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Monday, April 30, 2012

My Love/Hate Relationship with Twitter


It took me forever to get on Twitter. I confess that the platform really didn’t appeal to me for the longest time. Really? A constant stream of conversation that I am expected to just jump into? It sounded like an introvert’s worst nightmare. Yet here I am today, with a Twitter handle (its @Jess_Bursh by the way J ). So how did that happen, and how should introverts approach Twitter? What benefits are there to Twitter?

When getting started on Twitter the platform guides your through selecting various organizations and people you would like to follow. I picked out major corporations that dealt with issues I was interested in. As time has gone on and I have gotten more comfortable I have begun to follow more individual people who have similar interests or may be interested in social media. You may notice that my network is very small, and while I would like to grow, I find taking things slowly helps me to acclimate.

One of the biggest benefits I have found has been up to the minute news briefs. When I log on, I can catch the latest world news, money news, social media news, and what is ‘hot’ right now with very little searching. This can be extremely helpful! Also as I follow media outlets that interest me, I have an automatic filter on receiving news that I find intriguing.

I have also met a couple people on Twitter! Whether for business purposes or on strictly social bases, Twitter allows you to start conversations and connect with people in real time, everywhere. Using hashtags (#) and subjects helps you find people interested in the same things as you.

Finally, when I have articles published, there is no publicity tool quite like Twitter. It helps you draw your connections attention to a media outlet they might not read with as much frequency, and take note of your writing. People who read the article can instantly connect with you if they have follow up questions, or perhaps would want you to write something for them.

Twitter is fast and busy, definitely, and so it can seem overwhelming. By not pressuring yourself to have a 10,000+ network and using it to slowly connect and expand your present connections, however, the platform offers some major advantages to those who know how to use it.

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