Twitter is one of those things that either you get or you don’t. If you don’t get it, then you probably won’t miss it that much since it was never a part of your daily life. But if you get Twitter, and you have used it, then you understand just how powerful a tool it is…and you probably can’t imagine not using it on a daily basis.
It has revolutionized the way I do many things in the area of communication, work, relationships, hobbies, news, trends, collaboration, etc. Not to mention that in the last couple of months approximately 75% of the people that I meet, collaborate with, and talk over coffee with are people I have met and communicated with on Twitter.
How else can I convince you to use Twitter?
Let me try…Let’s start with a video.
If that is not suffice, then keep reading.
- Twitter for Ministry and Church-A Business Perspective. This is a comprehensive list put together by Church Crunch. All you need to know and more.
- Formulating an Online Strategy for College Ministry: Part 5–How Twitter Can Catalyze Your Ministry This is one of the first posts that I compiled about Twitter and ministry. I still would like to see more college ministries, and ministries in general unleash the power of Twitter in their groups.
- FB Friends….Twitter=FB Status Update. U Should Get On Board This is my off-the-cuff passionate plea to my Facebook friends to start using Twitter. I wrote it after people were wondering how my Facebook status was changing so often…Twitter. In fact, several people have told me that this post convinced them to try Twitter, and they love it.
- Stay tuned for a magazine article I just completed on Twitter…I think you will like it.
If you are not convinced after watching the video and reading all the links, I’m wondering what will convince you. I’m curious to know.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I am a new fan of Twitter, and I look forward to building a community there. I like the fresh blog posts, the prayers, the music and book reviews.
Having said that, I think Twitter and Facebook are better off separate. People who update their Facebook status with Twitter overwhelm my friends who update less often.
Perhaps it is because my friends and family are not as web geeky as I am. But I would prefer not to lose them in the Twitter chatter, as it were.
So right now, Facebook is for people I actually know enough to send a Christmas card to, and Twitter is for people I don’t know but share similar interests with.
It’s working for me!
Adrienne:
Great thoughts. I thought about how I overwhelm some of my friends probably on FB. But actually, most of my Twitter responses come from FB. People see my status and respond. But I hear what you are saying. Some of my friends have so many friends my stuff probably whizzes by their home page, news feed quickly. Others, yeah, maybe a bit overwhelming. Something to think about.
I will be reading your blog.
rhett
That and I once was stranded in Dallas and twittered.
Got a hotel room and a nice cigar out of it.
http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2008/06/the-day-jesus-saved-my-twitter/
Carlos,
I posted your story when that happened…one of the best Twitter stories ever.
I didn’t have that exact experience. But when my wife and I moved from LA to Dallas there were Twitter friends who offered places for us to stay and eat along the way….so amazing.
rhett
http://www.rhettsmith.com/?p=958
If my 10 best friends Twittered then I could see some value. But they don’t and so I’d rather try and stay a little less connected and not Twitter. I posted about this…
http://manofdepravity.com/2008/09/16/why-i-dont-twitter/
It all depends who you follow and who follows you. Great ideas and thoughts are exchanged there. I liken it to an habitual presence of others and a true flattening of social strata in one spot – far more so than the flattening of space in blogging. It’s cool based on what it cannot do and its own self-imposed limits. It has a very specific purpose that one can stretch in a lot of socially creative ways.
Tyler:
All very good reasons for Twittering, and for not Twittering.
And Drew, very, very well said…I do like the self imposed limits of 140 characters.
rhett
Tyler:
All very good reasons for Twittering, and for not Twittering.
And Drew, very, very well said…I do like the self imposed limits of 140 characters.
rhett
Good article. I’ve had a twitter account for awhile but it’s been largely dormant until I regained the “bug” over the long holiday weekend.
I’ve been taking a different approach this time around and have been finding some great people resources…it’s been great tracking some fairly big names in various industries. My current favorite is Guy Kawasaki who’s a big name in the tech-sphere.
Back to the first comment – I totally agree with Adrienne…I did the Facebook sync bit for awhile but drove myself crazy with all the postings. For me…I approach the two things very differently so I was seeing the Facebook postings and they weren’t making sense…and they were my own.
I think the jury is still out on whether FB friends like or don’t like our twitter streams. I discontinued my twitter sync after several FB friends said what are you always talking about; I don’t understand the @ lingo. Then I read an article saying it was a twitter no no to connect them.
Ovbiously, with ping.fm etc. status ubiquity is possible, but some vote for separate segments of friends, with different kinds of status updates.
The very best part about twitter is it’s instantaneous nature.
I highly recommend this page for learning: http://twitter.alltop.com/
Oh, and of course following here:
http://twitter.com/cynthiaware – but you gotta have my permission.
Adrienee, Jon and Cynthia…you have convinced me. No more Twitter sync.
I think what’s interesting is how we choose to follow people we really don’t know. Makes it even a little more weird, or creepy, than when we call people “friends” on fb when we either don’t know them or don’t know them as well as what we used to in the human touch world, call friends.
I like that I’ve been able to learn more little things about others and have touchpoint conversations about things in real life, but it is also a bit TMI or TMT or TMSM is you ask. (too much info, too much twitter/txt, too much social media) We are still like a bunch of kids on Christmas vacation the days following the biggest Christmas of our lives – toys toys toys.
I’m not really sure people have figured out the difference in Toys and Tools and when they might be both or neither – which can create a false sense on identity and productivity.
I love staying connected and getting reconnected – like we have Mr. Smith – but I have to admit that I’m looking for someone to start a line of Rehab Centers for bloggers, twitters, texters, and the like. And as an entreprenuer – I can see the need, the need for less speed.
Michael Trent
This is interesting, but as an introvert (MTBI: INFP), I’m not sure I’m comfortable opening my private life to others to that degree. Also, I’m not really interested in knowing those details of others’ lives either. This must be an extrovert thing.
I’ve been wondering about prayer life on Twitter. I know a few churches sending out prayer requests, but it seems the perfect tool for a church to connect members in community.
Christianity is built around community. It’s what holds us up and helps prevent stumbles in faith to out and out falls. What happens when the minister and the church staff start using Twitter as a way to connect congregations between Sundays?
Twitter gives us the opportunity to be sending prayers, thoughts, and advice to other Christians on the other six days we aren’t in Church. It helps organize, and helps brings people together
And if you don’t like the deacon in the pew next to you, you don’t have to follow him. What could be better?
Wondering if we’ll see more of this.
@Brett, that might totally be true. Except I’m also quite introverted, as are many people I know on Twitter. But I understand the perspective you are coming from and respect that.
@Jim, yeah, lots of people use it for prayer. There is also, http://www.gosplr.com and then the main prayer social network out there that I know of is http://www.kindlejoy.com You should check them out.
And we will definitely see more of this for sure.
rhett
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