and why am I so obsessed with it?
I realized that I have two very distinct group of friends, those who get social media and those who have no clue what I am talking about. If you are in the ‘get it’ group you can stop reading now. This is to those of you who have no idea what twitter is, why I tweet, or what the heck a tweet even is.
Social media is a term used for sites where people interact and share things on the web. I started in social media as a way to share my websites with others. My first venture was stumble upon. I still love stumble upon but it is not nearly as interactive as twitter. About a year ago I started playing with twitter. At first, I totally didn’t get it. I sort of used it like stumble upon (a way to share links) but I began to realize it is so much more. It is a way to quickly interact with the world. The other day I was bicycle shopping with Bob and it was taking forever! So, I started tweeting from my iphone about how I may impale myself on the handlebars if it doesn’t end soon and sure enough, 30 seconds later I get a tweet back from a twitter ‘friend’ in Tehran sympathizing. OK, seriously, I would think someone in Tehran could care less about my bicycle shopping experiences right now but how surreal is that? Twitter is a super fast conversation with the world.
Critics of twitter claim that they don’t have time in their day to read what 1,ooo’s of people are eating for dinner and such minutia and I agree but the thing is that those tweets (the message sent on twitter) scroll by so fast that you barely notice and honestly, sometimes I do now care cause darn, it sounds good.I have connected with so many people via twitter that have become real life friends. I credit it with making my move to Denver easier. There is a huge social media (specifically twitter) community and we do get together quite often either for happy hours or charity events. It is a very supportive community.
Twitter has helped me professionally as well. As you probably know, I hold monthly twitter parties. It is a chance to get together virtually and socialize. They are a blast and I would dare say, an anticipated event for some. We do some amazing giveaways during the parties. I have connected with companies and PR reps that I probably never would have had the chance to if it were not for twitter. For example, last month I had the chance to meet some great bloggers that I admire courtesy of a trip to Oscar Mayer headquarters. Companies are on twitter and for the most part they are listening to us. What a valuable chance to have a two way conversation with a brand you care about.
Facebook is another social media outlet that I use. My friend Jason said it best yesterday though. Facebook is like virtual yearbook where most people connect on a smaller, more personal scale. I don’t really care too much for facebook though. I probably just don’t ‘get it’ but I prefer the fast paced, 140 character world of twitter.
So, in a nut shell, that is what twitter is, why I use it and why I think you should too. Twitter is addictive though so be careful and another warning, don’t just hop on and expect people to start talking to you right away. Twitter is a conversation and just like at a real life party, you need to make connections.
I am @chaotic_barb on twitter so if you get started, follow me, send me a message and I will try to help you meet some more twitter friends.
On the side you should be able to connect with me on lots of social media sites. Please do 