Twitter

I recently unfollowed a couple of people from Twitter. The first I unfollowed because of spam. I stopped following the second person because most of her posts are laden with profanity and followed up with “Don’t like swearing? Too bad. Don’t follow me then.” Well ok. I don’t follow people for the sake of haiving a large pool of followers, anyway.

I’m not a prude.  Though cursing doesn’t hold the same pleasure for as it did during my teens, I’ve been know to throw out a bad word now and then, particularly if pain is involved. However, I’m of the belief that creative people can get their points across without resorting to profanity or vulgarity.

You are what you Tweet. Whether you use Twitter for business or pleasure, folks have to think about what they put out there. Employers are cruising Google and the social networks to see what employees and potential employees are up to. Maybe some people don’t think about this stuff - or even care. I do. I care how my community sees me and the example I put forth.

The folks I meet on Twitter are friends, colleagues and even perhaps important business contacts. Why turn them off? I’m not saying not to be you, but it’s always a good idea to take some time out and think about what we’re tossing out there.

When you use Twitter, does it matter to you what your followers think?

Tagged as: Community, social media, social netwowrking, Twitter

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A little less than a year ago, I was making my rounds on Twitter when I came across a tweet from Darren Rowse. He was traveling back to Austrialia from SXSW, and his reserved seat was of the uncomfortable variety.  He wanted to know if anyone had a connection at Qantas who could help him with an upgrade. Why, yes. Yes I did. My childhood friend Linda now lives in Australia and works for Qantas. We Tweeted back and forth throughout the night regarding seat preferences (Darren prefers aisle) and reservations. No emails were exchanged except between Linda and I. By the time Darren was ready to board his flight he had a coveted exit row seat. We couldn’t swing first class, but we got the next best thing. In fact, when he got to the desk, the attendant asked him who he knew at Qantas to get that seat.

As we tweeted the details back and forth I realized this Twitter is a very cool tool. Can’t find something? Throw it out on Twitter. Need a contact person? Throw it out on Twitter. Need an upgrade? Throw it out on Twitter. Looking for a job? Check Twitter. Want to see how folks feel about your business? Search Twitter.

Tweeting Up a Pirate Ship

I came across another cool Twitter story yesterday at Chris Brogan’s blog. Chris and his fellow “pirates” Justin Levy and Colin Browning wondered if they would be able to get their pictures taken aboard the famous Pirate Ship “The Song” at the Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas. Chris and Justin asked around on Twitter to see if anyone knew anyone who could arrange a photo op on the pirate ship. Brandie, who handles interactive marketing at the Luxor, reached out to the small band of pirates and made the magic happen. There was a little more involved than a tweet, there were calls and explanations to be made, but it was Twitter that got the ball rolling and made a dream come true.

Not only is this a testament to the power of Twitter, but it also shows the importance of businesses getting on board this whole social media thing. The Luxor, Treasure Island and even Las Vegas, got some great free publicity from this one photo. Plus it gives the organization this whole warm and fuzzy “we get it” vibe.

Twitter and the Job Search

Here’s another Twitter story. When I learned I was in the running for my Community Manager job, I did a Twitter search, among others. I like to read up on the place where I may work as I find this helpful in the interview process. I also followed the CEO and several other members of the team on Twitter.  During my second interview, the CEO told me he was impressed that I found him on Twitter and followed him. Apparently I was the only candidate to do so.

Every day I see job opportunites shared on Twitter. I see folks networking and schmoozing. I even applied to some awesome opportunities I wouldn’t have found on my own. I’m still waiting for the first Twitter job interview, it’s bound to happen sooner or later. Twitter rocks as a job search tool.

How will YOU use Twitter?

The morale to this story, boys and girls, isn’t how many followrs you have on Twitter or how funny your Tweets are (though I do love Twitter for its entertainment value). It’s about how one small thing can unite the world. It’s about using social media to make contacts and connections. It’s about making the world a smaller place, one tweet at a time.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us your Twitter stories.

Tagged as: Chris Brogan, Qantas, Treasure Island, Twitter

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Here’s something to ponder. I was talking with someone yesterday who is thinking about hiring a person to be his Community Manger. He feels the prime candidate is perfect for the job except for one thing, he’s never managed a community before, not in the traditional sense.  Should he hire the person he knows is a perfect fit for his community, or the person with several years experience managing an online community? My answer? It depends.

Before being hired as Community Manager, my only experience was building up a blog network and community from scratch. On my resume it doesn’t look like much, but the reality is it took several years and some mad skills to get ‘er done.  So should your Community Manager have  resume filled with impressive names? Let’s explore this:

Can he: (and by he I mean he or she)

• Communicate effectively with all people?
• Take a suggestion or question and run with it, getting the best results?
• Talk so that others listen?
• Create something positive from something negative?
• Draw people in to the conversation?
• Rock the social networks?
• Have lots of people following him, not because it’s the cool thing to do, but because he’s a darn nice guy?
• Create an interest around your brand?

An impressive resume is just that, a piece of paper with lots of stuff on it. If your gut tells you the best person for the job is someone who hasn’t done this sort of thing before, but will totally rock it, go with your gut. It’s not about names, it’s about people. Look beyond the obvious to find the true attributes of a good Community Manager.  The ability to effectively communicate and build a friendly community of like-minded people. You don’t always need a degree for that.

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I like to use Twitter Feed to tweet out links to my different blogs.  I also use it for promotion for various events as part of job as Community Manager. Now, I don’t spend all my time tweeting links. Most of my Twitter time is spent networking, discussing, and yes, telling everyone what I’m having for lunch. Even though I do like to spend most of my time socializing, I often wonder if I’m spamming my followers with too many links. Is there a proper tweet to link ratio? I tend to stop following folks who only tweet links. I liken it to having drinks with friends with one person only offering sales pitches instead of conversation the whole time. Not too cool.

As a community building and marketing tool, Twitter is amazing. I meet terrific people \ and even landed a job after following the company’s CEO.  Twitter is where I learn breaking news,  get turned on to the most awesome websites and have interesting discussions with some very big names in the biz - except on Twitter they don’t act like they’re all that, if you know what I mean.

Given my addiction to love for Twitter, I really don’t want to ruin things by spamming people with links. So consider this the informal poll.

Tweeting your links: promotion or spam?

Discuss…

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