It's not your Grandad's Twitter anymore

Original date: 22 Mar 2012

Twitter celebrated its sixth birthday yesterday, but when it started, I was not on board.

In fact, back then I had a marginal LinkedIn account with no photo associated and had not yet created a FaceBook account.  I let the train pass me by.  A few years later, I had improved my LinkedIn account a bit and had begun to reconnect with old friends on FaceBook.  But, I still could not conceive of any reason to check in on Twitter and let people know where I was going or what I was doing.  There also seemed to be little value to derive from hearing other people tweet, “I’m at the Starbucks,” or “Danny is at JFK with 4 others…”  There seemed to be no business reason to get involved, so again – I let the Twitter train pass on by.

“Twitter has helped me find clients; introduced me to new and interesting people, increased the speed and accuracy of my responses to industry news; and given me ideas for blog posts.” – Steve Dickman, CEO, CBT Advisors

Then, a year ago when I decided to start my own business, someone suggested I read The Social Media Marketing Book.  While searching for it, I also picked up Twitter Power 2.0 because I knew, in January 2011, that Social Media was an essential business-building tool, and that Twitter had become a large part of Social Media.  I had also progressed in my thinking to understand: Twitter was becoming less of a mirror of individual activity and more of a sharing community.  I had finally decided to board the train – and it was about to pick up steam.

Over the first six months of 2011, the Twitter-verse shifted as more people realized the business-related value of Social Media, and Twitter in particular, and perhaps more importantly – the underlying theme of sharing within all Social Media.  See 11 New Twitter Facts, by Jeff Bullas, Sept. 2011.  See also Twitter Statistics, Facts & Figures from 2006-2012 [INFOGRAPHIC], via DazeInfo.com.

Earlier this month, Mike Brown, director of Corporate Development at Twitter, spoke at the CITE Conference revealing how Twitter’s social network has become “the ultimate business intelligence tool.”  While my own blog has not been regularly updated (do as I say, not as I do!) – Social Media, primarily Twitter, are proven resources I use to search for personally useful information, and to pass along and promote others’ valuable articles, tips, and tweets.  Some of these tweets have reflected personal interests such as running, politics, and sports (go Red Sox!), but the majority relates to business themes. 

So, if you are still a Luddite about Social Media or Twitter in particular – give yourself a present before their next birthday: add Twitter to your mix of marketing and business development tools by starting a business-focused Twitter account today.  To learn more about Twitter-for-business trends, view the articles linked at the bottom of this post.

It’s not your granddad’s Twitter anymore.  You might want to get on board.

Additional related articles on the Business of Tweeting:

- Twitter Exec Calls Tweets the “Ultimate Business Intelligence Tool” – ComputerWorld.com
- True Tales of Twitter as a Business Tool – Forbes.com
- 7 Ways Business Can Use Twitter… – Media Bistro.com
- Twitter Best Practices for Businesses - Lawyerist.com
- How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Twitter… – Boston BioTech Watch.com
- How Do You Cite a Tweet in an Academic Paper? – The Atlantic.com