I just signed up on Twitter and boy are my arms tired. Wait…that isn’t right. OK I did just sign up on Twitter and even tweeted once but so far, I’m not feeling it. What on earth is the draw here? Am I missing something? I even asked young Steph to help enlighten me, since she’s hip on social media and I now view her as the voice of a generation that’s a generation younger than I am, damn her. I also read several articles about how to use Twitter to my advantage, but still…nothing is really clicking.

Admittedly, I haven’t given it much time. I hated Facebook initially but now I am addicted. Twitter, however, just seems to be designed to flood other people with irrelevant information that they have to wade through in order to find the pearls. That’s time I could spend sleeping or poking Lisa on Facebook (or working.) I’m not alone in my dislike of Twitter, either, as it’s apparently cool to hate it. Well, I am nothing if not cool. Witness my recent purchase of black and orange Adidas and Yo La Tengo concert attendances. Ahem. Note that I am too cool to link to any of this, lest the crowd follow and I become even more passe.

Still, several people that I quite respect are indeed using Twitter. To me, this is an indication that I’m simply too stupid/old/misanthropic to figure out how to use it. I mean, Liana Evans twitters! There are few people in this industry that I have more respect for…and considering the inanities that I list in my Facebook status updates, it’s hard to imagine WHY I can’t warm up to Twitter. It seems perfectly suited for that honestly. Why is it that I feel ok telling my Facebook friends that I am afraid of marmite, yet I think doing this on Twitter would make me a lesser human being? Just ask anyone whom I converse with on IM…I will not hesitate to bore someone to death with the minutiae of my life. I mean seriously, I have conversations with people about what they’re going to have for dinner and how windy it is outside. I’m about to fall asleep just thinking about that.

Apparently one way of using Twitter professionally is to provide quick and constant updates to a group, such as your employees when you’re trying to get across town to a meeting where they’re all sitting down at the conference table, talking smack about you. I found a good Lifehack article that lists 5 Ways to Use Twitter for Good, but the only one listed that would be of any real interest to me is the one entitled “Micro-Attention-Sharing” which is actually quite nice, as it allows me to see which new blog posts my friends have written. Also, I would definitely describe my attention span as being of the “micro” variety.

So I’m now at 20% interest. That’s not a lot.

Then I found the article The Top 5 Ways Smart People Use Twitter. None of the methods suggested truly floated my boat, making me feel non-smart but I did find it interesting to note this quote: “It’s much easier for me to get ideas for story posts by looking at a microblogger’s Twitter feed than by trudging into my Bloglines account. Good-bye RSS feed reader!” I do spend a lot of time on my feed reader, as I have tons of feeds that I need to keep up with so I can know what Matt Cutts’ cat is up to AND, like most bloggers, I do occasionally encounter a dry spell when it comes to ideas about which to write. If you’ve read my last few posts, Facebook status updates, or IMs, you’ll agree that I could stand to get some damn new ideas. So theoretically, THIS could be a Twitter use for me, IF I could be arsed to figure out how exactly to do this. So now I’m at 40%.

THEN I found the article http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/03/15/eight-ways-twitter-is-useful-professionally/
Eight Ways Twitter is Useful Professionally. I immediately laughed at the number one suggestion, which is to “Make existing professional relationships stronger and more intimate.” I can tell you right now, twittering about how I’m watching Dragonslayer and eating nachos on the couch isn’t going to do anything but get my ass fired. Number eight, though, is beautiful and represents all that I could ever hope for in any product: “Learn important news. I’m much less dependent on my newsreader now because I hear about cool stuff all day via Twitter. For example: I didn’t know that Starbucks was giving away free coffee today until I read it on Twitter.” I can assure you that if Twitter alerted me to some free coffee, I’d print this blog post out and physically eat it. First I’ll have to figure out how to get the alerts though, won’t I? Damn it. So I’ll go up 25% for the laughter from item one and the hope from item eight, bringing me up to a glowing 65% interest.

Well in writing this post, it does appear that I have actually found some credible uses for Twitter…still, if you’re using Twitter in any remotely professional manner, please let me know because I’m still mostly unconvinced that it can benefit me in any manner. Of course, I said the same thing about the giant television Jay bought but once I saw The Equalizer throw someone against the wall with his leather-gloved muscular arms (the old hottie!), I was singing its praises. Like James Bond and Romeo Void said, never say never!

If anybody remembers the IMNY Charity Party last year, it was a great place to network.

It was also my very first networking event in the industry and it is also where I met a very friendly Brian Wallace, President of NowSourcing. He is the writer of the NowSourcing blog, which is the place to be if you are interested in learning more about Digg, Mixx, Twitter, etc.

Brian also founded a new blog that is making a lot of noise: Collective-Thoughts, the collective Social Media blog who’s contributors are impressive to say the least. Brian rounded up some of my most favorite SMM people on the net; Andy Beard, Glen Allsopp, Mark Laymon, Marty Weintraub, Rose Sylvia, Shana Albert (who I nominate to make a guest appearance on the SEO-Chicks blog), Tadeusz Szewczyk (onReact), Tim Nash, and then there is Brian’s cat who is quite popular on Twitter.

Brian is really on top of his Social Media game! I often catch him online at 2:00 AM, Sphinning, Digging, and other things that can easily turn into verbs. So I asked him to share some of his expertise with me!

1. You are very active in the blogosphere. How long have you been blogging? And when did you learn that blogging became crucial to your social media status?

I’ve been blogging off and on since 2001. Blogging is an inherent factor in social media success since social media needs content to thrive. Think about it: if you post once a week, that’s 52 pieces of content. It looked to me the blogging and social media would be a huge driver about a year ago.

2. Often we see many posts about falling victim to Social Media time consumption. How often do you spend on Social Media per day?

More than I’d like to admit some days. However, I try to lead a balanced schedule, and fit social media in when time will allow. Social media can really lead to burnout, so everyone should be careful of this.

3. Why is everyone so crazy about twitter? Can it be used as a Marketing tool, or is it just social noise?

People are crazy about Twitter since it has been gaining adoption with a larger audience. A tool is only as good as its adoption. So if you look at the rise in the number of users, average time spent per user, and the number of mashup applications being developed, things start to make sense.

Regarding the noise factor: if you find specific individuals to be too noisy for your tastes, you can simply just stop following them. Some users create a company Twitter account while others keep their more personal Tweets (gosh, personal Tweets should be an oxymoron) over on their own name. Businesses can and should leverage Twitter, but as always, try to understand the community before you potentially damage your brand.

4. Digg has been retiring top diggers left and right with no remorse. Some people say Digg is cleaning itself up to get ready to be sold…What do you predict for the future of Digg? And how will it reflect on its top Diggers?

I think a better word for “retiring” would be “banning” . Many top Diggers, banned or not, are getting a bit fed up with the state of Digg these days.

My prediction is for Digg to be sold within the year, and some of the top Diggers will bail from Digg and go out to other social sites. Mixx in particular has become a Banned Digger magnet. This isn’t to say that all influential Diggers will leave, but it will likely change the landscape.

5. You launched the Social Media Ninjas Contest not too long ago… Is it really all just a popularity contest?

Much of social media is a popularity contest. Seriously though, we are about to announce the final winners, so stay tuned!

6. Everyone tries to have the most recognizable avatar. It seems like it’s all been done before. If you had to create a new avatar for yourself today, how would it look?

I’m pretty fond of the big green N, and it is recognizable. Sometimes people put too much thought into their avatar and make it too detailed and complex. Nearly all sites keep your avatar at 120×120 or less, so think about sizing issues.

If I had to make a new avatar today, I’d be sure to make something creative, colorful, and memorable – and pass it out to a few friends for feedback.

7. Feed readers are as important as breakfast nowadays, skip it in the morning and your whole day is thrown off. It is sometimes hard to find good Social Media Bloggers who share really great tips, without reading the same thing over and over and wasting time. Can you recommend a few Social Media bloggers who have changed the way you do things?

Not particularly fond of RSS, as I prefer to really get the feel for the post and the community by visiting the site directly. That being said, it is difficult through all the noise and regurgitation to see which social media bloggers are truly worth watching. Folks that truly have a unique voice that have had my attention recently are: Lyndon, Copyblogger.com, CopyBrighter, Glen (viperchill.com), Tim, and Shana (socialdesire.com). They all talk about different things that hold my interest.
However, Kathy Sierra’s blog headrush.typepad.com is probably the best of anything like this, but unfortunately she may never be posting again.

8. What is your quick advice for anyone looking to improve their social media campaigns ?

Quick advice: Don’t be stupid. Many people dive head first thinking that if they just submit their own stuff, people will automatically love it. Guess again. Understand your community before submitting a thing. Observe, take notes, ask around.

I want to thank Brian for allowing me to interview him and learn from him. You can add him on all social networks as “nowsourcing”, and I advise that you do! Follow Brian’s advice and maybe you too could be a Social Media Superstar!