More Twitter tips from media people, this time from Ben LaMothe, ePublishing posgraduate student at London’s City University, Web/social media consultant with United Business Media in London and part of an upcoming project at the ‘watch-this-space’ stage.
Do you recall your first tweet?
I’ve tried to look this up to no avail. I started using Twitter using a different user name. I changed it to my name a while back. I suspect when I changed it, I lost the data from the previous user name. The earliest I can go is February. Apparently I joined Twitter on March 3 2008. I can only go back as far as Feb. 2008.
How did you use Twitter to begin with?
When I first began using Twitter, I had the same approach as many do when they first joined. I Tweeted about what I was doing that day, who I had talked to, the films I was seeing, etc. Nothing of any real value to anyone outside my most immediate circle of friends. I did Tweet a little about the journalism industry, but at the start my Tweets were about 30% industry and 70% here’s-what-I-ate-today.
How has your use of Twitter changed?
My Twitter usage has changed drastically. I decided one day last year to change from 30-70 to 70-30. Instead of talking about the banality of day-to-day life, I started posting links to interesting commentary on the state of the journalism industry. I also provided some of my own commentary. As a result my Twitter following has grown exponentially and I’ve been introduced to a lot of very smart people in the industry. People seem to see me as a source of information about the latest industry happenings, which is quite cool.
What do you want from Twitter?
Twitter is a fantastic source of information. It connects people in a way that no other service has. What I want from Twitter is the ability to meet more interesting people, to have my horizons continually broadened and to learn more about how the industry works. It’s allowed me to meet some great people, so I’d like for that to continue.
Have you attended a tweetup?
Yep – with @GeorgeHopkin and @JohnWelsh. I’ve had quasi-Tweet ups too. Meetings that weren’t facilitated by Twitter directly, but involved people whom I follow on Twitter.
Have you evangelised Twitter? If so, any success?
I have. I try to explain to people the benefits of it. Many approach it the same way as they do with Facebook. They assume people will find you and it will just take off. It doesn’t work that way. You’re responsible for building your own circle of influence and to surround yourself with people you think you’ll learn from. I’ve had some success, but as Twitter grows I suspect more will jump in. A lot will quickly jump out, but a few will get it.
Do you have any self-imposed policies regarding your use of Twitter?
Think before I Tweet. It’s very easy to get on Twitter and just talk rubbish. You don’t have an immediate sense that anyone is listening. But I’ve been burned by doing that. I also think to myself “OK, do I really need to Tweet this?” Over the last year I’ve picked up some fairly influential followers within the industry. I need to keep them in mind when I’m Tweeting. Will they care? Is this really important?
How do you see your use of Twitter developing this year?
I’m not sure. Twitter has opened a lot of doors for me that previously were closed. I suspect in the coming months I’ll likely be balancing more than one Twitter account, one personal, and one work-related. Twitter is an ever-changing thing. It’s becoming its own culture. The users made the rules. So I expect the rules will continue to change as will Twitter’s applications and uses in the real world. I’m going to try to keep up with that. My Twitter usage will evolve as the service evolves.
[+] Ben LaMothe can be found on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BenLaMothe and at his blog, http://benlamothe.wordpress.com
Tags: journalism, social media, twitter
