This Is the Way I Tweet

Inspired by Jeremy Tanner's, "You Owe Me Nothing (My Twitter Policy)" and my mother lamenting that she doesn't get the 'rules' of Twitter I began to think about how I tweet and why.

First of all, when it comes to Twitter rules, I say there are no rules. Influential pundits talk about twitt etiquette, but there is no manual or handbook that you must abide by. I tell people, "Use it how you want..." Eventually, they're going to figure out how it works for them or doesn't. Which is why my (informal) Twitter disclaimer naturally came to mind.

My Twitter disclaimer:

• I care less about gaining a large following and more about sharing and receiving the digital or day-to-day information I find interesting. This includes connecting and creating a dialogue. I follow people who @reply, interact, share and don't say "me" or "I" in every tweet.
  
• I don't follow everyone back because I believe I reserve the right to choose if that person's tweets are compelling, intriguing or relevant. Nothing against you, I'm not even that picky but you have the choice to not follow me back as well. I'm following you because I like what you're saying, I've met you or it's work related.
• If however, you begin to follow me I try (90% of the time) to send a personalized Direct Message to you, thanking for the follow and whatever peaks my interest about their recent tweets. Sidenote: I hate auto DM's-I want to un-follow when I receive them.
• I believe @Lijit has immediate and personal, customer support and I think as a brand we use Twitter very well. With that being said, I often connect with my Lijit users on my personal Twitter profile, as it's easy and concise or I can RT @Lijit news or releases.
• I've made some meaningful relationships on Twitter because of this personal interaction I've focused on. It is turned into why I love Twitter: the connections. When I first moved to Boulder I began to connect with a lot of Boulder Tweeps online, made some friends (and currently still doing so) that I have met off the Tweet grid or am planning to. I also like to tweet live via my crackberry at an event or tweetup, by contributing to the conversation.

Think I'm interesting? Want to connect? Talk tech, start-ups or share a laugh? I would love to!

So there you have it. My own personal, Twitter usage disclaimer. It works for me and is unique to who I am. How do you use Twitter? Is it for personal use or your company? Do you @reply often? What benefits have you experienced from Twitter?

Photo Credit: carrotcreative

My Mom AND Dad Are On Facebook, Weird? Think Again

I can easily say that I'm 'Facebook Loyal' because I was just beginning college when Facebook came onto the scene in 2004 and exclusively opened up to Mark Zuckerberg's own, Harvard University. Then as everyone knows, expanded to colleges in the Boston area and Ivy League's. I went to college in Burlington, Vermont, so I was close to the action you could say. In early 2005 I was on Facebook as soon as Champlain College was in. I was immediately hooked and it's safe to say it has forever changed how I interact and connect online, even popular culture.

Now, in my post-college days while still remaining a proud Generation Y girl, I have a lot of friends who don't understand how it's now opened up publicly. They miss the days when it was just college students (maybe I do too, sometimes). Friends still feel weird that their mom is on Facebook, while I try to tell them it's the norm and so is having your boss, your extended family, etc. You can always choose to decline their 'friendship' via Facebook, but that's another story entirely. Plus, those of my friends lacking the online digital finesse have to realize anything you put online is public and out there for good. Deal with it.

Sometimes, they won't take my word for it. So of course, this is also backed with data (here comes the geek again) which is best represented on Inside Facebook. Their most recent study found that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women over the age of 55.

Key Highlights

• Facebook reporting nearly 45.3 million active US users in the last 30 days
• Facebook growing in every age/gender demographic. Fastest growing segment: Women over 55, up 175.3% in the last 120 days.
• Facebook growing faster with women than men in almost every age group. Women comprise 56.2% of Facebook’s audience, up from 54.3% late last year.
• 45% of Facebook’s US audience is now 26 years old or older.

And yes, both my Mom and Dad are on Facebook. Times are a changin'

Sarah Palin + Social Networking

With Alaskan Republican Governor Sarah Palin, selected by John McCain as his running mate for this upcoming, pivotal election there's been a lot of hype surrounding the choice. Personal politics aside, the intriguing part to me is the way the web and media has taken to Sarah Palin's recent position.
Check out my fellow respected bloggers, Elaine Young, a Professor at Champlain College and Adam Fullerton an Internet Marketer phenom, both of which have been following the web 2.0 tail of Sarah.

Young's take on Palin is maybe she should run with the "Little Known Facts" from Twitter-even use it in her ads ie: the witty ones. I believe this could help leverage beneficial public relations, but then again, this is an uncontrolled form of media...

In Fullerton's most recent post he makes a notable point where he says, "I don't think anyone in the Republican party has ever even heard of Twitter," and that means the Republicans "won't lose any "loyal Bush-ies" from this press."

We'll have to see where this takes her, but with my public relations mind running this is still coverage and publicity for Palin. With continual updates, and the viral nature of social media, the action and evaluation steps in the near future will be interesting to keep tabs on for the success (or not) of John McCain and Sarah Palin's public appearance.