Do you Twitter??

[Travel Guru]

I've just started looking at Twitter and the opportunities it opens up professionally after reading Joel Comm's book 'Twitter Power' which I picked up at LAX last week and was curious how many of you use Twitter currently and whether you use it purely personally or whether you're using it Professionally to communicate to current and prospective customers and to build brand awareness?

Love to hear your thoughts.

TG

 

[samh004]

I use it in a personal sense. I'm still undecided if I want to add Jetstar and Virgin to once-in-a-blue-moon take advantage of special Twitter promotions.

 

[superchris]

I still have Facebook,used to Twitter but am really into

AudioBoo

Cool I Phone app makes it so easy.

 

[serfty]

I twit a bit~ (yserfty)

No facebooks or myspaces for moi!

 

[harvyk]

No,

But I do use Facebook to keep in contact with family \ friends \ customers \ suppliers...

 

[Bundy Bear]

I do use twitter but haven't really found any benefit in using it for an advertising medium. for the moment you can still follow my side of the conversation.

I twit a bit~ (yserfty)

No facebooks or myspaces for moi!

I think they are singular,:?: myspace is not for you; but you haven't joined facebook just yet.

 

[zzyss]

I use Twitter personally (@zzyss), in a not-quite-personal-but-not-professional way (@geekreads, @thrifterrific) and also for my employer, IBM (@smarterplanetau).

Despite the hype, there are a lot of things that Twitter isn't, mainly clustering around the notion that it's some kind of magic fix for things (more followers, more money, more traffic, etc.)

Plus, in a business context, you either need to be an ace copywriter, or have cyber-charisma oozing from every pixel (i.e. be a celebrity or offline person of interest), in order to get much mileage out of Twitter.

The revolutionary thing about Twitter is that it provides real-time communications, but somebody will come along and do it better Any Time Now (e.g. Wordpress just added RSSCloud to all of their blogs, Facebook is starting to make more content Public, etc.)

Edit: Can't forget about Google Wave...

 

[murielc]

I find twitter good for recieving information, but I don't really have anything to say myself (and now I am getting on a plane... and now I am getting off).

It is good for travel deals - @JetstarAirways will often send out special deals unique to twitter as do other major airlines in the US like United, Jetblue, etc. @qftravelinsider (Qantas) has an account for travel tips which I also find useful as they send out their message and pass on responses from other people on twitter.

 

[samh004]

Also, incase anyone didn't realise, you can add Twitter to the thread tools and tweet threads on here to alert others to something, should they not be online. Only noticed it a few weeks ago.

 

[Slats7]

Facebook for me.

 

[pauly7]

Twitter is the lazy mans facebook so yes for me!

FB takes waaay too much time and effort.

We use it commercially as well for promos and giveaways.... its fantastic

 

[Leumas]

I tweet (www.twitter.com/skkng). It's entirely personal, and there're a few people here and on FT that use it regularly too.

My job won't allow me to use it, but we use Yammer. It's similar to Twitter, but 'private' in that you can only join a group if the members have the same domain on their email addressess.

 

[Walter Plinge]

NO! My mid-20s daughter and her boyfriend are as computer savvy as you come. They say Twitter is for twits. I use Facebook sparingly.

 

[anat0l]

NO! My mid-20s daughter and her boyfriend are as computer savvy as you come. They say Twitter is for twits. I use Facebook sparingly.

There is apparently a psychology study that backs up that statement. They say that micro-blogging isn't good for people because the short messages ultimately reduces a person's neural capacity to remember things and e.g. has an indirect effect on one's concentration.

I use both Twitter and Facebook, though I joined the latter before the former.

I'm not a big twitterer and only send a tweet when I want, not every minute of the day. It is useful for plugging in with some of the airlines for special sales (esp. DJ happy hour, JQ sales, BA news and NZ GAS et al.). If it weren't for that fact then perhaps I would not have been on Twitter at all.

I used to use Facebook quite a bit but now I really hardly write on walls and I'm so sick of all the invitations to do surveys that rate you on blah. I keep it though as it's a good source of connections; I've touched base with lots of my high school friends through Facebook. And it looks a lot less trashier than myspace.

One advantage of Twitter over Facebook (wall) is that Facebook - even with its simplicity - is slightly more bloated than Twitter. Sure, Twitter can only have 140 characters vs. unlimited for Facebook wall, but Twitter is a lot simpler and lightweight. In saying that, it's obviously horses for courses.

 

[Mal]

I have a twitter account, and have never posted there. I only use it to follow some friends and different organisations I am interested in.

Sometimes you get to know of some really good bargains - particularly with airlines.

I hate facebook, myspace and sites of their ilk. Actually, hate isn't a strong enough word... perhaps abhor is better!

 

[anat0l]

I hate facebook, myspace and sites of their ilk. Actually, hate isn't a strong enough word... perhaps abhor is better!

We get your drift, but to be honest both of those words you chose - hate and abhor - don't sound stronger or weaker than each other and speaking per se then you are being relatively diplomatic.

I think there are many out there that would agree with you mainly due to privacy holes and potential for malice (and this has been witnessed a number of times).

 

[albatross710]

I have two twitter accounts for different mediums. One personal/work and the other just work link building bringing traffic to our website.

I have linked my Twitter tweets via the Facebook application. What I post on Twitter also goes onto Facebook. Save me posting same updates in both places.

I also use twitrobot to trickle random posts to my twitter accounts to keep the updates appearing on a regular basis.

In the long term, I don't see Twitter providing any major value to my business - too hard to keep track of threads, thoughts and trends.

 

[albatross710]

Edit: Can't forget about Google Wave...

Ever since I watched the Google wave presentation I have been so dissappointed with the way the world works today. I want wave functionality, collaboration, integration and I want it now!

I hope that Google does a good job with that platform and it catches on. It is still probably 2-3 years away before it will have enough momentum (IMHO).

 

[mbeder]

Am presently experimenting using Twitter as a static PR tool for business - however presently believe that it is better for personal use.
Am a keen user of LinkedIn, which has proven to be a fantastic resource for keeping in touch with local and overseas work/business associates.
Facebook - best for personal usage, but will also be developing a page for our business in the near future.

 

[thegurio]

Short answer yes but only personally. For my line or work i cant see it adding any benefit to my business so i dont bother. I dont want to start something then just to have it fizzle out.

FB, i do use, and as some people here know, my use of it has been trimmed of late. I have tried using twitter but to be honest i really cant see it being of much use and when i get busy it does get pushed to the back. Obviously this week it has been given a bit of a workout but then, when i am now up and around, its being used less.

It for me is more of a way to keep in touch with various people and stay in the loop as it were...