Video: How To Use Twitter and Connect in the Comments

I’m getting more and more client calls asking about Twitter, although I tend to think most of my readers are the super social elite folks you’d find in Friendfeed. Yet, in reality, many agencies, brands, and executives are just hearing about this microblogging services from the recent media buzz.

The above video, created by Lee and Sachi LeFever (I hung out with them in SXSW) of CommonCraft is available here on YouTube, or you can use their license and use for internal education. If you’re seeking to find some of my Forrester colleagues, Alexis Karlin in our web marketing team has an ongoing roster of Forrester employees who happen to be on Twitter.

If you happen to be a client, Zach Hofer-Shall and me wrote this report on how to use Twitter based on the Groundswell objectives, or you can catch me at these Twitter conferences: the 140 Twitter conference in Mountain View on May 26-27th, or at Twtrcon in SF on May 31st. Yes, I find it curious we have Twitter conferences, but people said the same thing about blogging conferences in 2006.

If you’re new to Twitter, first read my Twitter FAQ. Then if you want to connect with other folks that are readers of the Web Strategy blog, leave a comment below, then others will follow you in my community, and we can all connect. I’ve noticed that new users have no idea what to do (empty bar syndrome) when they’re not connected with others, I hope this spurs things along for new members.

Update: Oh yeah, this is interesting, I helped Tony get on the Tyra Banks TV Show.

67 Replies to “Video: How To Use Twitter and Connect in the Comments”

  1. I was told to come here. I’m @anguslogan – I care about web strategy. I live it. Windows Live has over 500M active users and I’m building the APIs that makes Windows Live available to developers.

  2. I am @sltrunzo on Twitter, and I also run our IBM @RationalUT Twitter feed, which is our User Technologies organization. Please follow, and I will return the favor. I am interested in all Web strategy and digital media aspects, but particularly at an enterprise level.

  3. Especially interested in how to use twitter (and associated tools) for *listening* to the groundswell. I believe there’s lots of gold out there for brands if they only have the patience and skill to mine it.

  4. @anho Web Strategist based in Seattle. Helps very large to quite small clients navigate social media. Moved from Account Planning into this role about a year ago. Background as a designer/developer turned out to be quite helpful in making that transition.

  5. Hey Jeremiah – thanks for pointing to this. I’m @markkofahl and following Webciety at CeBIT Hannover in March I’ve been asked to help create Webciety at CeBIT Sydney in May. We’ll be running the Twitter Wall again – we’ve just built the local website in record time – http://webciety.cebit.com.au with a Pulse Feed picking up #webciety09. Any contributions or content from you are most welcome.

  6. BTW…neglected to mention. I’m @septer on twitter…and am a digital and social media strategist at imc2, a top-10 interactive agency.

  7. Hi Jeremy – great post idea!

    I’ve used the Twitter in Plain English video countless times to help explain to clients/colleagues/friends the concept of Twitter, and why they should be using it.

    I like what you’re doing there in trying to connect Web-Strategist blog readers and extend the community in to the ‘Twitterverse’.

    Cheers!

    Jeremy Cabral

    My Twitter ID: @jeremycabral

  8. Hi, I’m @dmolsen on Twitter. I work at West Virginia University and I’m very interested in how we can use tools like Twitter to connect to future and current students. Essentially how can we leverage it as a customer service platform to give folks a better vibe about our institution. While I’m connected to a lot of other higher ed folks on Twitter I’d love to connect with more “industry” folks.

  9. Jeremiah,

    Thanks for posting this video on Twitter. A few weeks ago, I didn’t even know what Twitter was. Now I am learning how to use Twitter to both satisfy my ravenous appetite for reading interesting articles as well as learning how to use it to make valuable connections for the future. It’s also been helpful in driving traffic to my personal blog, which I hope to eventually improve and potentially monetize.

    Thanks,
    Philip Nowak
    @philipnowak

  10. Jeremiah,
    I’m a freelance creative currently working at T.A.G. — a boutique SF ad agency (part of McCann Worldwide).

    I’ve found that many traditional agencies are hesitant to discuss the cost/benefit of social media with their clients, simply because it’s still to “new” and “unproven”.

    I’m hoping to change their perspective.

    Thanks for all the wonderful posts.

    Jeff

  11. Hey Jeremiah,

    I’ve been following your blog for some time. Let’s continue to exchange ideas on web strategy and the emerging social media world.

    Cheers,
    Darren
    @darren_yan

  12. I’m the Webmaster & Technology Advancement Officer for @hcfhawaii, a community foundation in Hawaii. We’ve been using Twitter & Facebook for about 6 months & the external interest is really exciting. Internally, the info on this blog is going to be very helpful to inform & help people become more familiar & comfortable. Thank you!

  13. Thanks for mentioning the two Twitter conferences. Sounds really exciting and am now trying to think of a clever t-shirt back slogan and recruit 10 friends to get free passes.

  14. Jowyang, thanks for putting this together. I mainly focus on WS-API’s and cloud computing; social is becoming more interesting for me. Follow me, I’m following you.

    Aaron in ATX.

  15. Hi Jeremy, I heard you speak at Stanford some time ago about social media and have been following you via Friendfeed since. I work at a top ten ad network and have been thinking about how to evolve our business to orient ourselves toward social media. It hasn’t been easy!

    I’m also a Design Strategy MBA student at the California College of Arts and we’re using a lot of social media tools to share resources and connect when we’re not in session. So many great tools out there and it’s been fun introducing them to newbies in our cohort.

    Anyway, thanks for your insightful conversations and I look forward to more! I’m @nychen.

  16. Jeremy, your Web Strategy site ROCKS! I love how it’s focused on addressing needs (organization & users/clients) over the technology. I’m a Fed interested in using the web & social media/networking as a platform to ENABLE something. And in how to use/action the collaboration. Thanks for pulling this (& us) together!

  17. heya all, great info, just got IPhone, so Tweeter was a sweet fit. Web designer for Intranet sites at at&t for 9 yrs, and 25th anniv with snet, sbc, at&t (mergers, gotta love them). info junkie on everything web, cf, and sql.

    tanks again
    –tom
    @CircuitWorm (old handle picked way before internet)

  18. Jeremiah,

    Nice idea to put this together. I’ve been following your blog a while…always interesting. I’m a partner in a branding, design and interactive agency here in the Bay Area and have been involved in the interactive world since the mid 90’s. BTW, I just signed up for the 140 Twitter conference in May. Looking forward to it.

    Dana
    @danakirk

  19. Hello Jeremiah, love your blog πŸ™‚ I am Montero from Mexico and I am currently part of a team in charge of the web strategy of one of Mexico’s top newspapers πŸ™‚ I recently started using twitter on a daily basis and it’s incredible how it has helped me to discover a lot of valuable information and people interested in online marketing and social media. Unfortunately, it´s sad to see that very few of Mexico’s supposed web strategy leaders actually try to reach out and connect with the community as you do.. they seem to be a bit too much full of themselves . Therefore, I think this post is a great idea, hopefully it will help us all to discover and connect with other people interested in web strategy. Keep up the good work!

  20. Hi Jeremy, thanks for posting the video. It reinforces my mental picture of how Twitter works. I’m new to Twitter but I’ve been using this type of messaging (SMS) since 1997 to family and friends locally and overseas. I will definitely forward this page to others. I’m wondering if there’s a similar video on how Twitter is used or can be used as a tool for Social Media Marketing. Thanks! @kcliao and @trendylounge

  21. Looking forward to connecting with other web strategists…thanks for putting this together Jeremy. And of course keep up the great work! @veezy

  22. Hi, I’m a New Media Consultant (in lack of a better name for it πŸ™‚ ) in Stockholm, Sweden. You can find me on twitter as @swealex.

  23. Greetings from Denmark. Working with the pharma industry and web strategy in a communication/business perspective.
    The pharma industry is extremely regulated so its realy a challenge. @boegner

  24. Interested in new and innovative ways to acquire customers. experience in all forms of web marketing – seo, ppc, social media, affiliates and currently run campaigns in UK/Germany/Scandinavian markets. @jgohil

  25. Good morning friends, thanks for all the kind words. Don’t forget to leave your twitter handle. It’s easier for others to follow you if you use your full Twitter URL like:

    http://twitter.com/jowyang

    So folks can quickly click over to your account vs copy and pasting it in. I should have mentioned this earlier. Also, some of you forgot to leave your Twitter handles.

  26. Jeremiah

    We’ve posted a pic of the Twitter Wall from CeBIT Hannover on a new Webciety page – http://webciety.cebit.com.au/follow-webciety

    The Twitter Wall displayed all Tweets with hashtag #webciety09. This permitted audience members to post questions and comments to the speakers and panelists live, creating a degree of interactivity not previously seen, as many were able to contribute simultaneously (unlike open mic situations).

    @markkofahl

  27. Jeremiah,

    I just moved from Costa Rica to run our office in Sunnyvale. Researching about Social Media I came through your blog precisely the day of the Mzinga episode. I must say it provided me a crash course on social media on several fronts: the power to reach an audience (you), the power for that audience to express itself (your followers) and, even at millions of users through different services, how new this environment is where learning experiences happen as we go (the whole episode). So congratulations on the useful information and obvious dedication to your audience

    I am certainly very interested in web strategy and connecting with those that are willing to share their knowledge. I am new in Twitter so I am getting the feel of it, I do not mind if you follow me as a case study on useful adoption from somebody new to the whole social media scene.

    If you love coffee DM to me, I will be glad to send you a bag of fine Costa Rican coffee.

    My Twitter URL is http://twitter.com/johnvega

  28. Great info and ideas on your site Jeremiah. I’ve been evangelizing the social media line in Asia (HK/Singapore/China)over the last year. Am taking up a challenge as Director of New Media at NUSS (www.nuss.org.sg) in early May and look forward to any community feedback on how to drive changes there.

    I’m on twitter at http://twitter.com/hhtong

    Cheers all

  29. Your blog’s an awesome resource – thanks for the hard work!

    I’m a media and marketing consultant in kansas city – and in a former life i ran web the web strategy and marketing for comic strips and puzzles for an old-school print publisher/syndicate (i led the doonesbury.com team among others).

    I’m on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/epleuralis

  30. i am bbaumes in the twitter space and work with client services for selectminds, a provider of corporate social networks…i am deeply interested in connectivity strategy and applications as they apply to the enterprise model as well as extending professional spaces as a means of reworking organizations along lines of innovation and advancement. there is also the media/critical theorist in me that just loves to see how human interactions unfold and refold because of new communication technologies creating new communication and relationship models

  31. Hi Jeremiah,

    I’m the Community Marketing Director at Synopsys, responsible for our social media strategy. I’ve been using Twitter for a variety of things, and we’re still shaping our Twitter strategy. I learn something new everyday.

  32. Aaron of LED xmas lights

    Hmmm I’m a big hesitant to follow you, as I’d rather connect with real live people. You may be more successful if you used your real name, and disclose the LED company in the profile. Just a friendly tip.

  33. Wow, what a great way to connect with other web strategists! I left a comment last night, and came back to this posting this morning to see what developed. And I’ve just added a number of new people to follow on Twitter from this list! @MaherLtd (me) is hoping to learn and share…

  34. Hi. I’m doing a presentation on “advanced Twitter” for the Silicon Valley AMA Tuesday 4/28 at Scott’s in Palo Alto. This is open to anyone, not just SVAMA members, and I’d like to invite you and any of your readers. We will discuss:

    * Defining objectives for using Twitter and outlining a strategy
    * Building a list of quality followers, not just quantity
    * 3rd party Twitter apps to help support your strategies
    * Best practices for using Twitter for SEO
    * Twittiquette β€œ the doβ„’s and donβ„’ts of Twitter
    * Twitter vs. Friendfeed

    Additional info here: http://www.elymedia.com/news/index.html

    Hope to see some of you there,

    Elyse

  35. Hi Jeremiah, I came to this post because I follow you on Twitter, where I am @mylifeandart My company is Art Event Entertainment in Miami, South Florida.

    My background is in corporate PR. Twitter, blogging, LinkedIn serve me well.

    Lately, I just sit and take incoming calls for my perspective clients, many come via Google search that lead them to my Twitter page: http://twitter.com/mylifeandart

    Granted, my business is unique and small, but I see the pattern.

    I am interested in testing how my strategies can be applied to a larger corporate clients. So, if anyone whats my help in figuring out their Web strategies, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

  36. Hi Jeremiah,

    I was briefly introduced to you by Eric Weaver at last year’s Forrester Marketing Forum conference in Beverly Hills.

    I am currently working for Wunderman (Toronto) as an Account Director, Digital Practice and manage/develop web strategies for my clients in the Telecom, Automotive and Satellite radio Industries.

    When we met last year I was working with the AOR agency for Honda Canada at the time. I have in the past worked with Blast Radius with BMW and MINI as my main clients. I was also fortunate enough to work with Organic when they were the AOR for Sprint.

    I know Wunderman and Y&R globally subscribe to Forrester services so will try and set up a call one of these days to connect on a few things. BTW: I took your advice, and went over to the list of Forrester Analysts on Twitter page and am proud to be following a bunch of folks from Forrester now. : )

    I am currently following you on Twitter and enjoy your blog posts and tweets. You can keep in touch with me on Twitter @OSK77

    All the best!

    Omar

  37. I watched the video before reading the post, so I kept waiting for the punch-line. But, it is definitely a clear explanation of Twitter. Thanks, now I have video to which to send people, rather than explaining it myself.

  38. Hi Jeremiah,

    I’m new to your site and your community, but I’m extremely happy to have found this resource!

    I’m a writer/producer — a traditionalist from TV/film/cable. I’m eager to transition to a digital platform. Not only do I want to lead my fellow content creators in this learning curve, but to demystify the changing landscape of content creation and distribution for clients, ensuring greater monetization for content owners and more efficient delivery of messages for marketers.

    My Twitter address — http://twitter.com/Rwriteur

    Sylvia Franklin

  39. I loved your video. I remember, when I first heard about Twitter, I joined, than I started to add unknown people as friends. Then I was surprised to discover I wasn't interested in any of those things my so-called friends shared. I honestly didn't care that Al didn't shave in the morning or Julie took her kids from school. However, if those people were my real freinds, maybe I'd have liked to know those things.

  40. good plain for twitter so i will send this video my other friends then you improve your tweets.

  41. good plain for twitter so i will send this video my other friends then you improve your tweets.

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