10 Everyday Ways to Use Twitter for Work
September 29th, 2008 (10:00am) Aliza Sherman 24 Comments
I said it once, and I’ll say it again. I love Twitter. WWD has been talking about using Twitter as a professional tool for quite some now.
I use Twitter daily and often, almost always from my laptop on the Web, occasionally from Twhirl if I want to post to one of my 5 accounts other than my main one, sometimes from my mobile phone and once in a while from my iPod.
Twitter is my watercooler as I work solo from home (or a local cafe) in Alaska. It is my finger on the pulse of social media and things happening in the Lower 48. It is my way of touching base with friends, acquaintances and people who I’d like to get to know better.
Looking at my Twitter account over the last few weeks, I also saw distinct ways I used Twitter in my work proving once and for all that Twitter is not just chatter but a useful business tool.
Here are some ways I recently used Twitter for my work:
- Got help working through UStream.tv issues for my first live streaming of a presentation.
- Sent links to some of my most recent blog posts and client projects.
- Got troubleshooting tips on how to get my .Me mail via Mac Mail.
- Got a few beta invites to some new web apps to test.
- Got feedback if the operating system is pronounced Oh-Es-Ex or Oh-Es-Ten for a podcast I was doing (Twitterfriends were tied so I went for Oh-Es-Ten).
- Invited people to a free teleseminar on social media that I participated in.
- Used Twitter as part of a national Tweetup for WeVote08 - I organized the Anchorage regional event.
- Invited people to an event I organized in Second Life.
- Got feedback about portable but high quality MP3 recorders to purchase.
- Canvassed for input for an upcoming WWD blog post.
Twitter is a great promotional tool but for personal accounts you need to be careful not to be too spammy (I may sometimes tread that line a bit too finely - oops!). Twitter is also a knowledge base with people ready to respond to questions almost instantly.
By the way, be sure to follow the brand new @WebWorkerDaily for the latest site updates. Check the Following link for the Twitter accounts of most of the WWD team.
How are you using Twitter for your work?
Tags: twitter
24 Comments Post your own comment
Ola says: September 29th, 2008 11:07am
The problem with this thou is that you have to have a lot of followers and if you are not sort of a web celebrity it kind of hard to get followers.
But maybe i just have to start follow alot of people and maybe if i help em with something they we start following me ;)
stuckish at twitter btw ;)
Judi Sohn says: September 29th, 2008 11:24am
Actually, Ola, if you follow a lot of people at once and you don’t have a lot of tweets/content, you’ll get frustrated fast.
Start actively using Twitter first and follow just the folks you want to follow because you care about what *they* have to say, rather than picking folks you think will follow you back. As you start adding value to smaller conversations, you’ll get better use out of it.
Brian says: September 29th, 2008 12:25pm
I agree that twitter is more useful than people often give it credit for. I have a personal account I use for fun and I have a work account that I try to use as more of an ambassador. I like to follow people who are either in the web 2.0 space or are Konnects users. I never spam as I think that is terrible. People will respect you more if you are honest and real.
Brian
http://www.konnects.com
Cody says: September 29th, 2008 12:31pm
Side note: pretty sure its “oh-es-ex”. Too bad I’m not on twitter!
Aliza Sherman says: September 29th, 2008 1:17pm
Ola - I started out with very few followers but just worked up slowly. I have my own theories about who to follow, how many people to follow, etc. and I totally agree with Judi about adding value. Once you begin adding valuable Tweets to the Twittersphere, you’ll certainly begin to get more followers. Include others in conversation with an @ message. Lots of ways to build up a valuable, non-spammy Twitter presence.
Masqued says: September 29th, 2008 1:27pm
@Cody and the author: It’s Oh-Es-Ten.
X is the Roman numeral for 10. The previous version of Mac OS was version 9 (a.k.a. Classic), and the current builds are at 10.5.x. So it would be Oh-Es-Ten.
Plus, the “X” is in reference to it’s BSD Unix roots - X Window System.
If you’re more familiar with Linux systems, then technically if you look a this this way the layering would be: Darwin (BSD Unix based kernel), Quartz (X Window System), then Aqua (the window manager)
Joe Magennis says: September 29th, 2008 2:39pm
Good points about how twitter can help in business & how to gain followers. I am also intensely interested in other micro-messaging platforms like Laconica / Identi.ca. Implementing tools to help build out specialty communities at a smaller local level will be a major force in future communication strategies.
lambday says: September 29th, 2008 4:07pm
See also Twitter Meta
( in french )
Twitter for business | SoulSoup: e-learning blog, elearning blog, knowledge management, e-learning strategy, learning experience design, usability says: September 29th, 2008 6:08pm
[...] At Web Worker Daily Aliza Sherman wrote a post on 10 Everyday Ways to Use Twitter for Work [...]
Vickie Pynchon says: September 29th, 2008 8:52pm
Thanks. I’m just “getting” Twitter myself. This week-end and today I used Twitter to find volunteer housing in a swing state for volunteer campaign staff; asked for recommendations for Paris restaurants; read a few linked blog entries in my own blog’s niche and posted one off of Twitter; posted a couple of my own posts to Twitter, leading to Twitter-versation on the topic; and, connected up with a couple of old friends. Good stuff. Only question: when will I actually WORK?
Divya says: September 29th, 2008 9:31pm
I use search.twitter.com to find out tweets about areas I am interested in (web design, drupal, wordpress, etc) and add people who are interesting. Nowadays, I feel out of breath tracking so many conversations on twitter!
Olga says: September 30th, 2008 12:04am
Twitter is really powerful instrument in business. I also have Twitter account and it helped me a lot many times.
Using Twitter for Work | Workplace Learning Today says: September 30th, 2008 6:00am
[...] 10 Everyday Ways to Use Twitter for Work | WebWorkerDaily | Aliza Sherman | 29 September 2008 [...]
Dan Butcher says: September 30th, 2008 6:20am
Aliza–You said you have 5 accounts plus your primary account. What’s the idea behind multiple accounts?
Justin Cresswell says: October 1st, 2008 4:13am
Big Twitter fan. Even won a trip to an internet marketing conference (www.SBMU.com) on Twitter.
I would add that instead of avoiding being “too spammy” you should not be spammy at all. Most Tweeters will see right through it
I’m @justincresswell in Tweetworld.
McGuire’s Law » Blog Archive » Capturing the Power: September , 2008 Edition says: October 1st, 2008 5:04am
[...] Bonus: Aliza Sherman shares “10 Everyday Ways to Use Twitter for Work” [...]
dave says: October 1st, 2008 2:29pm
been using the Mac OS since *System* 6 (emphasis added). After System 8, it went to _OS_ 9. After that came the roman numerals. We Apple folk have always called it “Ten.” It’s only Windows users who’ve been callling it “ex.”
John Haydon says: October 2nd, 2008 3:07am
Aliza,
Great post - thanks!
Twitter can also be used to communicate and share files (http://www.tweetcube.com/) related to a collaborative project. Also, unlike IM, Twitter gives you an easy way to refer to the “project conversation”.
John
Aliza Sherman says: October 2nd, 2008 7:27am
Dan - I have multiple accounts to divvy up my tweeting in a more focused manner. I started by splitting off most of my Second Life tweets by forming my cybergrrloh account. There I only follow Second Lifers. I still post about big Second Life news or events in my main Twitter account only because I have the most followers there.
I also split off my purely mommy/baby tweets to my babyfruit account. I wanted my main account to be personal but not always about being a mom and having a 2-year-old.
The more I can keep my main Twitter account focused on my work, the more productive it remains. My other Twitter accounts are related to specific projects.
Laura Benjamin says: October 2nd, 2008 3:43pm
I tried it first as an experiment and love the ability to broaden my world, so to speak. I’m building followers slowly and am cautious to tweet mostly on helpful information vs what I’m having for breakfast. I find it’s a great PR tool also - without being spammy.
friarminor says: October 3rd, 2008 1:08am
Like most newbie, I found Twitter strange at first. I questioned it’s benefit and how it might impact the way I spend my time esp at work.
But lo, I am now a full fledged Tweet addict and though I only have a bunch of followers, i must say that i do learn a lot about stuff and able to communicate short messages in a much faster time than any other tools there is.
So can I now follow all of you?
Best.
alain
WebWorkerDaily » Archive Follow Twitter Trends With Connect the Tweets « says: October 6th, 2008 9:15am
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