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Is Twitter Just a Conversational Media Site? Twittin' Secret #85 by @dhollingsPlanning Your Twitter Purpose. Along the Twitter highway, you will be told by other well-meaning Twitter drivers (and an occasional "Twitter rage" jerk) that you are not a good Twitter driver (ie: you are not using Twitter properly - ha!) Almost funny, that others think they have been self-appointed as Twitter Cops. I have a rule of thumb about Twitter and all "laws" of internet usage and driving strategy: As long as what you are doing online benefits you, your business, your purpose and that of others in your desired audience; without infringing upon, spamming, taking advantage of, or hurting others; AND as long as you are conducting yourself openly and honestly; go forth, do YOUR thing, and ignore the "well-meaning" cops, muddlers and advisors. Twitter is no exception, and in fact, Twitter offers a simple "stop following button" for anyone that does not wish to follow you - in fact, you can even BLOCK. So... Twitter is YOURS to use as you and your followers prefer - as long as you don't spam or abuse the system. Twitter asks: "What are you doing?" - think about it... are ALL the billions of tweets out there literally answering just that question? If not, does that mean we are all breaking the rules? If so, we are going to need one big Twitter jail :-) Twitter is a great tool for "conversation" - I encourage that; however no rule forces you to have conversations publicly - you might prefer no conversation via Twitter or use all direct messages. You might use Twitter as a "To-Do List" - that's not a conversation. You might use it to share event or meeting highlights? You might use it to drive a political campaign, like Barack Obama, the #1 followed Twitter user as of this writing (Sept 2008). Yes, Obama is #1, yet he is not using Twitter for public conversation and Obama has zero favorites. You might use Twitter to help people with tips and ideas (as I often do), including light conversation publicly. In the end, Twitter is a micro-blogging platform, and we all know that blogs come in all varieties and bloggers blog to their audience in the style and manner of their choosing. Go forth, do good, and let the Twitter cops, well... do their thing too! Mark Davidson @markdavidson prompted this post and I'm thankful for that. Twittin' Secrets Tip #85 was written prior to Mark's post, but Mark's comment certainly opened up some conversation on the topic (for those desiring to converse). I do not consider Mark a Twitter cop, muddler, or jerk. He provides an excellent example of the conversational use of Twitter. As of Sept 2008, according to Tweetstats, Mark is maintaining a 55.22% @reply rate which shows he is dedicated to public conversations with his followers. I would encourage following Mark to engage in a lively conversation. Want to Stir the Twitter Soup?
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TwitterSplit Soup - Something's Stirring - What might you add?