Twittering

For the last few months, I didn’t know what to think of Twitter. I’m not what you’d call an early adopter of technology. I’m part of the early majority – I hang back, watch what happens and decide whether it fits my lifestyle. Twitter was just another tool to communicate and I had enough already, thank you very much. E-mail, telephone, instant messaging, Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn…the list goes on and on. Did my cluttered life really need more clutter?

Then I started an online public relations course. We are encouraged to explore all the popular social media tools out there, so the entire class created their Twitter accounts. Except me.

I wasn’t being rebellious or petulant. (Really, I’m way too old for that.) And I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. I just didn’t know what to make of Twitter. Wasn’t it just a glorified Facebook status? I happened to see a few tweets on my friend’s profile. Boy, were they mind-numbing. “Going for a coffee.” “Stuck in traffic.” “Eating dinner.” Yawn. Do I really want to know what my friends and colleagues are doing every. minute. of. the. day?

Oh sure, I could use Twitter to follow key influencers in the industry. But I’m already following their blogs. Then there’s the question of who to follow, how many to follow – could I keep up with the glut of tweets ? And then I read this. Yikes.

The last few days I’ve been witness to bad errors in judgment played out on the web. One involved a Tweet that should not have been posted. The subject of the Tweet took offense; the misunderstanding was eventually cleared up but the damage was done. Then a lightning bolt struck me (not really, I’m just being metaphorical) and it all became clear: I was blaming the tool and not the users.

Like the Internet, social media has made our lives easier. But it’s compromised by people who jump on the bandwagon without stopping to learn the rules. I sometimes wonder whether it’s a good idea to prod students to “jump on” whether they want to or not. But if you’re heading into a career in public relations, you should know how to talk about social media. And the best way to talk the talk is to walk the walk.

But before you dip your toe into the pool, you’d better learn how to swim.

We’re all adults and should practice common sense. We are aware of tools like Summize and StatCounter. We learned that everything we do on the web leaves a digital footprint. We know that comments made electronically are stripped of their tone and meaning. So be careful what you say and where you say it.

So I’m finally giving Twitter a try. You can find me at https://twitter.com/BonDean. For other newbies, Dave Fleet has some great tips for effective Twittering .

Here’s my contribution: When you Twitter, don’t be a twit.