RT from @ChrisBrogan- How HE uses Twitter

I am always on the lookout for tools to make your Social Media presence better. You have to know where you are and what you are doing in order to improve.


I have been subscribing to Chris Brogan's RSS for a while now, and he's got some really great stuff to say about social media. I'd highly recommend checking out his blog.

Anywho. His post today included some great info on how he uses Twitter. He has over 80,000 followers, and has been interviewed by some mainstream media outlets on Social Media. So he knows what he's talking about. Here's my favorite part-

"How I Use Twitter

• Question: You’ve called Twitter the next telephone and the next dialtone. What’s that about?
• Answer: I have two sources for this. Marcel Lebrun, CEO of Radian6, has this thing about the social phone. He likes to say, “The social phone is ringing. Are you answering?” My interpretation of this is that Twitter (and a few other services) have become as important as dialtone to business and communication in general. My other inspiration is Jeff Pulver, godfather of the VoIP generation, and someone who knew lots about presence and dialtone before anyone else thought to apply it to the computer world. Simply: I think Twitter is a service as useful as the telephone was to the last 100 years.
• Question: You talk to a lot of people on Twitter with @replies. Why not use direct messages?
• Answer: I like tweeting out in the open unless the conversation is private for two reasons. One, I like to share ideas with many, in case someone else can chime in and add something of value. MOST times, people know more than me. I prefer sharing @replies so that others might learn and pitch in.
• Question: You’re on Twitter a lot. Don’t you have a job?
• Answer: I sure do. I am on and off Twitter throughout the day at many strange hours. I’ve actually cut down tweeting a bit, believe it or not ( the stats are here), but I use it a lot for different reasons: checking in with people, asking questions, learning, and driving awareness to things that matter to me. I love Twitter for those reasons. I love asking people things.
• Question: I want as many followers as you. How do I get them?
• Answer: Heck, if it’s just numbers you’re into, there are tons of software out there now that robot-loads your account. I do mine the old-fashioned way. I follow back people who follow me. I don’t have robot answers, but the human answer is: be helpful, share, communicate, use @replies a lot. That’s it. That’s how I did it.
• Question: You get all these responses for everything you tweet and I don’t. It’s not fair.
• Answer: I’m just like you. We all start somewhere. Believe me, it’s a meritocracy. There’s no “man” holding you down. Now, you’re never going to surpass the big names and the robot mongers, so don’t try. But really, get to know some folks, talk, make some value, and you’ll get there. I don’t pay attention to all the crazy stuff. I don’t care who ranks higher in whatever. It’s not why I’m there. Make it YOUR Twitter."

Great stuff. Notice the key tips- add value, be helpful, share. THIS is what Twitter is about.

-Drew
(@drewshope)