Every Friday users make recommendations for who to follow on Twitter. It’s a fun way to find new friends. It’s a bit like a who’s who among your followers.
Of course I think all of my friends are worth following, but here are a few suggestions to start with (in no particular order):
Need PLR Reviews? @retta719 has them for you
(and she’s an interactive Twitter friend).
And in a category all his own… @RoyMontero
who I suspect would really rather talk to you on Skype than Tweet.
There are many more people I can recommend and I’ll do so in the weeks
to come by adding to this list regularly. On July 17th I consolidated the list and from now on, when I add friends they are marked NEW for a week. Comments dated before July 17th refer to earlier versions of this post.
I’ve been using Twitter for just over a year now and had developed a fairly productive Twitter habit. But then as easily as I got into the habit, I took a week long break last month and completely broke my Twitter habit. I haven’t been “social” on a regular basis in almost a month.
Why do I want it back?
In the few weeks that I’ve neglected social networking and marketing, my website visitor stats have dropped, resulting in a loss of income. Can I prove without a doubt that the loss is a direct result of my lack of participation? No. And in fact, I’d guess that in the same time period, I also spent less time on other marketing methods. But I am sure my absence has had a greater negative effect than cutting back on my other marketing techniques. Social media marketing is not as passive as other methods. Success depends on being social and providing high quality, information and interesting interaction on a regular basis.
So I’m working on getting back in the social media marketing habit. I try to check in with my Twitter friends and followers most afternoons during the work week. See you there!
Do you have a Twitter habit and has it helped your bottom line?
A few days ago I posted that “I Finally Understand Hashtags on Twitter.” But I spoke too soon. After posting that, I tried to use one of the Hashtag commands listed on the original, referenced blog post – specifically follow #twitip. I have been unable to figure out where to use that command… it doesn’t work in Twitter and there doesn’t seem to be a way to enter it at Hashtags.org. Without being able to follow a specific Hashtag in Twitter, I was back to asking my original question, “What is the advantage of Hashtags over just a regular Twitter search?”
After doing more research (that I should have done before adding that original post; I apologize to my readers for not being as thorough as usual), I think there are some cases where Hashtags can be much more useful than a regular search. (Although I still haven’t found any way to use the listed Hashtag commands.)
Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on Hashtags and I haven’t used them myself. I’ve simply spent a good deal of time over the past couple of days trying to figure them out. I welcome your comments to correct any misinformation or add any additional information.
As far as I can tell, there are 3 ways to sort Tweets using Hashtags.
Hashtags.org – Basically a repository of Hashtags that are being used. Tweets containing Hashtags are indexed in real time so you can search for and follow conversations for a particular group. Unfortunately, the site is very busy and my browser times out frequently.
Twemes.com – Also real time tracking of Tweets containing Hashtags. Although sometimes slow, presumably because of heavy use, it hasn’t timed out for me yet.
Twitter Search – Search for a specific Hashtag and bookmark the page to easily return for updates.
The other advantageous uses I found are:
Using a Hashtag to distinguish a common term that a group is using. For example, #Humor is a popular tag that further refines a search that would result in many more results when searching for just humor. However, a term like o2litmus doesn’t seem to produce many more results than #o2litmus.
In my opinion, the biggest advantage to using Hashtags and the best way to follow them is by subscribing to a group via RSS at Hashtags.org or Twemes.com. Even non-Tweeters can follow via RSS.
Hashtags have been very useful to victims and their families during disasters such as the terrorist attacks in Mumbai (#Mumbai) and California wildfires (#sandiegofire).
Conference organizers and attendees often use Hashtags to communicate as a group.
I have also seen reference to Hashtags for SMS and instant messaging as well as mention of TwitterGroups and Twitter Tracking. There may be additional advantages for these applications that I haven’t yet discovered.
So there you have it… everything I learned about following Hashtags. They seem to be more and more popular and my guess is that Twitter and others will likely improve existing tools and develop new ones. In the meantime, I think following a Hashtag via RSS is your best bet.
Please add your comments. Do you use Hashtags in your Tweets? Are you following any groups by Hashtag and if so, what following method are you using?
Editors note: A few days after posting this, I researched more information about Hashtags and updated my understanding in the new post, More on Understanding Twitter Hashtags.
Before reading those posts, I couldn’t figure out the advantage of Hashtags over just a regular Twitter search. Why would I want to search for #wahm (with the #-sign) instead of just plain old wahm? It turns out that Hashtags are about much more than search. With Hashtags, you can follow topics in addition to following people, or even follow a specific topic for a specific person. And by using Hashtags you Tweet to groups who are interested in the specific topic.
Clear as mud? TwiTips explains it much better than I. Check out their post at the link above.
Do you follow or broadcast using Hashtags? Which are you following and which are you broadcasting to? I’m off to find some groups to follow.
A good 30-day challenge can be very productive, but the time commitment is sometimes difficult. How about joining me for a 30-second challenge?
Write a 30-second speech that you can use when networking or to answer the question, “What do you do?” Make it clever or interesting enough to get people to ask you questions about your business.
Post your 30-second (or elevator) speech in a comment here and we can offer constructive feedback for each other. I’m working on mine and will post it soon.
Over the past couple of days several popular bloggers are discussing the value of social media services like Twitter. They are asking themselves and others to evaluate their goals for the service and decide if it’s a marketing tool or a just social interaction. Or can it really be both?
The beauty of a service like Twitter is that it becomes what the community wants it to be. And like any community, as it grows, smaller groups and sub-communities separate themselves, mix, overlap, and continue to evolve. I think we’ll all be able to find the balance that works for us.
In her post, Social Marketing Pitfalls & The Twitter Time Suck, Lynn Terry’s definition of “social” explains exactly how I’ve tried to conduct myself in business all along; by being personable and not so personal. Lynn wrote,
“…But when it comes to marketing or networking, the word ’social’ pertains to being personable (vs personal), which – in my opinion – should be accomplished while still retaining an appearance of professionalism.”
It’s how I’d like to continue to conduct myself in the social media services.
But for others, online social media holds a much different appeal. In part, I think it’s just another aspect of a whole new communication era. Personal communication is becoming less and less private. The cell phone often makes at least one half of what used to be totally private conversations, public. Video cameras are everywhere and events that once might have been a temporary embarrassment witnessed by a few, can become a worldwide humiliation replayed over and over again. It’s a chicken and an egg question. Are our expectations of privacy so diminished that we’re willing to share more? Or has our willingness to share more led to the proliferation of opportunities to do so?
As others have suggested, we each need to define our social media goals and find a balance. While I wish I had done more planning before I started, I’m not sure I could have clearly defined what I wanted until I had some experience. I’ll approach the services differently now and hopefully find my balance.
Where do you stand? Are social media services marketing or socializing?
Inspired by Lynn Terry’s Webinar yesterday, I signed up for Twitter. I’m still trying to figure it all out so I’m not yet sure I know what I’m doing, but I can see how it can be a lot of fun. My goal is to use it as another business tool; it’s part of my plan to become more “social” online.
The whole idea of using social marketing came about as part of last month’s “Be A Better Blogger” challenge over at ClickNewz.com. I blogged about the social marketing task here.
Do you Twitter? If so be sure to leave your link in the comments and I’ll come by. What other social media are you using?
Twitter.com – Twitter, which wasn’t even on the original list, has enjoyed tremendous growth in popularity over the past year. Follow me on Twitter
MySpace.com – Popular with the younger crowd (18-24), MySpace continues to be one of the most visited social media sites and ranks among the top visited sites overall.
LinkedIn.com – Primarily a business and professional network, LinkedIn is often used to connect employers and job seekers.
Orkut.com – Owned by Google, Orkut is popular with young people in South America and India. Continue Reading
Please understand that in most cases, links from this blog and in downloaded special reports are either links to other sites and resources I own, or are affiliate links. What that means is that if you make a purchase at any of those sites, I will be compensated in some way. Read the complete disclosure here.
A good 30-day challenge can be very productive, but the time commitment is sometimes difficult. How about joining me for a 30-second challenge?
Over the past couple of days several popular bloggers are discussing the value of social media services like Twitter. They are asking themselves and others to evaluate their goals for the service and decide if it’s a marketing tool or a just social interaction. Or can it really be both?
Here are 10 sites where you can make personal connections and build relationships with friends and business associates.
