About eight million people are now Twittering. Twitter, the popular “micro-blogging” social media, site enables Tweeters (Twitter users) to send Tweets, or small bursts of information (140 characters or less, including spaces) to their “followers” (on Twitter, you follow others as you attract your own followers).
Twitter use has exploded over the past year, and every month usage seems to jump exponentially as more web users dive into the Twitter stream. Market research firm Nielson Online says Twitter grew by 1,689 percent from February 2008 to February 2009. Facebook still dwarfs Twitter in the number of users, but Twitter’s staggering growth is quite remarkable.
What’s to Tweet About?
Some tweeters are engaged in personal conversations, publicly (private messaging is also available in the form of DM, or direct message). While other tweeters use their Twitter stream to deliver helpful, entertaining, or informative information on a variety of topics. Positioning themselves as ambassadors or evangelists of their favorite topics, many of these tweeters are attracting dozens, hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of like-minded followers.
To find interesting Tweeples (those who tweet) to follow, browse, or enter keywords on your favorite topics in a Twitter search directory such as WeFollow or Twellow.
Want to know what’s on the public’s mind right NOW?
Logging on to Twitter’s search engine enables you to take the pulse of the public at any given moment. Search.Twitter.com posts the ever-changing top trending keywords on its home page. And, you can enter any word into the search box to browse all the tweets on that topic, in real time.
Tech-savvy companies are monitoring Twitter Search to keep an eye on what’s being said about their brands. If a tweeter is complaining about a company’s product or service, it’s not unusual for the disgruntled tweeter to be contacted by a company representative (sometimes within minutes) interested in assisting with problem solving.
It’s very important for tweeters to be aware that, even though the Twitterverse feels like a big party, what is being tweeted is archived for posterity. Even if you trash (delete) a tweet, it will still live on in the Twitter archives, available in Twitter searches. So, it’s always a good idea to think before you Tweet.
One Northern California-based tweeter learned this the hard way! After being offered a job at Cisco, the person tweeted about their dilemma of receiving a “fatty paycheck” in exchange for a nightmare commute and work they would hate. Read Olivier Blanchard’s blog post “Losing your Job in 140 Characters or Less.”
It didn’t take long for this poor tweeter to be contacted by someone at Cisco, letting them know that they don’t appreciate employees who hate their jobs.
In shifting economic times, networking and establishing your own personal “brand” is more important than ever. Twitter is packed with entrepreneurial-types, a few even becoming “Twitter celebrities,” attracting hundreds of followers as they tweet about their passion or expertise. Once a large audience is amassed, could making money with Twitter be far behind?
Tune into Lisa’s Ramblings from the Twitterverse podcast.
