Ok, confession, for loving technology I am often a late adopter of what are those "fad" type technologies. Twitter was one of them especially considering who and what was being tweeted on the news media outlets. I'll be perfectly honest and say were it not because my job required me to create a Twitter account, I never would have. My favorite Twitter quote was often "Tweet, tweet, twit...Twitter is for twits". Ok, so there is my disclaimer on Twitter.
That being said, since I need to use it for work purposes, I've been exploring and it can actually be a pretty useful tool if you make it one. You control what you "need" to see. That means the following:
1. Begin with the end in mind - My twitter account will only be used professionally
2. Only follow people that will help your professional growth
3. Use it to network with like-minded colleagues and associates
4. Tweet informative things you find on your Google searches (this includes RT - aka Re-Tweeting)
5. Get familiar with the # (hashtags) - they can really be your friend
6. Create great lists so you can organize your feed
If you're one of those that hates the thought of having a Twitter account, but feeling the pressure to get one professionally, the list above will greatly reduce your adversity to the thought. After initially creating my account it was easy to just feel bombarded and overwhelmed by all the tweets. That's when I started on #2 above and started deleting people that were just clogging up valuable screen real-estate. #5 & #6 are also great tools to prevent Twit...I mean tweet burnout. If you stick to these simple guidelines, your Twitter acceptance will go much smoother - I promise! To see my list and people I follow, click on the little Tweety bird above and check me out on Twitter!
That being said, since I need to use it for work purposes, I've been exploring and it can actually be a pretty useful tool if you make it one. You control what you "need" to see. That means the following:
1. Begin with the end in mind - My twitter account will only be used professionally
2. Only follow people that will help your professional growth
3. Use it to network with like-minded colleagues and associates
4. Tweet informative things you find on your Google searches (this includes RT - aka Re-Tweeting)
5. Get familiar with the # (hashtags) - they can really be your friend
6. Create great lists so you can organize your feed
If you're one of those that hates the thought of having a Twitter account, but feeling the pressure to get one professionally, the list above will greatly reduce your adversity to the thought. After initially creating my account it was easy to just feel bombarded and overwhelmed by all the tweets. That's when I started on #2 above and started deleting people that were just clogging up valuable screen real-estate. #5 & #6 are also great tools to prevent Twit...I mean tweet burnout. If you stick to these simple guidelines, your Twitter acceptance will go much smoother - I promise! To see my list and people I follow, click on the little Tweety bird above and check me out on Twitter!