All Atwitter: A Chic Geek Special!

The web-based micro-blogging site, Twitter.com, may have recently celebrated its third birthday, but its 140-character existence is just now seeping – actually, sweeping – into to the mainstream consciousness.
    No longer an uber-geek text-messaging tool: CNN’s anchors, Britney Spears’ keepers and Dali Lama’s gurus all boast active Twitter accounts.  The CEO of Zappos.com, super-man Lance Armstrong and NBA All-star Shaquille O’Neal are also all atwitter. Chances are, your State Senator and your youth minister are, too.
    Lord help us; Twitter is taking over the world – singin’ along to the tune of six million unique visitors a month and growing.
    If you don’t have a Twitter account yet, I encourage you to try it out.  But like most communications tools, Twitter is only as effective and purposeful as the content, strategy and sincerity behind it.
    Creating a Twitter account for yourself, your business, client, non-profit, school, university or cause does not automatically secure your place among the social media elite. That said, if becoming more comfortable with social media is your goal, seeking out Twitter followers, and posting and responding to relevant information is a fabulous place to start.    

Tweet Secrets
You’ve heard me say before that a blog is like a dog; well, a Twitter account is like a cat: pretty self-sufficient, but still in need of love, care, and the occasional litter box cleanup.
    You can’t just create an account, lock it up by marking it “private” (which keeps folks from seeing your updates) and expect it to love you back. There’s got to be some consistent give and take, or else you’ll look like you are lazy, or worse, a spammer.
    And don’t forget your Twetiquette! When you are setting up your account, keep the basics in mind:

Use your real name/real company name: no one wants to follow CuttiePie2 on Twitter, they want to follow a real person. Unlike MySpace and AIM, successful Tweeples are transparent. They are who they say they are, and if they are not, are quickly exposed as a fake and folks stop following them.

Upload a photo and add a quick bio: if you don’t upload a photo, we’ll assume you are spam. If you don’t have bio, most of us won’t follow you. Again, Tweeps want to follow real peeps.

Don’t mark your account private: if you want folks to follow you, make them feel welcome. A locked profile, in most cases, is the sign of an individual who does not welcome additional followers. It’s totally okay to follow and be followed by strangers. That said, you also have the right not to follow back if you don’t find a bio interesting or if you are offended or annoyed by someone’s tweets.   

A Cautionary Twale
Be comfortable with Twitter, but don’t sleep with it: just like any good relationship, there should always be a little mystery between you and the interwebs. If you give it all away, you’ve just empowered some moron to take advantage of your trust, or for a future employer not to hire you.

Tweet smart: always remember that there is no privacy on the Internet. Just ask that gal in California who Tweeted this about her recent job offer: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

Wouldn’t you know it, a Cisco colleague happened to see the gal’s tweet and responds: "Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web."

Don’t get me wrong, there are many great benefits of a communications tool like Twitter. And I’m not trying to say there is only one correct way to use it; however, I’ve seen what a dangerous weapon it can be when in the wrong, drunk or just plain careless hands. Follow, tweet and be followed; just keep in mind that’s it’s all Googleable!

Twitter Tips
If you’d like to learn more about Twitter etiquette, best practices and lingo, as well as see lists of great Tweeples to follow, I’d recommend you check out http://www.twitip.com/.

You can find me at www.twitter.com/MargieNewman and HerNashville at www.twitter.com/hernashville.  Tweet ya later!