“…We came up with the word Twitter, and it was just perfect. The definition was ‘a short burst of inconsequential information’, and ‘chirps from birds’.
And that’s exactly what the product was.”
Jack Dorsey –Co-Founder of Twitter
I am celebrating ten years of actively using Twitter this month and there is much to reflect, think about and hope for with this brilliant platform. There are many fabulous benefits as in individual, as well as in a professional capacity, for using Twitter over the years. You may have been on another planet if you haven’t heard of or used Twitter. Twitter is best described as a micro-blogging platform where you can share a lot in ‘Tweets’ that are messages in limited characters, photos and other multi-media. I have seen multiple definitions of tweets in the last few weeks but as a reminder – a Tweet is “an expression of a moment or idea. It can contain text, photos, and videos.” A tweet, in essence, is a ‘nugget of information and by extension, Twitter a tool for the sharing and dissemination of information’. In the wider world context in politics, social interaction and humanity – there have been great impact, both negative and positive. We should not let negative human behaviour stop us from using this tool to communicate and connect with people who we may or may not agree with. Since the early days, there has been much development of the platform, some regulations and several business, as well as social networking benefits.
Humans have been using texts and symbols to communicate for over century. I have just been to see the ‘Writing: Making You Mark’ exhibition at the British Library where I witnessed human’s great achievement of writing, carving and printing notes, letters and symbols to create our own mark in this beautiful world. The exhibition gave me a chance to “reflect on works of genius that wouldn’t exist without the writing traditions of civilisations past”. In the bigger picture perspectives, Twitter is powerful but also a humble experience to all that was written, craved, printed and typed in the past. We should remember this. The time has past for you to think about using social media – it is a necessity in the Web 2.0 world of social media and interactions.
The best way to remember my Twitter anniversary here is to jot down some of the ten top tips I have experienced in the last 10 years:
1. Good Business Communications – I currently run workshops and webinars on social media to highlight some of the business benefits of using Twitter, which usually include strategy and ideas for good customer services, brand awareness, communication, brand credibility, building relationships, etc. In ‘Get rich with Twitter: Welcome to the World of Microblogging’, there is a fabulous quote on Twitter which states that it is a standout name in micro-blogging. The site has cut a ‘new path right through the overgrowth of information excess, showing all a new way to speak and heard’. As a communication tool, “Twitter makes it possible to get to the point and get down to the real business of communicating in a real and meaningful way. To the business person, Twitter enables a message that values the customer’s time, offers immediacy of product or service availability and helps establish a brand identity via brief but easy to remember messaging’. There are several opportunities to go viral and reach millions of customer or alternatively grow your following organically and develop meaningful business relationships. It is also where people will be talking about your business, and a lot of other fun things. There have been several examples of negative public relations on Twitter and the quick fire responses that are needed to mitigate and control further damage. You can also be liable to libel if you are not careful on Twitter.
2. Library and Information Community – I started using Twitter in a professional capacity whilst working in an information centre. There are several reasons to do so for we must harness and appreciate new technology to tap into the wisdom of the crowd. There are honestly too many excellent uses for Twitter, as I have elaborated here. There are also several concerns in the negative and dangerous misuse of this platform, such as with Fake News, Bullying, Racism, Trolling, etc.
I am hoping to use this blog post to clear some of the headspace I have after many years of using Twitter (almost) daily, heavily and full-heartedly. As information professionals, we must be at the forefront of using collaborative technologies and social media to reach out to our customers, community, other professionals and keep abreast of topics of interests.
3. Live Tweeting – To this day, I find Live Tweeting and Real Live Tweets the most refreshing feature of Twitter. This works hand in hand with hashtags (#). Searching for trending hashtags topics daily, and creating your own is one of the most exciting functionality of the platform. In the heat of the moment and mood, you can also ‘develop your own rhythm and reason for how and when you’ll launch a hashtag’. Live tweeting is also great for letting you know what people are talking about and is a powerful source for news breaking and hard to find information from traditional media. There is the major issue of fake news but hopefully as a professional, you may be able to spot the differences and champion good information ethics and best practice. I also have a lot of fun in my social life and share some of that by live tweeting ( #youdoneknow).
4. Trends – Twitter is great for finding out the hot topics over the last few hours, days and even as a database for old stories. I honestly use it as a database and use it frequently for searching for odd or obscure topics of interest or discussion (conversations in my head anyway!). It is great to use it as a knowledge management tool for finding expertise in person, places of interest and specialisms and good old-fashioned knowledge. This can be global as well as local. If the information is not there – you can even start the conversation with a question. Easy as that.
It is also great to see trends on topics of discussion on the system called Trendmap. Trend jacking is also good fun and I love finding hashtags on popular culture to see what other people are saying on a point or subject. It is also a great source for research or to scope for knowledge on a hot topic.
5. News and Citizen Journalism – Social Media has changed the way we can share, create and find out news. Journalism has also been turned upside down and inside out. Twitter is an important source and facilitator for generating news stories and citizen journalism. Twitter is sometimes my first port of call for news and even traditional media uses it for groundbreaking and live tweeting stories. It is also an excellence source of information on international affairs, culture and local information. It is even better when you find information from someone with local knowledge and kudos. Obviously there are issues on fake news, misinformation, manipulation and post-truth if you get your information from unreliable and distrusting sources.
It was reported that ‘in the case of the 2015 Paris terror attacks, those reporting on the destruction were generally ordinary Parisians’. In the 2011 London Riots, I do remember being one of the first tweeters as I had just come from picking up relatives from the Tottenham versus Atletico Madrid football game in Tottenham where the initial riots started and saw some of the tensions arising. This riot was known for the spread of misinformation, which was unhelpful at the time.
We still need professional journalists for newsgathering, creation, analysis and presenting. The evolution and balance are that there are now tweets that are mentioned in the broadcast news, some news organisations live-tweeting, and embracing collaborative practices with these newer forms of media and content sharing. The main aim should remain at sharing the truth of the matter. However, there is a lot more noise from the crowd that there ever was before!
“It’s Just Like Passing Notes in class…”
It’s just like passing notes in class” (Content Analysis of the Use of Twitter at #asl2015)
6. Events Conferences and Engagement – Twitter is great for live tweeting and generating active engagement for event organisers, presenters, and attendees alike. Over the years, I have taken part in small and large-scale events with great levels of engagement, interactions and impact. Events hashtags are one of the best uses – do create and use hashtags to see what is being shared on a particular event.
“By using an agreed hashtag (#), a dynamic real time virtual conversation space is creating. Dialogue from beyond the conference centre can also be included simply by following the relevant hashtag. Twitter has also been the fore winner of the hashtag (#) and it has changed the way we communicate with each other”. (Source: It’s just like passing notes in class” Content Analysis of the Use of Twitter at #asl2015).
Yes, you may seem a bit distracted and absorbed in your tweet, but the levels of participation at events are a greatly enriched in physical presence as well as virtual meet-ups with the use of conference hashtags.
7. Collaborative Business – In the early days of Twitter, I tried to encourage my colleagues to use it, and also attended a SLA Europe talk on ‘Tweeting whilst you work’. I NEVER STOPPED Tweeting! I have said that I am in it for the long haul and there is an interpersonal tone on Twitter. I sometimes see tweets with no interactions and wonder why? (Ha! There is a funny Twitter parody of God where he/she follows no one).
As you may have noticed – I live tweet to this day and although it may seem obsessive, I am actually checking in to see what people are discussing etc. I do like to interact too and there is a brilliant quote in ‘Get Rich with Twitter’: …”you can provide deeper access to who you are (or who your brand or company is) while learning more about who your follower are.” It really is an opportunity to build a better collaborative relationship, trust and engagement. I have also had people un-follow me, it had upset me but generally – I get on with it.
8. Community Building – Twitter is great for tapping in to the wisdom of the crowd, caring for people, keeping informed on a topic, and for creating a community – be it for profitable business or your local neighbourhood for community spirit. I have used these to much effective at work with sharing at our live events, and in my local community for various activities over the years. You can use Twitter to share news and items of mutual interests, to explore and develop ideas, ask opinions and raise issues of concerns, such as local crime, events and Brexit. I look after a community neighbourly Twitter feed – it is lovely and reassuring to see and share on the issues that are shared by people in my neighbourhood. Social media helps and strong communities make stronger societies.
9. Political and Social Justice – Twitter has also been an enabler and game changer with some of the political movements of our time such as with social activism such as the examples as: #BlackLivesMatter, #JeSuisCharlie, #MeToo etc. It is also an opportunity to seek and tell tweets on a diverse and inclusive world.
For the #BlackLivesMatter – new Pew Research Centre analysis of public tweets finds the hashtag has been used nearly 30 million times on Twitter – an average of 17,002 times per day – as of May 1, 2018.
10. Authenticity – Being this long on Twitter, it is very hard to be a fake. I personally feel that I have come to the point in life that Twitter seems a part of me. I have shared the joys, lows, highs, support, anger, dislikes (I try to repress this emotion) and love.
Twitter started in July 2006, and Twitter was a full-fledged company by May 2007. When I worked at the Greater London Authority – I discussed, used and saw this as an opportunity to share our knowledge and insights with my colleagues, as well as offered training to other staff. I also took part in Social Media Week 2012 on ‘Collaborating on Cancer’ at City Hall, London. The whole team was made redundant the same month, I was unemployed and then carried on knowing all along that this platform is too good to give up. I ended up at the British Library, where there are phenomenal and knowledgeable staff with unique subject knowledge. There is a constant flow of ideas, thoughts, content and topics of conversation. Brexit and the current political climate have not been ideal and sooooooo different to the early days of ‘happy’, collaborative and responsible social media. Let’s hope it gets better but it seems unlikely, as there is real power in words!
I am not sure how long Twitter will last but I think I have seen so much in life from my local community to big picture content on Twitter – I have also tried to maintain a neutral tone and be conscious of others around me. It is very hard to pretend for this long and therefore, I am still here with hopefully an authentic voice and with greater resilience.
Connecting the Dots 