Twitting Much Lately? No? What R U Waiting 4?

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“Still trying to figure out what this twitter is all about… anyone?”

This was my first – and second – post on Twitter.

I just didn’t get it. But if so many people were crazy about it, I thought it was worth giving it a try. And it didn’t take me long to find out the wonders of being a twitter.

Even though I’ve been twitting for less than 2 months now, I was lucky enough to follow and be followed by a very select group, from the beginning. Through an article in two parts posted by my good friend Mel Aclaro in his BusinessCasualBlog.com, I learnt the Thirteen Things to Get Started on Twitter.

It didn’t take long to realize the potential for social networking within Twitter. So what? After all, this is what internet does: connects people who may never meet outside of the virtual world. But there’s more to it than meets the eye at a first glance. There is actually the possibility of meaningful interaction, if you build your network based on quality, not quantity.

Mack Collier says that “social media is a lotta damned work, and if you’re only interested in using the space to promote yourself, you’ll quit before you see the results you want”. And he’s absolutely right. In the midst of two extremes, on one end people who only use social media tools to tirelessly promote themselves, and on the other end, the ones who only use it to ask for help, there are people with great content, actually interested in building relationships through sharing and learning.

I was lucky enough to surround myself with people with the same interests, with whom I have been exchanging tips on reading materials, mostly in the form of links, the twitter-style way to pass on information. And by “tips on reading materials” I mean knowledge. Whenever I think of the Twitter World, the image that comes to my mind is that of an anthill, with busy little ants carrying their knowledge-links from one place to another, each contributing with what they have to offer.

That is why I encouraged my 11 year-old son to join in, and it did not take him long either, to start his small network, with whom he shares links and tips on their favorite subject: games, of course. But what a great way to learn early on that relationships are about sharing.

As a T&D professional, I am also very interested in exploring social media as a means for corporate learning, and as a powerful tool to establish a direct communication channel with clients, even when learning comes the hard way.

Through all forms of social media (blogs, communities, forums, social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) the Internet gives us this immense power to spread the word and be heard. We should consider that when building our own virtual image. Think about this for a while: What do you care most, quantity or quality? Are you a taker or a giver? My good friend Mel Aclaro (him, again) commented on this, on a post worth reading.

I, for one, share Gary Vaynerchuk’s opinion. What about you?

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more about “Twitter – How Do You Manage the Noise…“, posted with vodpod

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