Getting aTwitter About Networking

Getting all aTwitter, we like that! We recently attended a Tweetup, which is an organized event that brings tweeters in a community together. In addition to being a great networking opportunity, we saw this as a chance to get twitter advice from our fellow tweeters. So we asked people at the #cutweetup to share their "twisdom" with all of us.

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Getting Started

Many people still just don't "get" Twitter. We think @debbyAuble shared a great analogy for what Twitter is:

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It's like a spider web…a communication web so then you can reach out to all the other conversations people have, and it's simple and it's easy, and it's short and concise.

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So catch some great conversations in the web you cast on Twitter!

Andrew Timms is another great guy to follow on Twitter, @SpectraArt. He shared this advice for beginning twitterers:

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People are interested in sharing what they have to say, so come to Twitter prepared to listen more than you're prepared to express. And and share value. Try to find things that you think the people that you are associated with will want to know more about.

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We think this is something to think when using all forms of social media. Listening is a key part to communication.

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I remember when I first got on Twitter, I had a hard time getting used to that 140 character limit.

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You know who's not on Twitter? Muammar Gaddafi. Maybe they should put limitations on all political speeches to 140 characters.

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I think you are on to something, George!

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Our friend @kbfoster told us how the character limit has helped her:

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It has taught me how to condense my thoughts so that I can communicate with others and be brief.

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Twitter for Business

We get asked all the time how businesses can best use Twitter. We asked @mhowie, who manages the account for @news_gazette how they benefit from using Twitter:

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Professionally for us, it's a great resource. People are very good at sending us information when there is an accident in town, when there's a power outage, when a storm is coming. We're able to pass that information along then to build this online community.

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All businesses can use Twitter to solicit feedback, to share expertise, and to communicate with existing and potential customers.

Finding People of Interest

How do you find people in your area on Twitter? @cumomOf2 has done such a good job of making local connections, she's recognized when she goes out to eat because of her Twitter profile!

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She's the Shaq of Champaign!

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Here's what she did:

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I started following people I knew like @devivo and @mrschicken. Then, I just did searches for "champaign" and used some of the online directories to find people. Lots of people in your area follow your local news organizations on Twitter, so follow them to connect with more people in your community. Think about other organizations too like your local library or farmers market…look at who they follow to find even more local people to follow.

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Another thing that is great about Twitter is how you can meet people in your profession or an area of special interest to you from all over the world. @Tricon is a pro at this and here's what he suggests:

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Well now that Twitter is so focused on search, check the sidebar to find trending topics and use the search box to search for things that you are interested it and find other people that are like-minded. That's the easiest and most direct way to do it. Also when people follow you, you can see who they are talking to, so get involved in their conversations as well and make contacts that way.

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Multiple Twitter Personalities & Summoning a Tweet

Some individuals and businesses manage multiple Twitter accounts, like our friend Steve. He manages a personal account @holstein, a radio station account @wixy and his radio show prep service account @interprep. Here's the free tool he uses to manage them with ease:

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I'm using Hootsuite. I can tab between my accounts to update the individual accounts whenever I want to. Another great feature is that I can schedule tweets in advance, so I can be tweeting without actually tweeting while I'm here at the Tweetup.

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Thanks to @news_gazette and @boltini for hosting our #cutweetup, and thanks to all the tweeters who offered up their tips.

What Twitter advice would you like to share? Leave a comment.

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Find us on Twitter, we'd love to connect! I'm @marylynn3

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And I'm @gkrue

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A good friend of ours, and one of the most talented people we know, @JeromeRitchey, was able to summon the spirit of the late, great Cubs broadcaster, Harry Carey.