Posts Tagged ‘Social network’
(Just Like) Starting Over
Posted on: October 13, 2011
- In: Blogs | Development | Learning | Social Media | Twitter
- 3 Comments
I have acquired a bit of a taste for experimenting recently and have set up a new Twitter account and blog that are entirely separate to my usual professional/personal Twitter handle of @AlisonChisnell and this HRJuggler blog. The subject matter is so separate that it really didn’t make any sense to combine them and there is very little cross-over in terms of individuals I follow or followers…the sum total of two people, in fact!
It has been fascinating to do and I wanted to share some of what I am learning here.
- Starting over on Twitter is hard, even if you do know what you are doing…trying to tap into hashtags that group the information that you are interested in takes some investment in terms of time and effort
- Not all topics have a ready built community.
- Networks and engagement take time to build. It is relatively easy to find people who tweet out links of useful stuff, but far harder to identify people who are genuinely interesting, interested and keen to engage in conversation
- Following is easy, encouraging people to follow back is sometimes trickier. If after a couple of attempts to engage in conversation, they don’t respond or follow back, then their content has to be really good for me to continue following. This has made me also re-evaluate how often I follow back on my main account and resolve to do so on the first contact.
- Blogging is the same process, whether or not anyone reads what you write. When a post on the new blog attracts more than a handful of readers and any comments, I am genuinely delighted. It makes me more appreciative and reminds me how far this blog has come
- The experience you have in using Twitter is pretty much defined by the calibre of people you follow and those that follow you. The former generates interesting and thought-provoking content for your timeline, the latter is predominantly where engagement and interaction lies.
- In order to keep improving my new user experience, I have been open-minded and proactive about who I follow, and also reasonably disciplined in unfollowing those whose tweets are not of interest to me, are overwhelming in volume or simply annoying
- No surprise, the best source of new tweeps to follow comes from looking at the ‘following’ lists of the people who I enjoy following.
So, it has been and continues to be an interesting experience and one that I would recommend to anyone, not least because it helps to contextualise why many people are initially wary or unconvinced about using Twitter. And it is very good practice to go back to the beginning and start over…and see what else you learn!
Have you started over lately? I’d love to hear from you.
- In: ConnectingHR | Networking | Social Media | Twitter
- 10 Comments
A couple of weeks ago I had my first Twitter birthday – I first signed up and started tweeting on 9th June 2010, following a suggestion from my boss over lunch one day. So, what have I learnt during this time?
- It’s all about connections. Tweeting into empty cyberspace is pointless, twitter only becomes enjoyable when you start following people who have common interests or who you are interested in. Common ways to find those connections are through hashtags eg #connectinghr and recommendations of others, although I’m sure there are some more sophisticated search tools too
- It’s the quality of connections that count, not the number. Connect with and follow people you like; if they start to annoy you, unfollow them. Don’t feel obliged to follow back
- People on Twitter are in general hugely helpful and friendly – many people share their professional expertise once they ‘know’ you
- Don’t over-think your tweets – you get out of it what you put in, so don’t be afraid to interact. People will think you a little odd if you don’t tweet at all – no one likes lurkers!
- It’s a conversation, don’t try to catch up on everything you’ve missed whilst you were ‘out of the room’, just pick up where you left off
- Never forget that Twitter is in the public domain, so unless you lock your tweets or are completely anonymous, tweet with care
- People on Twitter often meet up in real life (‘tweet ups’) and the connections you make can lead to real friendships and strong professional networks
- It’s a huge source of professional support and networking
- Twitter is a great source of information, breaking news and fantastic blogs
And the questions? From people who are not on Twitter or who don’t ‘get’ it, they are almost always the same…
- How do you find the time?
- Do you follow celebrities?
- But what do you find to say?
To which the answers are –
- Easily – do you really never have any downtime?
- No, I genuinely find my real life connections more interesting
- PLENTY!!!!
What else have you learnt about Twitter? And what questions are you frequently asked? Do tell 😉
The HR Juggler 