“Twitter is Stupid”: Why You Should Reconsider

Twitter is Stupid: Why You Should Reconsider by PuzzledTweeter

I am guilty of giving Twitter and its users a hard time.  I’ve uttered “Twitter is stupid” or “Twitter is pointless” a few too many times. These are also the responses I often get from people who: a) have never used Twitter, b) used it briefly and ran for the hills, or c) are using it but don’t get it. Trust me, people, I understand. My first Twitter account was something like @ihatethis123. And I had only joined to get links to a live stream of a show I wished I was at (hmm, another useful aspect…)

At first glance, Twitter can seem like a place for people to just waste time all day perfecting their self-admiration or exercising their need to express life’s most dull and mundane moments (i.e. “I just had lunch”), and I guarantee there are too many people out there who use it for just that. But in my experience, they are the minority and are easily avoidable. (Check out someone’s profile, amount of tweets, and read their recent tweets before following them.) If you follow someone who is dragging your feed down, well, unfollow, my friend!

In reality, Twitter is a rather useful and important thing.  I’m going to share the 4 reasons why I find Twitter to be particularly relevant:

1.      Reach your target audience directly and for FREE. Once you’ve built a following, albeit small or large, you have the ability to reach out to your audience with a 140 strokes on your keyboard. Now, this doesn’t mean you should make your Twitter account a constant marketing or advertising tweet – you will be abruptly unfollowed by most of your followers. But if you use Twitter wisely by making your content useful much of the time, and about what you are selling, promoting, etc. only some of the time, you end up with an excellent way to reach out to those who may want what you’ve got.

2.      Find people with similar interests, goals, missions, and visions – and then, network, baby. Networking, and doing it right, is all about who you know, and helping out who you know. It’s also about asking questions, getting advice, asking for favors, and sharing. Twitter is built just for this. People can easily share knowledge, ask for knowledge, and gain knowledge. You can also meet people in your field, whether that is your business, your blog, your interests. 

3.      Seek out and ask an expert. Have a question you can’t find an answer to? You scoured the web, called your nearest and dearest, or maybe even posted out into Facebook-land. Now, you can go onto Twitter, find an expert or someone who might know the answer, and ask them directly – via a tweet, direct (private) message, or a relevant hashtag. This is novel. In the past you couldn’t just reach out to, let’s say, the author you are reading and ask them about a specific resource they quoted. Or ask a pediatrician who specializes in special needs diets whether or not something could potentially be harmful. Now you can. That being said, be wary of who you ask – anyone can write “expert” in their profile. 

4.      Get news instantly and from real people, not mass media.  Before the advent of the Internet, people literally had to spread news from mouth to ear, through print, or by way of televised mass media. None of the options were instantaneous, and sometimes the options were (and are) purposefully filtered to show only part of the picture. Now people can express something as they are writing it or experiencing it – and disseminate it across the world.  

I read this piece about the #OccupyWallStreet movements, and why these protests are unlike any before them. Notice that the movement is often referred to with a hashtag in front of it – GASP – Twitter language is escaping out into the real world! This protest was born out of people connecting with one another via social media – specifically through Twitter. Go on Twitter right now, type in #OccupyWallStreet (or #OWS) into the search box, and watch a live feed of people “talking”, revealing details from the protest – and remember – this is in REAL TIME.  Never before could you hear exactly what was happening from the people who are standing there. For example, a couple weeks ago I was watching the feed and saw someone post a video of a police officer telling another officer that his “nightstick is going to get a workout tonight.” The NYPD had no time to censor that – by the time they probably found it, thousands had viewed it.  

When Osama Bin Laden was killed, a man tweeted about a helicopter hovering around his home – unaware that he was Bin Laden’s neighbor and the U.S. was about to launch an attack on Bin Laden’s compound. Some people on Twitter knew about the horrific earthquake in Japan before major news networks had broadcast it. In the aftermath of the quake, Twitter and Facebook were used as a way to get ahold of loved ones when all the phones were down, get up-to-date reports on the conditions, and share and receive warnings for estimated tsunami arrival times. Things happen, people share it.

Basically, I put my foot in my mouth over the past few years with my relentless disparaging remarks about something I really knew nothing about. I also know a lot of people who still feel this way, and again, I get it. But instead of just walking about blabbing about how useless and stupid it is – do some research and come to your own conclusions. I did.

There are many more reasons why Twitter is a useful and valuable tool. I’d like to hear from you about what you think is important about Twitter? Why do you use it? Or why do you not use it?