Twitter Your Way to Interesting Connections
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I've talked to you about LinkedIn and Second Life in past blogs; indeed, I'm still learning about all they can do for employers. I am increasingly receiving feedback that LinkedIn is a great way to recruit employees. So, I posted this question about recruiting there. Answers I received from LinkedIn members resulted in Use LinkedIn for Recruiting Employees, a recent article. But, the newest new to hit my doorstep is microblogging through a tool called Twitter.
Our product evangelist is particularly high on Twitter where you make friends and follow interesting people. Betsy wanted me to learn about Twitter so I checked out About.com's Wendy Boswell's summary: What is Twitter? and About.com's Linda Roeder's: Twitter Instead of Blogging.
But, it took this post by Shara Karasic at Work.com to put Twitter in perspective for business and HR for me: Guide to Twitter for Business. Honestly? It was the brain on stage at the TED conference that we have several employees attending this week, that really got to me.
But, Twitter is becoming more mainstream, and I'll be interested to watch its evolution and use by business. The LAPD Fire Department uses Twitter to send fire updates. Others are using it to recruit employees and freelancers. Companies can run Twitter feeds that update their customers and employees on company events and products. Employees in the field, at a trade show as an example, can use Twitter to schedule meetups at the conference and coordinate the movement of staff attending sessions and staffing the booth. Regular employee teams can use Twitter to liaison about the project or even, change the room of the meeting.
There are even groups on Twitter that do periodic meetups at local taverns here in Michigan. If it's happening here, I'm sure meetups are going on around the country.
As a result of initially blogging about Twitter for you in March, I joined and have been following interesting people and have people following me. I don't post often and usually it's an interesting link, but I enjoy Twitter. I don't, however, use any of the social networking sites to their full potential. But, if you'd like to follow me or want to know when new content is posted, my Twitter name is SusanHeathfield.
Do you twitter? If so, have you found any interesting people? Is it worth your time? Personally, it doesn't take a lot of time, so it's fun.
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Comments
I use Twitter on a daily basis. I find it extremely valuable for everything from getting quick answers to tech questions to just having fun with the other folks on Twitter. I have had 3 “tweet-ups” (meetings) with folks from Twitter, 1 in Ohio, 1 in Texas, and 1 in Nebraska. They are generally a higher end demographic, mostly professionals, and incredibly interesting.
Of note is a a campaign I was involved with when a member of Twitter was tragically killed in a car accident. We put together a fundraising site at http://www.chipin.com and managed to raise $7800 in cash for her husband, 2 year old son, and 2 month old daughter. A synopsis of what we did is at http://ashpeamama.chipin.com/ashley-spencers-family link. …
danmosqueda.blogspot.com/2008/01/gifts.html
Another famous Twitter product has been the Frozen Pea Fund, which raises money for Breast Cancer research. You read about it at:
http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/jan/10/how-frozen-peas-started-movement/
So, I’d say Twitter is very useful. I haven’t even mentioned how it often spreads news much faster than the dinosaur media could ever imagine.
Join up!
Where in the world would I get the time to do this?!?!
I must say I’m surprised to hear that over 90% of people that read this eNewsletter haven’t heard of Twitter – the MarketingProfs blog is a good place to learn about new communication technologies such as linkedin, rss, twitter, podcasts, vlogs, blogs, and more.
To me, twitter is just one more social media tool that primarily benefits independent consultants, writers, and other self-employed professionals. With the exception of small business owners who are adamant about what they do, and whose livelihood depends on them spreading the news, is there really much incentive for corporate employees to go spouting the latest news to their entire network?
And, I don’t see the benefits of internal communication, since the information is public to everyone on your network.
Twitter does seem like a good way for non-profits to communicate with loyal volunteers/followers, though.
I’m finding the results kind of amazing, too. I almost didn’t include “never heard of it” as an option. Thanks for your good ideas about how to use Twitter.
Twitter has a lot of traction in marketing and tech circles, but it has yet to break into the mainstream. In my mind, and statistically, it still only has .1% of the population in the U.S, making it one to watch.
I use twitter. I can see it as a really great way to share tips and tricks. I am on the tech side of HR, and I am always looking for great ways to better server the HR department.
Can Twitter be used for music promotion?