1. Get on Your Soapbox
For me, Twitter is a modern day soapbox. I can stand up in the middle of the town square and shout things about which I feel passionate. If I say something interesting, somebody might actually pay attention. If I do it consistently, people may actually come back to listen again. It’s a meritocracy. You can’t make people follow you. You can prove to them you’re worth following by creating content they find valuable. And unlike say, a blog, it’s only a small commitment of time: 140 characters.
2. My Custom News Wire
I have 100’s of editors delivering a custom feed of news on all the topics I find interesting. Technology, sports, media, marketing—it’s all there, hand selected as interesting or relevant by people who have earned my attention. Is there hype and self promotion? Sure. I control the feed: so I just Unfollow.
3. The Modern Day Watercooler
I work very often from my home office. Among my followers and followees I have a virtual water cooler, a place to bounce ideas, tell a good joke or just blow off some steam. I “virtually” work with some of the smartest people in the world. Not bad.
4. It’s a Powerful, Concentrated Communication Tool
The most valuable commodity out there is not gold, it’s not property, it’s not money. It’s time. It’s the one thing of which we can’t get more. As content developers we are asking people to give us their time. Whether it’s a big commitment — reading a book, watching a movie; a smaller commitment — reading a blog, watching a commercial, listening to a podcast; or a very small commitment — reading a tweet, we are asking people to spend their valuable time on us. How valuable is your follower list? It’s the ultimate opt-in mailing list. I can go out and buy a list of email addresses. I can do it by specific demographics: give me a list of all CPA’s of firms with 5–10 employees that specialize in manufacturing in the 10024 zip code. But you can’t buy a Twitter follower list. You have to earn it.
And that’s why I like Twitter. How about you?
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