twit or tweet?
Anyone feeling frustrated by this, not so new anymore, thing called Twitter? I’m slowly becoming more engaged, and feeling more comfortable, but it can still feel as if you are intruding in someone’s conversation whom you don’t know. Although I can submit to the theory of using it to build relationships, it can sometimes feel silly or intrusive as if we are being nosy. I’ve read blog after blog and article after article about the do’s and don’ts of Twitter, how to build relationships, and what kinds of things to post but it’s still easy to feel lost at times. Not to mention it’s a whole new language just figuring out what the heck people are saying in 140 characters with hashtags, @ symbols and abbreviations. Has anyone come up with a Twitter dictionary yet because I wonder if I should say “I’m Twittering” or “I’m Tweeting”? I can attest it takes time to catch on, but if you dive in, engage others and share ideas it will be worth your while and actually become a fun communication tool!
So, here are my thoughts and suggestions for the Wide World of Twitter:
1. Don’t just retweet (RT) constantly, actually engage others in conversation. Reply to statements, articles or posts so they know you are reading what they write and have an opinion. Hopefully they will respond and you can strike up a conversation that way. And if they don’t respond right off the bat, keep at it, eventually they will.
2. Post things that others will want to retweet. This has a two prong affect: 1. the person who post it originally will like the fact that you felt it worthy of reposting and 2. Others may find benefit in the post and want to retweet it themselves which gives you more exposure and possible new followers.
3. Be lighthearted and conversational. People like to get to know your personality through your tweets and therefore will be more apt to feel comfortable engaging and forming a relationship with you.
4. One last suggestion, learn what all the symbols mean otherwise Twitter will seem overwhelming. Once you know the lingo, it becomes alot less cumbersome and alot more understandable. It’s easy to get frustrated but know that you aren’t the only one feeling as if someone picked you up and plopped you down in a foreign country without a guide book or dictionary.
Thanks for taking this opportunity to speak about this, I am strongly regarding it and I reap the benefits of researching this subject. If at all possible, while you gain data, please update this blog with new information. I’ve found it extremely useful.
Glad you got something from it! Thanks for reading my blog!