Honesty About Twitter

I’ve heard many people tell me how fun Twitter is and encourage me to get one. But I never really saw it as a platform I thought would do anything for me, so I chose for a long time to not be a part of it. Sure I heard about all the funny things people would post and how it is a good way to keep up with the news but the negative things I heard about was enough to choose missing out on the fun. Twitter feuds, sub-tweeting, terrifying posts from public figures and in general the negativity so many people choose to put out on Twitter was something I wanted to stay far away from.

So until taking this class, I didn’t have a Twitter; I still almost never post and only follow a select few people. This week the reading from our book, "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald, was all about Twitter. I wasn’t really looking forward to this chapter because I assumed it was going to talk about how great Twitter is and list situations and tools I couldn’t relate to or use. Much to my surprise the chapter opened by talking about how Twitter is “misunderstood.” This sparked my interest. The first few pages went on to talk about both the pros and cons of twitter as a social media platform.  It pointed out how so many people use Twitter and how dominant it is in pop culture and the news, making it a great way for businesses to market to a huge range of people. The book also pointed out how Twitter can be a huge mess and a complete waste of time for businesses if you don't use it effectively. It stressed the importance of making sure Twitter would be a useful move for your business. Do you know how to tweet effectively? Does what your business is marketing and how your business is marketing line up with the trends on Twitter? Are your customers or audience even on Twitter? It asked readers to think about the benefits of Twitter being such an open platform where for the most part anyone can say and see anything. But along with that, the book posed the question, is anyone really listening in the noisy, “blizzard of information” that is Twitter?

            This was only the first couple pages of a chapter full of tips and tricks on how to use Twitter effectively, but I really appreciated the honest perspective. As someone who might not be as in love with all forms of social media like many people are in my generation are it was very engaging to read in a book about social media how there are negative aspects to even the most popular platforms. Though I do believe Twitter can be extremely useful and a positive marking tool especially after reading the rest of the chapter, it was refreshing to have a professional opinion point out the not so great things about Twitter I’ve seen from afar.