Happy Labor Day Holiday for those of you who are off today!
Say what you want about Twitter - some people just have no interest in using Twitter, and that's fine - I've definitely benefited from being a reasonably active Twitter user. First let me say that I don't tweet about what I had for breakfast or how late my flight is, but try to share things that I think people would be interested in. Last time I posted my thoughts on Twitter I got a few comments like "you don't get it" and "that's not what Twitter is for". But I've continued posting on Twitter once or twice a day *(sometimes a few more if something important comes up) and have followed people who post things that I find interesting. That's how I use Twitter, and I've come across some very interesting things.
Here's a few examples of the kind of things I found out about that I probably wouldn't otherwise.
Events, giveaways and contests: Twitter has become a marketing tool for some people & companies, so you'll often hear first about upcoming events, seminars, webinars etc as a tweet. I've seen a couple of events that sold out almost exclusively through an announcement on Twitter. A number of Twitter-only contests have given away some pretty bad-ass prizes to promote their company or event. Hey, NAPP even gave away some Photoshop World Prizes.
People's work: I've been introduced to the photography, design skills, videos and animations of some very talented people that I don't know how else I would have found. For example, just last Friday @extensis tweeted about an amazing animation artist, Pascal Campion. His work is amazing!
Misc cool stuff: I'm normally not one to spend hours digging through youtube for the latest cool video, but thankfully some people find amazing things and tweet about them. Here's an example that I heard about from @leolaporte (that he passed on from another tweet)
For me, Twitter has become another interesting tool to broaden my horizons, both in spreading the word about NAPP, Photoshop World, seminars, etc, and to see some pretty great stuff I might not otherwise have seen. I don't spend every waking minute there but I do check in a couple of times a day, and have been rewarded with some very interesting things.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I strongly agree with your list and add to it the value of networking with others in your field. I belong to professional organizations but twitter reduces the total number within the profession to a smaller group that has the same level of interest in using social media and web tools. Definitely timesaving.
Right on the mark Dave. Twitter is great for casting a wide net for your message and being exposed to new ideas and people. There's an app called TweetDeck that's worth mentioning here. The TweetDeck interface has completely changed my Twitter experience for the better. Check it out!
Post a Comment