Inc. Magazine ran a story on their site about Ricky Gervais quitting Twitter as he didn’t see the point. That’s fine with me. Perhaps we have one less person using the medium that has no idea how to use it. Inc. also said that on his blog, Ricky went so far as to say that Twitter is “undignified.” Now I like Ricky and I think he’s a funny guy, and as a celebrity, I’m surprised he doesn’t see what others see.
The Secret to Twitter
Here’s a secret: Twitter is about more than just telling your friends what you had for breakfast.
I can understand the confusion though. When Twitter first started out, the question you would answer was “What are you doing?” rather than the “What’s Happening” it asks now. Many people took that quite literally, including me. Tweets consisted of mostly useless stuff that only friends would care about, like what you are having for breakfast
And then it became much more.
Twitterers Evolve
I won’t say that Twitter itself evolved, as it’s maintained it’s simplicity through the years. Rather, those using Twitter decided to use it differently. We started sharing links to resources that others might find useful; we started sharing pictures of events; we started contacting companies for support and to get questions answered. We started using it as a two-way communication medium. And that changed the game.
Many missed that change, and are stuck in the uselessness that many use Twitter for.
Thar Be Gold in Them Thar Hills
People in the know, and I hope that you are one of them, know that Twitter can be used for market research, competitive intelligence, customer service, brand reputation management, content sharing, and much more. What you need to figure out is how you can interact with a community of millions.
It isn’t about pushing what you’ve got to sell on the masses anymore. It’s about building business one customer, one relationship at a time.
See you on Twitter.
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