Alright, I’ll jump on, even acquiesce. I have viewed Twitter as more of a social phenomenon kept neatly secret within the tech community – a bubble in which the brainiacs converse. I have watched and chuckled and dismissed. I may change my mind.
Being myopic is different from being wrong, you know. I write about ebusiness and the things online that could be beneficial, even branch out every now and then to quirky new developments, such as platforms that are blog/IM hybrids like Twitter.
But a business use? Nah, not really. PlaceShout, on the other hand, I thought was completely useful for the small business franchise. Twitter was for bloggers with a twitchy BlackBerry thumb.
Remember the births that have been Twittered? Good for when it’s difficult to get to your blog.
And good for pissing people off, too. Thoughts are silent for a reason.
Marshall Kirkpatrick has schooled me, though, in how I should have been using it. Rather than being the casual observer (which is my favorite role in life, honestly), I should have been using the thing in my job.
“I counted and at that time 5 of my last 11 stories were based on news I learned first from my friends on Twitter,” he writes.
And zoinks! He’s absolutely right.
God, I hate getting schooled.
Will I use Twitter now? I’ll think about it once my pride heals – and that could take a while. Until then, good on ya, Marshall. Twitter does sound like a great place to get leads.
