LisaHoughton
25th January 2009, 12:56
January 25, 2009
We're Twittering. Does it make us Twits?
Here at Talking Tots (http://www.talkingtots.info/), we were very excited about Jonathon Ross being back on television this weekend – almost as excited as we were about the result of Celeb Big Brother (Ulrika? Who saw that coming?)
Turns out Jonathon Ross is a big fan of Twitter, (http://twitter.com/home) a free website where people type short messages (up to 140 characters, or letters) to say what they’re up to. Once you sign up, you can ‘follow’ other people's messages, and people can sign up to follow your messages – known as Tweets.
Like most people, we didn’t really ‘get’ Twitter at first. Who cares what sandwich someone is having for lunch, or whether the weather is getting a bit gloomy in London?
But we were wrong. It turns out we do care what someone has for lunch – if the someone in question is Katie Price (http://twitter.com/katieprice). Or Jonathon Ross (http://twitter.com/wossy). Or Stephen Fry (http://twitter.com/stephenfry), for that matter. Oh yes, real-life, instant access to celebrity lives. It’s almost as good as reading Perez Hilton (http://perezhilton.com/).
Seriously, though, we think Twitter might just have serious potential for working parents and mumpreneurs. Pose a question on Twitter, and you’re able to (almost) instantly harness the knowledge and expertise of your whole network. Want to know where you can source raw materials for a new product, or get recommendations for a copywriter? Ask Twitter. You can also seek out and follow leaders in your own industry or market sector – journalists, consultants, clients, other mumpreneurs – and get to know them through their Tweets.
You can find us on Twitter here (http://twitter.com/lisatalkingtots). And in the meantime, here are our three top tips for new Twitterers:
You need to sign up for a Twitter account at Twitter.com, but you don’t have to be on the website to send or read Twitter messages. You can download things like Twitterific or iTweet that let you see a mini version of Twitter on your computer or mobile phone.
One of the great things about Twitter is being able to have instant conversations with anyone you follow, or who follows you. if you want to respond to a Tweet, use the little arrow on the right of the message to create an @ reply – this will be flagged to the writer of the Tweet as a response to their message. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to people you want to network with.
Don’t feel you need to read every Tweet posted by everyone you follow. That’s not how Twitter works. Think of it as dropping in on a conversation every once in a while. The most important thing is to engage with people – this is the easiest way you’ll find this year to make new connections, and that won’t happen if you don’t dive in.
We're Twittering. Does it make us Twits?
Here at Talking Tots (http://www.talkingtots.info/), we were very excited about Jonathon Ross being back on television this weekend – almost as excited as we were about the result of Celeb Big Brother (Ulrika? Who saw that coming?)
Turns out Jonathon Ross is a big fan of Twitter, (http://twitter.com/home) a free website where people type short messages (up to 140 characters, or letters) to say what they’re up to. Once you sign up, you can ‘follow’ other people's messages, and people can sign up to follow your messages – known as Tweets.
Like most people, we didn’t really ‘get’ Twitter at first. Who cares what sandwich someone is having for lunch, or whether the weather is getting a bit gloomy in London?
But we were wrong. It turns out we do care what someone has for lunch – if the someone in question is Katie Price (http://twitter.com/katieprice). Or Jonathon Ross (http://twitter.com/wossy). Or Stephen Fry (http://twitter.com/stephenfry), for that matter. Oh yes, real-life, instant access to celebrity lives. It’s almost as good as reading Perez Hilton (http://perezhilton.com/).
Seriously, though, we think Twitter might just have serious potential for working parents and mumpreneurs. Pose a question on Twitter, and you’re able to (almost) instantly harness the knowledge and expertise of your whole network. Want to know where you can source raw materials for a new product, or get recommendations for a copywriter? Ask Twitter. You can also seek out and follow leaders in your own industry or market sector – journalists, consultants, clients, other mumpreneurs – and get to know them through their Tweets.
You can find us on Twitter here (http://twitter.com/lisatalkingtots). And in the meantime, here are our three top tips for new Twitterers:
You need to sign up for a Twitter account at Twitter.com, but you don’t have to be on the website to send or read Twitter messages. You can download things like Twitterific or iTweet that let you see a mini version of Twitter on your computer or mobile phone.
One of the great things about Twitter is being able to have instant conversations with anyone you follow, or who follows you. if you want to respond to a Tweet, use the little arrow on the right of the message to create an @ reply – this will be flagged to the writer of the Tweet as a response to their message. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to people you want to network with.
Don’t feel you need to read every Tweet posted by everyone you follow. That’s not how Twitter works. Think of it as dropping in on a conversation every once in a while. The most important thing is to engage with people – this is the easiest way you’ll find this year to make new connections, and that won’t happen if you don’t dive in.