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+--- Thread: How do you use Twitter and why? (/showthread.php?tid=113910)
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How do you use Twitter and why? - hal - 03-17-2011
Well, Trouble's thread below ended up being a twitter bash fest...
but I'm still curious how people use twitter. Surely SOMEONE uses it...
Maybe a question posed this way might get some responses...
[title changed due to good suggestion]
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - ztirffritz - 03-17-2011
I use it to follow some local businesses. Some of the local pubs will tweet their daily specials, what's on tap, etc. I never really understood what Twitter was for but I now see it as a personalized RSS feed. Nothing more, nothing less.
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - M A V I C - 03-17-2011
Do you mean as in "has clicked 'follow'" or as in "actually reads what someone tweets"?
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - hal - 03-17-2011
answer it any way you feel is appropriate
the only tweets I ever see are second hand - on a forum like this. Some reporter has the latest on an event followed on a forum and someone will post, "So&So has just tweeted ____"
but I don't think I've ever even been to twitter.com
daily specials... now that makes some sense...
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - threeprong - 03-17-2011
I use it.... most people ( as evidenced by the aforementioned thread do not know how to use Twitter and for some reason proclaim to hate it or take some other extreme view.) Ironically, it reminds me of the narrow minded views that IT departments used to take regarding the Mac.
"bah, Macs are expensive and aren't customizable.. we're sticking with WIntel PCs!!!"
"Twitter is a waste of time and I block it and it's stupid and, umm.. what's it good for?"
Sound familiar?
you're question in the title of this thread should be, "How do you use Twitter and why?"
The way I use Twitter is that i follow many, many people but use TweetDeck and HootSuite to create filtered columns that search for key words. (I can search through all Tweets, not just followers.) This is how most power users use Twitter. I'm a busy person, just like all the huffenpuffs who commented in the previous post and I don't sit and read every single thing every person says. Instead, I let TweetDeck filter all content dynamically. For me, Twitter is the Google of the last 2 minutes.
There's plenty of people who would swear by Google as the defacto tool for finding out something on a given topic. For me , that is now Twitter.
If i want to see the absolute latest thing.. like a recent video.. or some breaking news story.. or the latest trend in my industry, or the top 10 things that a certain profession should do this month... i can get it on Twitter and find it with more relevant results than Google, faster than CNN. This is true of Apple events, tsunami videos hometown news, traffic reports, etc etc.
I bet many folks who come to the dealmac forum, do so because this community acts sort of like a filter of the internet itself. Sort of a depository of aggregated links of true interest that is pre-qualified and vetted by folks you know and not a bunch of threads containing complete garbage. I find almost all the threads on macresource interesting. (excluding the political side.)
Twitter can be made to do the same thing but across millions of users.
I do this same type of thing for clients... I can search for a few key words and show where someone is looking for a service in a given location and instantly connect them to my client. This happens a lot. I tweet for the world's largest manufacturer of a certain type of everyday thing. I connect them to people who are interested in that thing, RIGHT NOW.... That's powerful and results in gaining share.
Again, this is one small aspect of what Twitter can do.... and again I don't follow people in the sense most people think of... I let Twitter be a tool for me to find what I need, faster and more relevant than Google.
I also use it to engage with some very fascinating folks who are experts in their field. This has created some very good connections that have generated new business.
Personally, I don't really want to tout all the good things Twitter can do because I am fine with those who are not on Twitter staying off Twitter. It's not for everybody. Who it is for are people who are interested enough to engage in their community, read an article or two and give it more than a narrow-minded passing glance.
3p
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - hal - 03-17-2011
threeprong wrote: you're question in the title of this thread should be, "How do you use Twitter and why?"
changed...
[edit after reading 3P's post] - thanks for taking the time!
Re: How do you use Twitter and why? - edgarbc1 - 03-17-2011
use to promote band events and shennanigans...
linked any Facebook status post for the blues band page to Twitter
which in turns updates the mySpace status
all facebook and myspace and twitter followers
see the status update and know about new upcoming shows or
anything else the band decides to post about...
i follow conan obrien too
he has some good funny tweets
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - (vikm) - 03-17-2011
threeprong wrote:
I find almost all the threads on macresource interesting. (excluding the political side.)
Really? I like this place a lot, but I wouldn't go that far.
I know you didn't intend for your post to sound "elitist" but it comes off a bit that way. maybe it's because it's what you "do" (or one of the things you do. I dunno. i also didn't read the other thread). I can appreciate your enthusiasm for Twitter. I use it and have for some time but it's only a supplement for me. In my opinion, It's not much different than the rest of the internet in that it's 75% non-important rubbish (that maybe a conservative estimate. Made up none the less).
More to the point of hal's question, I use it to stay in the loop on certain topics like photography. I use it to stay in the know about other entertainment field related subjects. It's good for me to know about which bands are touring or are working on new records, etc. I use it to check the headlines for news for the area I live in. One I follow lists prime articles from different sources which I find convenient. Keeps me from having to go to many different sites all the time (but still do at times).
Twitter, like I said, is a nice supplement. Mostly garbage (I'm not excluded from this) but there is a core group of entities I follow that provide me with some interesting worthwhile bits. As mentioned, it can be a great source of info but it's not for everyone and if it disappeared tomorrow I don't think I'd miss it terribly.
Re: How do you use Twitter and why? - vision63 - 03-17-2011
I use teh Twitter to keep up with people I like and what they have to share. People like Bill Simmons of ESPN (he be da man). Etcetera, etcetera... Twitter is cool.
Re: What twitter accounts do you follow and why? - Black - 03-17-2011
Great post. I have a nagging need to take a look at it to see how it could benefit a web project. Otherwise have not been motivated to check it out.
threeprong wrote:
I use it.... most people ( as evidenced by the aforementioned thread do not know how to use Twitter and for some reason proclaim to hate it or take some other extreme view.) Ironically, it reminds me of the narrow minded views that IT departments used to take regarding the Mac.
"bah, Macs are expensive and aren't customizable.. we're sticking with WIntel PCs!!!"
"Twitter is a waste of time and I block it and it's stupid and, umm.. what's it good for?"
Sound familiar?
you're question in the title of this thread should be, "How do you use Twitter and why?"
The way I use Twitter is that i follow many, many people but use TweetDeck and HootSuite to create filtered columns that search for key words. (I can search through all Tweets, not just followers.) This is how most power users use Twitter. I'm a busy person, just like all the huffenpuffs who commented in the previous post and I don't sit and read every single thing every person says. Instead, I let TweetDeck filter all content dynamically. For me, Twitter is the Google of the last 2 minutes.
There's plenty of people who would swear by Google as the defacto tool for finding out something on a given topic. For me , that is now Twitter.
If i want to see the absolute latest thing.. like a recent video.. or some breaking news story.. or the latest trend in my industry, or the top 10 things that a certain profession should do this month... i can get it on Twitter and find it with more relevant results than Google, faster than CNN. This is true of Apple events, tsunami videos hometown news, traffic reports, etc etc.
I bet many folks who come to the dealmac forum, do so because this community acts sort of like a filter of the internet itself. Sort of a depository of aggregated links of true interest that is pre-qualified and vetted by folks you know and not a bunch of threads containing complete garbage. I find almost all the threads on macresource interesting. (excluding the political side.)
Twitter can be made to do the same thing but across millions of users.
I do this same type of thing for clients... I can search for a few key words and show where someone is looking for a service in a given location and instantly connect them to my client. This happens a lot. I tweet for the world's largest manufacturer of a certain type of everyday thing. I connect them to people who are interested in that thing, RIGHT NOW.... That's powerful and results in gaining share.
Again, this is one small aspect of what Twitter can do.... and again I don't follow people in the sense most people think of... I let Twitter be a tool for me to find what I need, faster and more relevant than Google.
I also use it to engage with some very fascinating folks who are experts in their field. This has created some very good connections that have generated new business.
Personally, I don't really want to tout all the good things Twitter can do because I am fine with those who are not on Twitter staying off Twitter. It's not for everybody. Who it is for are people who are interested enough to engage in their community, read an article or two and give it more than a narrow-minded passing glance.
3p