Someone asked me recently what I like the most about Twitter. Actually, the question came from a non-user and was more like an indictment: Why do you waste your time with Twitter? What’s in it for you?
The answer was easy. I like having a gang of people who share my interest in marketing and other subjects bringing interesting articles to my attention. It’s like having an army of researchers at my disposal, all working for free.
The Internet is making us smarter. What can’t you find nowadays on Google or YouTube? Better yet, go to your local library where you can tap into their paid subscription databases and marvel at the information that’s right at your fingertips. You can tap into many of these databases from your home if you have a library card.
The Internet gives me the basic information about a subject so I can formulate better questions for the people I interview. For example, I recently wrote an article about tire pressure monitoring systems on cars. Before I talked to a single mechanic, I was able to learn how the system works and watch a technician remove a failed sensor from the wheel of a car, all without leaving my office.
Remember what doing research was like before the digital age? Who remembers the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, a collection of army-green, fat, squatty books that held the citations to articles published in hundreds of periodicals? Once you retrieved the citations, you’d have to find the hard-copy issue of the magazine you need – usually enlisting the aid of a librarian. You could easily spend an entire morning at the library running down three or four articles.
With my luck, the library that actually housed the periodical I needed was across town. Or, worse yet, do you remember finally getting the magazine only to find that someone had ripped the very article you wanted from its pages? I found this offensive even when I myself was a proud juvenile delinquent. No wonder we hated term papers.
Today, with RSS feeds, Mashable and an army of Twitter friends, I can scan a dozen articles and blogs with my first cup of coffee of the day. I have Twitter lists for marketing, writing, social media, advertising, politics, music and news. Each has its own tribe, most of whom will tweet a link to an article that caught their attention. That’s what’s in it for me – a steady steam of links to articles and videos that I find entertaining, informative and useful.
What’s not to like?
Just been plugging in to Twitter for the last couple months, so I’m still a newbie at the game. There is so much to learn… (-_-) Thanks for enlightening me..
Norma Doiron @ the LEARNED Preneur! ╰☆╮
Thank you, John for the great article. I have been on Twitter for 3 years now and love it. I put out an affiliate link a couple years ago and sold a $2500.00 coaching program with 2 tweets…thus, the power of Twitter and other social networks {Now, however you have put the disclaimer that you may be making $$ from putting this link out, etc} :)
This is a very good explanation of the business value of Twitter. I have found Twitter to be even more valuable with the advent of Twylah.
What a great article John! I’m on Twitter a lot as well…and other social media sites. I cannot imagine what my day would be like if I didn’t have the internet!!! In fact, it’s kind of scary to even think of it! LOL! All this information at our finger tips! Thanks for all you do and wishing you a fabulous day!
Thanks, Alexandra. I hope yours is good, too.
I love the potential and opportunities the Internet gives and also how smart we have become. It is so true we must appreciate what is given so much more, especially when we look back as you masterfully described!
Agreed! What’s not to like?
Twitter has opened so many doors for me and given me many contacts. I’m glad I got started a year ago!
Had to chuckle when you asked, ‘who remembers what is was like before the digital age?’ I DO! Lord have mercy! Hours and hours in the library trying to find periodicals and books to do research for college papers… using yellow legal pads and a pen to take notes… writing on a typewriter with that white tape roll for corrections … (how did you replace those, anyway? Never could get that right!)… the list goes on and on. But then, I also remember when the first tv programming came out in color and being mesmerized by the NBC peacock feathers… vinyl albums (33s and 45s) played on ‘record players,’ and when we first landed a man on the moon. I must be getting OLD!!!!!!! ;-p
I have news for you Mary Kate, we’re all getting old! But I wouldn’t want to go back to the days when it was exciting to see Bonanza in “living color.”
Well said!