The second in a series of posts on media people making use of Twitter, in which John Welsh shares experiences, lessons and policies.
* What did you think about the concept when you first heard about Twitter?
I just could not get my head around it to be honest. You open that page for the first time and it just does not make sense. It makes me much more sympathetic to people I am training on Twitter.
* Do you recall your first tweet?
I would love to know my first Tweet but I can never get “MyfirstTweet” to work! I signed up about 18 months ago, never got it and forget it instantly. It was only as I launched my blog that Twitter beganto fall into place.
* How did you use Twitter to begin with?
My first community was colleagues at work. It was the first time when we had experienced that living-your-life-in-front-of-others feeling. It broke down barriers. But people began to lose interest pretty rapidly – why tell your colleauges what your train journey home was like?
* How has your use of Twitter changed?
Only last autumn, I began to realise how I could use Twitter to learn from leading social and new media experts AND develop community building skills. So I ruthlessly edited those I followed down to those who offered core information (no comments about their everyday life, thank you). I then blocked anyone who did not have social or new media as a job title. I then made sure all my Tweets were focused on the information requirements of my followers. The more I blocked people, the faster my number of followers grew.
* What do you want from Twitter?
I have just began to realise how to follow my own Twitter feed through Twitter Search. I would like to develop this so that I can help train our marketers and journalists to follow a trail.
* Have you attended a tweetup?
Yes, organised by you George! It was great.
* Have you evangelised Twitter? If so, any success?
Yes, I am really keen that our marketers use it. It is the best way for them
- to understand how they need to ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’,
- what time it takes to develop a community and
- what etiquette is necessary to make it work.
If they can master Twitter they can do anything else.
* Do you have any self-imposed policies regarding your use of Twitter?
- Thank people as much as possible through DM, particuarly for reTweeting
- ReTweet as much as possible (I never do enough)
- Never hesitate to block someone if they are not appropriate
- Never look at the total number of followers (I want the right five hundred, not the wrong five thousand)
- Never follow more than 50 because I could not take in all that people are telling me
* How do you see your use of Twitter developing this year?
I just cannot imagine. This time last year I had no blog and my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn profiles were all stagnant. A year later I learn from one what to do from the other. So I guess, the next year will be more of the same – learning, absorbing, transfering skills.
[+] John Welsh is digital director of UBM Live, one of the London-based offices of a global B2B exhibition and magazine company. Follow him on Twitter or his blog by RSS.
Tags: social media, twitter
#1 by John Welsh/These Digital Times on February 8th, 2009 - 6:14 pm
Hi George
You kindly worked your magic and found my first Tweet – http://twitter.com/johnwelsh/status/806218831 – since I wrote these answers for you.
I am really surprised that it is dated May last year. Surprised because I originally set up my Twitter account in May 2007. That means it took me a year to get going. It underlines quite how confused I was after my first sight of it.
Perhaps it also explains some of my patience with those who do not understand it at first!
Thanks for asking me to be part of this series.
Cheers