In this post Mark Hayward (follow @mark_hayward) provides a list of ten people that all twitter beginners should be following. If you have other “must follow” recommendations for beginners, please feel free to put them in the comments.
Did you just take the big leap and open your first Twitter account? Is it for work, business, or pleasure?
A few months ago I joined Twitter, primarily as a way to network, but also to help people, and as a way to promote Train for Humanity and my small business.
When you start using Twitter for the first time it can feel a bit overwhelming, almost like entering a really crowded train station during rush hour on a Friday afternoon. There are lots of conversations and commotion going on everywhere, but you are in the station by yourself, an outsider, and certainly not a participant. (more…)
Do you know what you are aiming to achieve with Twitter? Do you have Goals in mind as you Tweet?
Here is an instant messaging exchange that I had with a TwiTip reader yesterday.
Reader: “I want to grow my Twitter follower numbers? Can you help me!” Darren: “Can I ask you a question?” Reader: “Sure” Darren: “Why do you want more followers?” Reader: “Everyone wants more followers don’t they? I want to be more connected and to have more followers.” Darren: “Let me ask another question – Why are you using Twitter?” Reader: “I am using Twitter to get more connections. I want to connect with as many people as I can.” Darren: “But why? What’s the purpose of that?” Reader: “Because it means I’m a more powerful Twitter user. Tell me, how do I get more followers?” Darren: “I’m still not sure why you want more followers or why you’re using Twitter?” Reader: “That doesn’t matter – I just want more followers.”
This conversation went on for another few minutes – I won’t bore you with the details (we went in circles) but I think it illustrates an issue that I see many Twitter users having – they don’t know why they’re using the medium.
I can relate to this. In my own early days of using Twitter I didn’t really know why I was using it either. I saw everyone else doing it and while I was a little skeptical of the medium thought I ’should’ at least give it a go. I had no real outcomes in mind and as a result – it showed in my Tweeting.
My first few days (if not weeks) of using Twitter were unfocussed and scattered. As a result I didn’t really ‘achieve’ much. Sure I found a few followers – but because I didn’t know what I wanted to get out of Twitter I didn’t really get much.
It took me a while – but I slowly realized that I needed to be more focused in my use of Twitter and to work out what outcomes I was hoping for.
Being successful at something is very hard if you don’t know what you want to achieve. It’s much easier to hit your target…. if you know what it is. (more…)
