when I want the masses to know. That’s when I Facebook.
One of the few advantages that I have found on Twitter is that I am able to market my work that is already on the Internet. Blog posts are easily advertised along with websites for people to check out.
Bottom line, Twitter seems to be a site that is geared towards people with iPhones who know the applications and are “tweeting” constantly all day. But for me, I just feel like a nit-Twitterer.
Since I'm the idiot with the Twitter tattoo in your blog entry's picture, I felt compelled to respond.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to finding a job, Twitter is more than just throwing your resume out there and hoping someone will stumble across it. Twitter is about building ongoing relationships with people and businesses through regular communication.
I've had about 5 friends get laid off in the past 6 months, and every single one of them has found a job through their Twitter network. Not through cold-calling via email or phone.
Twitter is probably the easiest and most efficient way to build relationships while promoting yourself and/or your business. It may seem silly and geared towards the "internet geek", but it's much more than that. It's the new email.
Twitter is about what you put into it. If you spend 1 minute on Twitter a week, the site will be virtually worthless to you.
But, if you're on here regularly and constantly engage with the site's users, you'll begin to understand its true value.
Don't give up on it yet. And sorry for the long comment.
- Ryan Goff
http://mghwom.com