As of today, February 1st, I have been using Twitter for one full year. Before I tell you about what’s gone on in the past twelve months, let me offer a couple of comparisons:
In May 1996, I’d been using email for a full year. It was pretty nifty, but not much had changed for me.
On the other hand, by May 1997, I’d discovered eBay — and that totally changed my life and views of what the Internet might accomplish. In fact (and no one, save a few hardy, hoary souls, will remember this), I went to BEA that year and pitched a radical new idea: an online-only bookstore called Prioress Books (my idea was to sell books in my academic specialty, medievalia). I never wound up actually stocking/selling from that virtual store, but I knew which way the wind was blowing very, very early.
My point is that some tools make life easier (email) and other tools change life dramatically (online commerce) — but the ones that change life dramatically nearly always depend on something that came first. If we hadn’t had email, there wouldn’t have been any eBay.
Similarly, if we hadn’t had Facebook, there wouldn’t be any Twitter.
Let me try to explain without going too far down any particular social media rabbit holes. Basically, Facebook (which is considered obsolete now by many people) had one component called a Status Update, a little box where you told friends what you were currently doing. The Twitter developers realized that the Status Update all by itself might be a kind of “money shot” (forgive me!), an instant win.
They were right.
In 12 months of tweeting, I’ve learned more, made more contacts, and accomplished more professionally than in the previous 12 years, all because of Twitter, and I’m not kidding. Let me quantify it for doubters:
– I’ve made new friends. To try and list everyone who has become my friend would be futile: Some are friends and colleagues, some one or the other, some are just acquaintances, and others seem to exist just to amuse me. After all, that’s the beauty of Twitter. Each user gets to decide who makes it past the gate. But many of the new friends I’ve made are people with whom I’ve now spent time in real life and with whom I’ll continue to spent time in real life. Twitter has connected me to real, true, interesting friends who live both near and far that I never would have met without the app.
– I’ve engaged in new endeavors. Chief among them is Megaphone, the “Get the Word Out!” Division of Book Maven Media, but Twitter also inspired the burgeoning #FridayReads, #TwitterBookClub, and the fabulous Roundtable Luncheons (now in NYC and Boston!).
– I’ve made it into media, including blogs, magazines, and Page Six of the New York Post — all because of conversations and situations I’ve jumped into on Twitter.
– My profile has grown in ways I could never have dreamed of with traditional media/networking methods. To my delight, I now have more than 5500 followers on Twitter. Since I only follow 800 of those people, I know that my tweetpower isn’t simply due to autofollows. I’m providing some kind of value to my followers, and that may be the most exciting thing of all to result from Twitter.
Some tools help us to communicate — other tools help us to change our behavior. Twitter may not last forever (and Twittermania certainly won’t), but its effects on the ways we connect online and offline will reverberate for a long time.
If you’re reading this because of Twitter, or if you’re reading this and you love/hate Twitter, tell me: What has Twitter done for you? Do you agree with me, or not?
Terrific, concise description of the power of Twitter, Bethanne. What has it done for me? Both personally and professionally, it’s provided an amazing introduction to other writers, readers, booksellers, book blogger–a whole huge, active community of people who share my interests.
For someone engaged in what is, at heart, a solitary profession (these days, just me and the keyboard and the screen), it’s been an extraordinary, even thrilling, change. I can barely remember what my lonely old life was like.
Yesyesyesyesyes. On Twitter I’ve found people who share every kind of information/news, people who have taught me things and asked nothing in return, jolly businesses who have, if not faces, at least VOICES, now — and friends I would never have known otherwise and can’t imagine doing without.
Twitter is a hot sweet cup of surprise, every single day.
I’ve only been on Twitter a few weeks and am still trying to sort out whether I’ll find it useful or not. So far, I’d say not so much, though it has directed a few readers to my blog. Whether they’ll stay is yet to be determined.
There’s so much noise on Twitter, it can be difficult to weed out the good stuff, though I’m getting better at it. I’m finding lots of SEO tips and people wanting to sell marketing services, neither of which interests me. I’m getting more brutal about weeding all that out.
And I’m weeding out those I follow who seem to tweet all day about nothing (or nothing interesting). There seems to be a compulsion that grips some tweeters to just tweet and keep tweeting, even if there’s nothing interesting to say.
I have been able to follow a few compelling conversations but I’ve yet to jump in and engage on any meaningful level. I guess that’s up to me.
I do love Facebook but tend to use it differently than I do Twitter. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with friends from high school, university and days past. I keep my personal FB page for people I actually know, but there is a fan page for the blog that I’ve found useful. And I’m addicted to the Lexulous app.
And yes, I’m reading this because of Twitter.
Totally agree–been on Twitter for a little over a year, and it’s been amazing. In that time, I was laid off from a job I’d had for more than 20 years; I was devastated, but Twitter made me feel like I still had colleagues and was still part of the industry.
Twitter made it easier for me to put myself out into the world (I’d always been a private, behind-the-scenes person). I’ve made new friends & new business contacts–sometimes both.
Twitter has changed the way I get my news and disseminate it; I’m addicted to the fast pace and the instant feedback.
I’m sure Twitter won’t last forever, but it has permanently changed the way people communicate–and I look forward to what comes next.
I’ve been on Twitter for about a month. Having vowed I would never do such a thing. And then having realized, at 53, that I was being stupid. I feel that I’ve passed Twitter 101, but I don’t know where to even sign up for Twitter 102, much less 201. Thoughts? Much appreciated in advance.
I joined Twitter in November 2008, but it wasn’t really until spring 2009 that I started to understand the real value in it—it took me several months to get over the idea that Twitter was going to be a giant time suck….which it can be, but it can also be so much more.
Like you, I’ve made new friends and professional contacts on Twitter. Seemingly casual conversations have hatched ideas that have grown into blog- and book-related projects. I’ve learned. I’ve been challenged. I’ve goofed around. I’ve had conversations with a fellow blogger’s stuffed goat.
And I’ve realized that Twitter, like just about everything else in life, gives you exactly what you put into it, if you know what you’re doing. Figuring that out has been a lot of fun.
I couldn’t agree more (and we came on board at about the same time.
Twitter has three important components for me. First, it’s my news feed for subject matter that interests me. it’s replaced a lot of blog scanning and my RSS feeds are no longer timely or relevant.
Second, it allows me to pass along what I learn (via RT’s) and to share (or test) ideas of my own, raising my profile for networking, business and social purposes.
Finally, Twitter is endlessly entertaining and amusing, whether I choose to engage online or in real-life with my fellow tweeps or whether I just lurk and watch.
I love the immediacy of the medium and those who dismiss it as mere narcissism miss the point entirely.
Great post, Bethanne.
I have been on Twitter for more than a year and it has really grown. It’s easier with twitter to filter the noise to signal ratio. If you don’t enjoy someone’s posts or you no longer see a value in them; just stop following them. If you want to check on them once in awhile, without seeing every post; put them in a list.
I have learned more about authors that I like, gotten advice, sympathy, and random information than I would have otherwise. I have made friends, been a twitter-stalker (ooh, this author that I follow is going to be in town, I can go to the booksigning), and been thoroughly disgusted by some spam. It’s a well-rounded experience.
One of the greatest things about Twitter is also the simplest: Because of it, I’ve met people like The Bookmaven–and others in the comments section above–in real life. And that has been pure pleasure.
This is something that every person who is in or wishes to be in publishing should read. And anyone interested in the right way to tweet should follow @thebookmaven. I often think before posting, “WWBD?”
As for me, I can’t begin to list the opportunities that have come out of Twitter — much of it isn’t quantifiable. I do know I never would’ve been a guest on The Book Studio if it weren’t for Twitter.
Listen, Julie Klam, “WWBD?” would be such an excellent slogan for a wristband…
Signed,
Behind the Times but In Front of the Buffet
I doubt it’s a coincidence that I follow most of the previous commenters on twitter (as @keristevens). Waving up the line!
Bethanne, you are correct and correct and correct. I’ve been able to jump on so many opportunities because of twitter.
For those of you who’ve asked about how to go forward with twitter, the beauty is–you can just ask. If you have something you’d like to accomplish, try or learn, you can post a tweet requesting help and people will answer from the four corners.
Unlike facebook, you are not required or expected to follow everyone who follows you. Nor should you expect (or pester) everyone you follow to follow back. This allows each of us to tailor the noise level to a personally-acceptable volume.
Use of secondary applications/alternative browsers help. Tweetdeck (my favorite), twirl and other apps can be downloaded for free to help you sort, filter and organize your twitter viewing as you see fit.
I saw this on Twitter and had to read it. Now I’m forwarding to my non-tweeting friends.
Thanks!
Susan
I joined Twitter last spring. I agree with your comments about its power. I love that it is like little fact bites. There is so much out there on the Internet that I find that through the friends I follow I get directed to news and great blog posts that keep me informed and entertained. My niche book blog gets great publicity and I have made great new connections. I am also gratified to see great books and authors gain new readership.
The most amazing thing from my Twitter life this last year was when I was asked to be a co-host for the PBS Masterpiece Classic Twitter party during the broadcast of the new mini-series Emma. When I saw the 1,000’s of fans Tweeting away together it really sunk in what a “right now” society we have become and how important technology is. FaceBook seems so flat now. Once you’ve Tweeted, you’ll never go back.
Cheers, Laurel Ann