Who wants to read more about Twitter??
Probably, at this point, no one. Twitter has received an abundance of press recently, discussing everything from its growth, to who is tweeting on behalf of celebrities, to how the site will ever make money. While overwhelming, this chatter is probably justified given the site’s tremendous growth over the past year (see below).
There is clearly no questioning the growth of Twitter, however I know many users that struggle to find value in the site or resist the movement of even more social communication. Let’s address these one at a time.
First, the value of Twitter. The common question I get is “what makes this different than Facebook status messages?” Fair question.
My perspective is that, when used properly, Twitter allows you to cut through the noise of Facebook and truly keep up with what those you are following are sharing, thinking, and asking. Notice I did not mention “doing,” as Twitter asks; this was intentional. I find the most value in Twitter by finding useful (e.g. informative, amusing, etc.) links shared by those I trust and value enough to follow, asking questions of those who follow me, and keeping a real-time pulse on the thoughts and feelings of those I am closest to.
Most of these people I know offline. Some I don’t. Regardless, they bring something valuable to my community that I have created and, by virtue of this value, I choose to continue to follow them. The number of folks I follow is increasing regularly, but thoughtfully. To maximize the value of Twitter, the “less is more” principle applies. For a case study on that, see the following post from ryanagraves.com.
To draw an analogy, Facebook is a crowded bar with all your friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, rec softball team, roommates, and a bunch of strangers. Twitter is (or SHOULD BE) a party at your apartment. In the former you have brief conversations with everyone, but don’t remember any of it the next day (not because of the booze, just the volume!); in the latter you use the arena to drive deeper engagement, asking follow-up questions, initiating a dialogue, and following up the next day. Its the same reason I find house parties to be the best venue to meet girls – look for more on this in a future post.
The other key difference between Facebook and Twitter is access. With Facebook, you have to accept my friendship. While I truly doubt that President Obama is “friends” with 5,993,692 people (as of 3/28/09 2:19pm CDT), this utility still requires mutual interest. Twitter, on the other hand, allows free-reign following. I find you, I follow what you post. Its that simple. This has provided an unprecedented stage for celebrities, brands, and me to broadcast to the entire community. It also complicates the “less is more” precept; as such, follow carefully!
Next, why Twitter is not the next step in the demise of interpersonal communication.
To illustrate my point, see if you agree with this statement:
“the more you learn about someone, the closer your relationship with them becomes”
So, we’ve got some heads nodding now, I hope. Its inherent that as you get to know someone better – through communication, knowing their interests, what is important to them, how they spend their time – that you become closer to them and, generally, want to learn more.
To me, this further speaks to Twitter’s strength. As I read the questions you tweet, the links you share, and your reactions to daily life, I learn more about you. As I learn more about you, I want to dive even deeper and, ideally, choose escalate this conversation. I may tweet a follow-up or bring it up the next time we hang out. We can discuss the article you shared, add greater depth to an online conversation, or simply talk about a common interest discovered via our following of one another. Regardless, real, genuine, communication has occurred, driven by Twitter.
In short, contrary to the belief that the web has destroyed interpersonal communication through its substituted goods of email, IM, blogging, and social networking, I would argue that it provides a greatly enhanced ability to communicate with more frequency, timeliness, and, when taken offline properly, greater depth. Don’t believe me? Ask your parents how often they talk to their friends and how attuned they are to their daily challenges and successes. If they aren’t utilizing the above-mentioned tools, I’d wager to say they may lag behind your connectivity.
In conclusion, I have a confession. I joined Twitter, just this past February, because of the buzz. I work in strategy consulting for entertainment and media companies and the buzz had become so strong that I had to learn more. Like many, I entered with much skepticism and continually refine my thoughts about how I want to use Twitter. While, I am not sure I have fully refined my use-case yet, I now am confident that I am:
1) More focused in the social networking space (less time reading Facebook status’ of my roughly 700 friends),
2) More deeply connected to those friends of mine who I follow on Twitter – both online and offline, and
3) Making efforts to add value to those who choose to follow me.
If nothing else, take the old “try before you buy” challenge. Sign in, start reading (with these guidelines in mind, of course!), and see if you agree.
Tips to maximize Twitter use:
1. Less is more – be selective about who you follow. This doesn’t mean it has to be a small number (but, this is a good sanity check – tough for 500 people to truly add that much discrete value), but if they don’t add value to your time spent reading their posts, unfollow them and keep up via Facebook.
2. Take advantage of the access. Think Dwight from The Office is funny, follow him. Curious what John McCain has been up to since his November “L”, follow him. Its democracy in action, folks!
3. Use it to learn more. Be an participant. Post, reply, ask questions of followers, take online conversations off-line. Don’t make my praises of social media’s positive impacts ring hollow.
Follow me on Twitter: @AllenPenn
Pursuits... 
