Character Counts & Mini-Hot Dogs: What Twitter Means to Me

February 2nd, 2011 |

By Alyson, Contributor, Common Sense, Dancing (@amlanders)

We’re a month into the new year, and if you’re like me you’ve been working on – or at least giving some significant thought to – making your blog the best it can be, whether that be stepping up content, refining the design or incorporating plug-ins. While all that stuff is good and important in the Life of a Blog, I’ve been giving more thought (and action) to the Social Media tools that are out there and trying to figure out what role they can (or should) play in the life of my site. When I really start to roll up my sleeves and dig down in it, I can quickly become overwhelmed at the sheer scope of social media tools available to the “average” blogger. You’ve probably noticed, or have on your own blog, those various buttons or toolbars that invite your readers to connect with your blog in a multitude of ways.

So this was going to be a post in the spirit of the “Idiot’s Guide to Social Media” but really, Jill, our Social Media Editor here at OM, is the better woman to address this topic. Instead, after writing several hundred words on what I do with sites like Twitter, Facebook, Digg and StumbleUpon (two words: not much), I scrapped it because it was making my hair hurt.

I headed over to Twitter, just to see what was going on over there, and it hit me: the use and value of Twitter needs to be explored further, as a community service for all new-ish bloggers. Not sure I’m the one to do that, but I do have some questions for someone more Twitter-savvy than me.

Clarification (confession?): I find Twitter delightful. I once heard someone equate it to an online cocktail party and I whole-heartedly agree. You log in, meet up with your peeps in your Tweet feed and away you go. But the more time I spend on Twitter, the more I realize I am a woefully inadequate Tweeter. I have to wonder, where do these fantastic Twitterers get the time? The inclination? The wit? The pithy? And, to ask a more profound question, what’s the point?

You’ll see all kinds of experienced bloggers, social media mavens and even morning TV hosts discussing the value of Twitter. They’ll talk about how it is a “must” for bloggers, that it increases visibility, your presence on the Internet, makes you thinner, prettier and more intelligent. (Oh, wait, I made up those last three.) The thing is; I don’t really get it.

Let me be clear: I really do enjoy Twitter. But I’m not convinced it’s all that everyone cracks it up to be. What I do know is this: Twitter is a lot of work. A lot. I find the (admittedly) self-imposed pressure to Tweet really intense – probably more intense than the pressure to blog. I’ve been a less-than-reliable Tweeter, and I can’t help but be reminded every time I check in at the virtual cocktail party. I re-read several hours’ worth of tweets from my favorite Twitter friends (who just so happen to be my favorite bloggy peeps), and I’m always astonished by the sheer volume and span of time that is apparent from their tweets. And then I feel like a freshman on the first day of high school, watching the seniors: Yes, I have every right to be there, but damn, they all seem to know what they’re doing and they make it seem effortless. I wonder when I will feel like that?

As I write this, I’ve got a couple hundred followers, and I’m following a couple hundred people. I’m approaching 700 Tweets; Tweets that I strive to make witty and pithy and relevant. This, my friends, is the minor leagues of Tweeting. But I can’t imagine myself in the Big Game, because I can’t manage the minor league stuff. How do you keep up? I’m only one woman and I’m overwhelmed! As much as I’d like to participate more on Twitter, I just don’t know how – Twitter/life balance? I need to get a lesson from some SuperTweeter (Mr. Kutcher? Ashton? You free? DM me, sweetie).

Oh, rats. I’ve really blown the 140 character limit.

Alyson blogs about her real and ridiculous life as a SAHM mom to 4 children at Common Sense, Dancing. She tweets as @amlanders, but only when she finds herself standing still (or sitting at her computer).For 2011 she vowed to turn off her phone when she’s in the car — which, it turns out, is a big chunk of her day. She’s also vowed to be a more active Tweeter in 2011, but would like to get a personal tutorial from a TweetMaster like @aplusk or @RobLoweProfile.

We’re a month into the new year, and if you’re like me you’ve been working on — or at least giving some significant thought to — making your blog the best it can be, whether that be stepping up content, refining the design, incorporating plug-ins, etc. While all that stuff is good and important in the Life of a Blog, I’ve been giving more thought (and action) to the Social Media tools that are out there, and trying to figure out what role, if any, they can (or should) play in the life of my site. When I really start to roll up my sleeves and dig down in it, I can quickly become overwhelmed at the sheer scope of social media tools available to the “average” blogger. You’ve probably noticed, or have on your own blog, those various buttons or toolbars that invite your readers to connect with your blog in a multitude of ways.

So this was going to be a post in the spirit of the “Idiot’s Guide to Social Media” but really, Jill, our Social Media Editor here at OM is the better woman to address this topic. Instead, after writing several hundred words on what I do with sites like Twitter and FB and Digg and StumbleUpon (two words: not much), I scrapped it because it was making my hair hurt. Then, I headed over to Twitter, just to see what was going on over there, and it hit me: the use and value of Twitter needs to be explored further, as a community service for all new-ish bloggers. Not sure I”m the one to do that — at all — but I do have some questions for someone more Twitter-savvy than me.

Clarification (confession?): I find Twitter delightful. I once heard someone equate it to an online cocktail party, and I whole-heartedly agree. You log in, meet up with your peeps in your Tweet feed, and away you go. But the more time I spend on (at?) Twitter, the more I realize I am a woefully inadequate Tweeter. I have to wonder, where do these fantastic Twitterers get the time? The inclination? The wit? The pithy? And, to ask a more profound question, what’s the point?

You’ll see all kinds of experienced bloggers, social media mavens, and even morning tv hosts discussing the value of Twitter. They’ll talk about how it is a “must” for bloggers, that it increases visibility, your presence on the Internet, makes you thinner, prettier and more intelligent. (Oh, wait, I made up those last three.) The thing is (shhhh), I don’t really get it.

Let me be clear: I really do enjoy Twitter. But I’m not convinced it’s all that everyone cracks it up to be. What I do know is this: Twitter is a lot of work. A lot. I find the (admittedly) self-imposed pressure to Tweet really intense — probably more intense than the pressure to blog. I’ve been a less-than-reliable Tweeter, and I can’t help but be reminded every time I check in at the virtual cocktail party. I re-read several hours’ worth of tweets from my favorite Twitter friends (who just so happen to be my favorite bloggy peeps), and I’m always astonished by the sheer volume and span of time that is apparent from their tweets. And then I feel like a freshman on the first day of high school, watching the seniors: Yes, I have every right to be there, but damn, they all seem to know what they’re doing and they make it seem effortless. I wonder when I will feel like that?

As I write this, I’ve got a couple hundred followers, and I’m following a couple hundred people. I’m approaching 700 Tweets — Tweets that I strive to make witty and pithy and relevant. This, my friends, is the minor leagues of Tweeting. But I can’t imagine myself in the Big Game, because I can’t manage the minor league stuff. How do you keep up? I’m only one woman…and I’m overwhelmed! As much as I’d like to participate more on (at?) Twitter, I just don’t know how — Twitter/lif balance? I need to get a lesson from some SuperTweeter (Mr. Kutcher? Ashton? You free? DM me, sweetie).

Oh, rats. I’ve really blown the 140 character limit.

Alyson blogs about her real and ridiculous life as a SAHM mom to 4 children at Common Sense, Dancing. She tweets as @amlanders, but only when she finds herself standing still (or sitting at her computer).For 2011 she vowed to turn off her phone when she’s in the car — which, it turns out, is a big chunk of her day. She’s also vowed to be a more active Tweeter in 2011, but would like to get a personal tutorial from a TweetMaster like @aplusk or @RobLoweProfile.