My Twitter Personality

I love Twitter, I really do.  Today Twitter pal, Chris Brogan, posted on his blog about how different people use Twitter and what value it creates for them.  After reading the post I was trying to decide which category I fall into and, after much thought, I think I am a Twitter "conversationalist".   I use Twitter to reach out to those that are either in social media, live in the northeast, have an interesting blog or post interesting and informative tweets. Being an active participant in the Twitter community is a way for me to be known, but more importantly, to get to know others and feel I am part of what they do all day long.

I use the @ function frequently.  It makes me feel connected and lets others know someone (me) is really listening.  I rarely tweet "what I am doing" because, quite frankly, I know most of the time nobody cares what I am doing.  Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Chris Penn, Chris Brogan and the like are another story, I care about what they are doing at any given moment and I know others do to.

Twitter allows me to easily connect and build off the activities and thoughts of others more influential than myself and, of course, spread some link love.  Isn't that a big part of what this social media thing is all about-- connecting and building two-way conversations? 

(with that said I don't know how Chris Twitters so much and gets anything done; I would Twitter every second of everyday if it didn't distract me so much.)

clipped from grasshopperfactory.com Deeper Twitter- Tuning Twitter for Value Announcers vs. Conversationalists This is a current hammer-target for Eric Rice. He’s railed out about people (including me) using Twitter as a promotion engine. I understand this, insofar as some people do nothing but twitter links to their blog posts, their flickr pictures, and whatever else turns them on. (Note: I will Twitter that I posted this article when I’m done writing it). But conversationalists know to use a mix. They talk with other Twitter users, using the @ function to make sure people see the threaded conversation. They engage with the flow of people twittering around them, building a social sculpture, and engaging in what Jeff Pulver calls amorphic communications. Conversationalists reach into Twitter and move people back and forth.

Comments

[MaxWeb]

Come now, my little fem-geek-hottie, I think you've sold yourself short, I would like to see you post what you are doing more often. I don't think Chris Brogan (or the others you named) is any more interesting than you are and they certainly don't have as cute of an avatar. ;)

In all seriousness, people are no more important than the weight we assign them, so if you say you aren't important enough that others would be interested in your day, I say you're being too modest. Look @ all the people who follow you on twitter, they don't do it because you've friended Chris or Scobelizer... they do it because they are interested in you, what you have to say and who you are, which they can only see if you show it to them. I think Chris' post was right on in that you'll only get out of Twitter as much as you put in and what you put in has to be diverse, just like your life.

[Geoff Livingston]

I like it. It means you are having a bonafide conversation. Novel concept in the social media room. Keep Twittering!

[Connie Reece]

Julia, I will be looking at Twitter in the morning expecting to hear what you had for breakfast. :)

I enjoy the conversations on Twitter. It's my virtual water cooler. I love hanging out there to find out what my colleagues in social media are up to. And I love it when the conversation extends to a blog or to e-mail -- or even results in a tweet-up when I meet one of my Twitter friends face to face.

[Julia Roy]

Wow! Three posts in 2 hours, this is a record for me. I feel a post coming: Twitter and SEO.

[Mishi]

How do you update your Twitter?
I use 8hands, the profile aggregator.
It's so easy, all I have to do is change my tag-line from my desktop, and my Twitter changes accordingly.

[Jeffro2pt0]

Interesting post. I have tried and think I am successful in creating a mix between using Twitter the right way, vs using Twitter as a promotional tool. I don't link to everything I do, but I do link to articles I spent quite a bit of time writing because I look forward hearing some sort of feedback, or to start a conversation on Twitter.

I use TwitBin which allows me to see my Friends Twitter messages within my browser sidebar allowing me to continue the conversation easily while also being able to post a tweet. I too, don't use Twitter so much as to say what I am doing at the moment, I generally Tweet random thoughts, or I respond to someones question, or I try my best to start a conversation.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I never seem to get people involved in the topics I bring up. Maybe I should use the new search feature of Twitter and add all kinds of Web 2.0 specific people to my watchlist.