Do you put all your tweets in one basket?
Yesterday I listened to the latest episode of the fantastic Explicit Web podcast. If you are interested in web design, you really ought to subscribe – it’s hosted by 3 engaging designers who choose some very varied and interesting topics to discuss. (Warning – they occasionally swear when they are excited/annoyed.) One of this week’s topics was particularly relevant to something I have been thinking about recently and something I am researching for the National College – how companies and organisations use Twitter.
How do companies and organisations use Twitter?
The guy on the podcast (sorry I can’t remember his name) identifies two ways of using Twitter. Actually I think there are more than this and it’s impossible to categorise all use into definite categories but here’s basically what he was saying:
- Twitter for updates – no human element, no direct interaction
- Twitter for conversation – human contact and intentional, personal interaction
He likened type 1 to an RSS feed. In fact, he bemoaned the fact that he often receives the same information via RSS and Twitter so ends up unfollowing the offending Twitter account. Is this a problem? If you work for an organisation (any kind) or business, do you split up your Tweets into a ‘news’ Twitter feed and a ‘personal’ Twitter feed? Do you use your personal account for business tweets or do you/can you keep them separate? I think it’s more likely that there is a third way. I think personal tweets will always blur into work and vice-versa as this is the way humans interact and it’s the way I think Twitter encourages.
How should you behave in a Tweeted world?
Is it necessary to be genuine in all you tweet? Should you be yourself in your personal Twitter account? Should you avoid selling your company or organisation’s wares? It looks like a difficult balancing act.
Step forward the expert – Chris Ratcliffe!
Chris Ratcliffe
Someone I have followed on Twitter for ages who seems to manage this blurred identity effortlessly is @chrisrat. So I was delighted that he agreed to let me pick his brains and record the output via Skype and the excellent CallBurner. Here’s his Prezi on the subject of e-marketing and our subsequent conversation:
Music: Kevin MacLeod Can’t use this flash audio player? Here’s a link to download the mp3 – Chris Ratcliffe on Twitter Photo credit: framer2009