Consider Twitter

My mom joined Twitter last week.

So far, she’s following only me. When I called to ask her about it, she seemed confused and said, “I’m reading everything you write, but it doesn’t really make sense to me.” She’s not sure what the point of Twitter is or why people use it. She can’t figure out why people are following her. She hasn’t posted any tweets yet.

To the uninitiated, Twitter may seem strange, perplexing, or even pointless. However, if you give it a chance, you may find that learning and participating on Twitter can add value to your life and career in several ways.

• You can connect with people – a community of experts – from around the world. Once you learn the basics, you will be able to find and follow experts in any field you can imagine. You can learn from HR pros or interact with people who share your love of running, crafting, or skydiving.
• You can join an ongoing conversation or start one of your own. At any time of day, you can join a conversation with others on Twitter by reading what people are saying and joining in. You can ask a question, offer your opinion, agree with someone, disagree strongly, vent, or make a joke. If you spend time on Twitter at a similar time each day, you may find that the conversations you enjoy online can become a vital social support in your life, especially when you take the time to get to know Twitter friends in person or through a phone or Skype conversation.
• You can discover learning resources. I discovered many of the blogs that I regularly read by following links on Twitter. People are constantly sharing great resources with others. You can also join live chats on various topics that are held weekly or monthly.

Are you convinced?

To learn more about the basics of getting started on Twitter, check out my white paper Twitter for Beginners. And, join my mom in following me on Twitter as @beckyrbnsn and @LeaderTalk.

Twitter bird courtesy of Twitter logos and icons.