Twitter Rocks
I love Twitter. There it is, I’ve finally become a full twitter addict and it has virtually replaced all of my other forms of social media. I still use Facebook to keep up with friends, and I still participate in the other social sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn and a myriad of others, but Twitter has become the standard for my social activity.
Why do I love Twitter so much? There are several reasons but those listed below are the 5 main reasons I think Twitter is ‘Da Bomb! I encourage you to leave a comment on the reasons you love (or hate) Twitter.
5 Reasons why Twitter is my Favorite Social Media Site
- Twitter Provides Instant Gratification – I live in America and I’m a very busy man, so my time is precious. Anything that gives me immediate gratification in a short amount of time is high up on my list. Twitter allows me to push out my company news, personal info, and interesting reading to millions of potential readers in a short, quick burst. The reach is amazing and the response can be instant. On the flipside, being able to ask a question of your tweeps and get the same immediate response is a very helpful benefit. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a simple question and received immediate responses from my Tweeps who always seem to be willing to help.
- Twitter has Immense, Targeted Reach – The great thing about social sites in general is the ability to reach out to people you might not ever meet otherwise. Twitter takes this to another level by allowing you to target specific niches based on their interests. This is a very powerful factor for marketing, and for personal interaction. By regularly interacting with your Tweeps, who likely have the same interests as you do, you can network with people that will help you in business, or in your personal life, and get immediate results when you ask for help. Other social sites allow some of the same ability, but in my opinion they don’t accomplish it as well as Twitter.
- Twitter Gets You Connected with Local Resources - When I moved from Seattle to Denver I wanted to get to know the local SEO scene and connect with some of my colleagues in the industry. I didn’t know who was good, who was not, or who to avoid. I simple sent out a tweet that I was looking to meet up with some Denver SEO’s and get to know them. Within hours I had responses from some of the better local SEO’s inviting me to Denver SEO meetups, drinks at the local pub, and offering help if needed. Thanks to Twitter I have made connections with some great SEO’s in the Denver area such as Knox, Zach Katz, and JimKrienbrink.
- Twitter is a Learning Tool - In my early days on Twitter I was just trying to figure out what was going on and how people were using this social platform. I didn’t really feel comfortable putting out my info there until I knew the audience and the norms. (BTW – This is my normal protocol for joining a new social site.) So what did I do? I followed a bunch of people in my industry who are known thought leaders and innovators, and I watched their Tweets to see what they are talking about. There is an amazing amount of information on any topic that is being regularly circulated through the Tweet Stream, and if you are looking to learn about a specific subject you don’t need to do anything more than search for the subject and start following. Favorite the items you like and you’ll soon build a library of reference material that you can return to again and again.
- Twitter Search Offers Real Time Results from Real People – As opposed to Google’s search results, which are a snapshot of Google’s memory of the web, Twitter search results deliver real time info as it is being tweeted. There is no waiting for Google to index a page, which means that you can find information as it happens, and get your results from people, which are much harder to manipulate than Google’s search results.
Two examples: 1. Plane catches fire at Denver International Airport and passengers tweet the information to friends and family before the airport can release the info themeselves. 2. Google bombers manipulated the search results so that George Bush was listed as the first result when searching for the term “Miserable Failure”. This was changed back in 2007, but the point remains – If SEO’s want to manipulate Google so that Obama shows up as “Wasting US Tax Dollars”, they can, but getting the same results in Twitter would be nearly impossible, due to the large amount of Obama supporters that can submit their own views on the President’s Economic policies. This is one of the many reasons that Google should be very worried about the future implications of Twitter on their market share.
So those are the 5 Reasons that I love Twitter. As with most of my posts, this was supposed to be short and sweet, and 900 words later we come to a close.
I welcome comments and would love to hear other reasons people love Twitter!