Do you Twitter? If not, you might be missing out. This relatively new social networking website operates on a pretty simple premise: It wants to know what you're doing.
Essentially the same thing as Facebook's status feature, you type in what you're doing (or thinking, planning, reading... Anything really) and share it with the world. Also like Facebook you can amass followers (akin to 'friends', these people will get your updates as you make them) or follow others to help you stay in touch. Add mobile connectivity and you will will never be out of the loop again. Seriously.
Sound daunting? From the offset it can seem rather ridiculous - who REALLY needs to know exactly what you're doing ALL OF THE TIME? Once you get the hang of it though, it's easy to see the appeal. And if Facebook has taught us anything it's that we truly enjoy being able to yammer endless about ourselves and stay connected with our friends. Once you get the hang of it though, it's easy to see the appeal (a word of caution: use your Twitter power wisely. Not only is this yet another facet for endless procrastination, it can easily get overwhelming. I have one gentleman following me, whom I do not actually know, who also happens to be following over 1,000 people. Can you IMAGINE the ceaseless updates you would receive? But anyway, I digress...)
So what does Twitter have to do with Public Relations? Answer: A lot more than you'd think. When used correctly, Twitter is an excellent networking tool. Use your "tweets" to keep in contact, share ideas and useful links or to discuss specific happenings and you'll always be in the loop. With the rapid transaction of information being shared, you can follow trends by watching the what is making its way into people's tweets, adding yet another level to the world of media monitoring.
I've only been twittering away for a week now and I'm already witnessing some of its potential. After some gentle nudging on the part of a dear friend of mine, a PR professional from Toronto eager to harness the power of Twitter, I signed up to begin the networking process. At one point, I made a tweet about Idealist.org and when I signed in a couple of days later, I noticed that I had gained a new follower. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that said new follower was none other than Idealist's official feed!
It's happening people, and it's happening fast. In the world of PR it has never been more important to stay on top of what's happening out there. If you're not on Twitter, who knows what you could be missing? It still might be too early for this girl to tell, but it might be worth the obsession in the long run.
Intrigued? Give it a try!
You can find out what yours truly is up to right here.
1 comment:
I wasn't sure about Twitter at first. It seemed pretty pointless. But it seems easier than Facebook in making connections between random people. And I like that it's more anonymous. I'm still torn about whether I should be so connected to other people. It's weird. On the other hand, why not be connected. I mean, Barak Obama is following me. And I'm following Al Gore. So why not?
Post a Comment