Twitter

You can follow me on Twitter (my handle is jowyang) and I’ll add you back. Update: as of summer 2008, I’m no longer able to keep up with the additions. I’m slowing my ability to add folks, so please forgive if it takes time to do. I’ve updated the title of this post as not to be misleading.

If you enjoy this blog, and are craving for more information, then you may want to follow me on Twitter. Although I’ve already outlined how I use Twitter, from time to time, I like to highlight the benefits that you’ll have by interacting:

  • I post supplemental links on my Twitter feed to things around social media, marketing, and sometimes personal interests. You’ll often see a flurry in the morning as I crawl through content as I pay myself first.
  • I’ve stopped publishing my Google Reader link blog as I can now point to anything (not just items on my feedreader) and provide additional context (well, in less than 140 characters)
  • We have conversations: I ask questions there on twitter, and we get into interesting conversations, polls, and surveys. And when you think I’m wrong (which happens) people will let me know, and I we get into some even more interesting conversations.
  • When there are real-time events on the web, I’ll alert people there, but not from my blog, so if you’re not watching, you may miss out.
  • I’m high volume, and tweet way over a dozen times a day, so that’s a pre-warning.

    • Not sure what Twitter is? It’s a next-generation chat room that spills over to mobile devices. Why does it matter? conversations, ideas, and news often breaks there before it does on blogs, and often before traditional news. There are many influencers there (that publish on other mediums), and relationships are being formed.

    You can follow me on Twitter (my handle is jowyang) and I’ll add you back (In fact I’m following 3,872 although only 3416 are following me)

    If you are on twitter and want to connect with other readers of this blog, leave your handle below in the comments so we can all connect. Let’s build community. (A much larger list is here)

    Update: In the comments Jose Luis suggests that I’m pushing Twitter to hard on my readers, I’ve heard this before in previous feedback. Let me say first that Twitter is NOT for everyone, but those that want to be part of the early influencer conversation should look there. It’s true there is more noise than signal, but when the signal does occur, it often cascades to many other mediums.

    49 Replies to “Twitter”

    1. Thanks Jeremiah. When you advised using Twitter a few months ago I’d never heard of it, now I’m a Twitter-holic (tweeting as Hoovers).

      Usually when I hear people explain Twitter they focus on the technology – that it’s multiplatform, real-time, the rules on whose content you see, etc. That misses the point, IMHO. The two big things for me are the number of influencers and the ease of forming relationships.

      The technology is only important in that it aids those things, it isn’t the main attraction. If the same group were interacting in the same way via another platform – or in meatspace at a bar called Joe’s – I’d make it a point to be there.

    2. Business folks are all over me about uses of Twitter. Mostly they only see the “I’m having a pizza” post and see a waste of time (which it isn’t -but that’s another comment).

      The way you use Twitter offers a huge value to your readers and your team. Your example has become one I show in business and education often. Thank you!

      @mikesansone ( http://twitter.com/mikesansone )

    4. What’s your secret for keeping up with the adds? Twitter no longer allows me to “follow all my follower.” It becomes pretty messy to add one person at a time, and Twitter Karma has been buggy at best. Any tips on Twitter contact management would be great.

    5. I think Twitter – at least the concept of micro-blogging – will play a large role in the business world of the future. More immediately, I see tremendous opportunities for corporate event teams, IR / PR / AR, etc;. I’m trying to encourage adoption at my company but, as others point out, it’s still seen as a bit of a novelty. Onus is on folks like us to demonstrate creative and practical uses of the tool to help drive adoption.

      Fellow Tweets – Feel free to follow LenDevanna – I’ll do the same.

    6. Scott, Twitter ad feature has been pretty pathetic. When I click follow on someone’s name, it takes a few seconds to minutes for it to register this. Very quicky. Get popup errors too.

    8. Following you on twitter now Jeremiah. Look forward to connecting with some new people as well (just started twittering).

      @mcancino [http://twitter.com/mcancino]

    11. Jeremiah, it is implied in your writing about “i’m using twitter” that if some reader doesn’t use twitter, he/she is missing something.

      Your twitter account has an RSS feed. People may not want to be in real-time conversation, but may very well like to read it (you post additional content there?).

      I imagine that you have no connection to twitter (other than being a user), but sometimes you get a little too pushy about this “use it” message. An RSS feed is more familiar and may be a better introduction to this platform for non-fans.

      Cheers, José Luis.

    16. Jose

      Yes, I do think that folks are missing something by not using it. There are clearly conversations that spur on other outputs like blog posts, media, etc.

      I have NO formal connection to any company other than Forrester. It’s important for me to be independent from any companies as an analyst. In fact, I gave up quite a few shares from the startups I was advising to join Forrester.

      So to answer your question, I think many of my blog readers could benefit by trying Twitter.

    18. Jeremiah, you failed to highlight how you and others use Twitter for real-time collaborative surveys such as the “Super Bowl Ads” exercise earlier this month.

      Incidentally, if you haven’t done so already, please respond to the http://twitter.com/zenaweist survey on the age of Twitter users.

      Another comment on comment 11 from José Luis: reading the tweets is only part of the benefit, and is equivalent to reading a blog or Fox News or whatever. The benefits are much higher when you reply to a tweet, post your own tweets, or otherwise contribute to the database of information (José Luis’ blog reply itself is an example of a contribution).

      @scottmonty (item 4) – my followers/followees are in the hundreds, not the thousands, and the most efficient method that I’ve found so far is to go through my “followers” list and manually scan for those I’m not following. This is cumbersome enough with 250+ followers; I can’t imagine doing it with 3451 followers, or even with 575. Do any of the third party clients handle this more efficiently?

    20. I’m with Len Devanna… micro-blogging will soon migrate to the enterprise, first as an inside the firewall activity to keep teams connected and onboard new team members and then outside the organization to engage customers and prospects. Getting up to speed on the nuances of this *new* channel will serve you well in the future.

      I presented at a recent Social Media Breakfast on the value of Twitter and wrote a follow-up post on the topic.
      http://tinyurl.com/32jmol

    22. Sorry. I hit a nerve with the independent thing. Not what i intended. I’ve been reading this blog for months and i’m ABSOLUTELY SURE that if a connection existed (other than being user) would have been properly disclosed. Sorry again!

      It’s clear that Jeremiah thinks that people is missing something by not using twitter. I was sugesting that an RSS feed of that conversation was a way around one of the objections against twitter.

      I’m not in web strategy nor marketing. I’m a system engineer/developer and read this to keep up with things. Also, i’m not inclined to actively participate in a conversation, but i’m interested in it. Should i change this and be forced to talk? An RSS feed of the talk is good to me (and maybe others).

      Besides my own personality, not everyone should be considered a read/write participant. There was a post of a forrester report telling that people can be: creator, spectator, joiner, etc (i remember a ladder-like graphic). Isn’t room in this particular blog for spectators?

      Twitter is a tool and tools can be used in many ways, by many people.

      Cheers, José Luis

    25. Jose

      No worries, I understand your point. Yes, you can follow on twitter and glean the conversation. Our technographic research clearly indicates that not everyone needs to be a creator and participate.

      Yes, you can get an RSS feed of my links at twitter.com/jowyang the RSS icon in Firefox will show up.

    28. @tonysteward

      Just an enthusiast helping some people with social media – Jeremiah your conversation on measurement has been insanely helpful!

    29. Well, you already know the impact that you had on my own Twitter experience.

      I would add 2 things to this conversation: for those who have yet to really adopt twitter – it’s important to note that you probably need to get above 50 followers/following in order to start “hearing” the conversation. The best way to do this is to start by adding people like @jowyang and seeing who they tweet with – and following those conversations back to their sources and adding them.

      Also, re the “following the followers quickly” issue?
      The best resource I can recommend is Dossy’s Twitter Karma
      http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/
      Which now has the functionality of allowing you to select a view that is “Following You” only – and shows those you are not yet following. From that view, you can follow links back to the individual Twitterstreams to see if you want to follow the user – and you can also use check boxes to “Bulk Add” followers.

      The only downfall at the moment is that sometimes the API is too hard hit to get Twitter Karma to work during peak times. Best to use it later at night or earlier in the morning.

      But it is highly effective for viewing those one-way follows and either bulk following or unfollowing.

      Hope this helps.

    31. I had a hard time seeing the beauty of Twitter, but I’ve seen the light now. Am already getting great news stories through tweets that I haven’t seen elsewhere.

      I already follow you Jeremiah, and if anyone else would like to connect, follow me at @kullin or http://twitter.com/kullin

    32. Looks like there are lots of folks to start following. What fun. Here is my handle:

      http://twitter.com/carterlusher

      Twitter has been a great tool for my AR research. What has been interesting is watching how the IT industry analysts have approached or ignored micro-blogging in general and Twitter in particular. Jeremiah is obviously on the bleeding edge of analyst usage, but more are showing up with interesting results. To find a list of IT analysts on Twitter check out:

      http://sagecircle.wordpress.com/2008/02/11/conceptual-advantages-of-micro-blogging-tools-in-the-ar-tool-box/

    33. I joined twitter just this year and been following Jeremiah for a few months now.

      I’d just like to say to everyone, do not underestimate the power of communication and the conversations that go on in twitter. I was amazed to how much information and knowledge I gained just from following a few dozen affluent online marketers/strategists.

      Feel free to follow me if you’d like: http://www.twitter.com/sonnygill

    36. Yes, I worry sometimes that I’m not using time well. Then I see a benefit from Twitter,for me or someone else. Case in point: visiting Sydney last week I was able to meet for a drink a bunch of twitconnections plus some people till then not followed or following. Of the latter group I now have not only a new twitbud but a new expert contact in a field of interest to me – web usability – and have been able to introduce him to a contact he wanted in Guandong, China. Probably would not have happened without Twitter.

    37. Pingback: Riding the Twitter wave « frjohnsen - Beyond 2.0
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    39. My blog got dusty when I got into Facebook, intrigued by the 3-D sense of multi-tiered society it offered, along with twitter-like Status Update (although credit for originating Status Reports belongs to the WELL). However, I’m about to re-start my blog (rehosted), and see how that works with Twitter as well as some other sites I’m experimenting with, some of them with semweb smarts. I do web collab architecture, development. http://twitter.com/szpak .

    40. I’m a huge fan of Twitter, although I’m attempting to keep my follows down to a level where I can respond – so I don’t guarantee to follow absolutely everyone that follows me…

      I’ve found it to be a great tool for interaction and getting thoughts out into the open for discussion, and I’ve found a surprisingly large amount of people who supply me with some great insights…including a certain Jeremiah…

      If anyone else wants to join my conversations, http://twitter.com/badgergravling

    42. Hi Jeremiah,

      Thanks for the terrific blog! I am happy to follow you on twitter, and will follow anyone else that adds me. My twitter link is http://twitter.com/pregnancyplanet. I am new to twitter, but I think it’s a wonderful tool, and a great way to stay connected with like-minded folks.

      I have a great new social networking community and ezine for parents, and will keep everyone posted on the latest freebies, and news related to pregnancy and parenting.

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