Are you a Tweetvirgin?

Follow me on Twitter!

As I talk to more and more people about social media and online marketing, I am amazed at the amount of smart people who don’t understand Twitter.  By now, they at least know what Facebook is.  Most have taken the time to set up their own Facebook profile or creep around via someone else’s profile but surprisingly not very many have given Twitter a chance.  I find this more and more as I talk to people in the Midwest.  Is that maybe because Twitter is a flash in the pan and not all that great?  I don’t think so…they are adding 6 million users monthly…which tells me there is value there.  No, I think the real problem is most people can’t think outside the box.  They need help figuring out how to apply new technologies to their own life.  Twitter fits this profile (pun intended).  The most common thing I hear from these Tweetvirgins, as I like to call them, is isn’t Twitter just the same thing as a Facebook status update?  The answer of course is NO!  True, people use Twitter in a variety of ways and yes some mimic what they post on Facebook.  You know, “I am at Starbucks” or “Dear snow, it’s March, please go away” but there is a whole world out there you are missing out on.  Twitter for me is all about information.  It is fast becoming the breaking news center of the world.  At anytime you can see “trending topics” that may alert you to a 9/11 type event.  This is why Google (and other search engines) now incorporate tweets into their search results…because the information is so real- time and valid in a lot of cases.  I don’t use Twitter for breaking news as much as I use it to keep up with things I am interested in.  I follow around 60 people or organizations who consistently post information usually in the form of a title and link to an article that I find valuable.  Instantly I have access to what some of the smartest people in the world have found on the web and chosen to share.  Wow, that’s powerful when you think about it.  Unlimited information feeds pre-filtered by some of the smartest people you have ever had the chance to interact with.  Read them if they catch your eye or let them fly by and see what’s next if you aren’t interested.  Further, I think Twitter has an even bigger place in the very near future and that is what I am personally trying to tap into with my new venture.  I envision using Twitter to follow people or organizations who I need information from on a close to real-time basis.  Think about it.  Doesn’t it make sense to follow places like your child’s school who can alert you that there is a H1N1 breakout or they just had a small fire and everyone is okay.  What about your church?  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a daily scripture quote or comment from your priest sitting in your news feed?  How about your old fraternity?  Don’t tell me it still doesn’t come up every once in a while at parties that your frat just won the intramural championship and boasts the 3rd highest average GPA on campus (and still scores all the hot girls).  Your lawn guy.  I can’t tell you how nice it would be to receive timely reminders on when I should be seeding my yard or when I can start watering again. 

Those are just some examples but you get the idea.  One place to get as much information about subjects you choose from people you choose and the best part is two-fold.  You don’t have to click on anything that doesn’t strike your fancy.  For example if my lawn guy says, now is the time to do Spring maintenance on your sprinkler system, click here for more…and I don’t have a sprinkler system, then I just ignore it.  It’s not like an email inbox that you have to constantly maintain.  Secondly, I had a conversation with a school principal this morning about this.  Twitter is so easily accessible via phone and all the other usual places that it is a no brainer.  As I told him, it is much easier for one of his parents to check their Twitter feed each day on the cell phone than it is for them to access the school website or have to call the office for updates.  As mobile browsers get better, it will be interesting to see how this shakes out but the bottom line is I don’t see Twitter going away.  I think the Midwest is slow to adopt it to their own lives. 

I leave you with this.  I fully realize that Web 2.o is all about having two way conversations.  I would add that it is even more about getting timely information.  A lot of times this happens via conversation over the social nets but more often than not, it happens by subscribing to a feed that consistently provides you with timely information free of charge and with no strings attached.  You can engage in a conversation about it or “comment” on it if you choose but that is not the expectation.  Mostly it is just a real easy, mobile way to get important information fast.  Like everything it is still evolving but my prediction is Twitter will become much more about following people who provide you with valuable information rather than following people (ie: Facebook) who provide you with entertaining comments or their whereabouts.  I forgot to mention Facebook is currently the #4 source of online news behind Google, MSN, and Yahoo.  As Twitter adds more and more users, you can bet it will show up on this list pretty fast.