Twitter.
For some strange reason, I looked up the word “twitter” in Webster’s New College Dictionary, and look what I found — “twitter”, as a verb, means:
1. To utter a succession of light chirping or tremulous (vibrating) sounds.
2. To titter.
3. Tremble with nervous agitation or excitement.
As a noun:
1. The light chirping sounds made by certain birds.
2. Light tremulous speech or laughter.
3. Agitation or excitement.
Who knew?
Apropos!
Twitter is the name of the social networking website as well. I wonder if some think of the website as one of agitation or excitement. I’m gonna go with the former.
To Tweet, or not to Tweet?
Les, you asked us in class what Twitter could be used for beyond answering the question “what are you doing now?” with useless information like: “making toast”, “oops, I mean burning toast”, followed closely with “eating burned toast”.
In class, Lauren and I gave you a few real world examples for using Twitter to communicate what your business/non-profit/university/etc is “doing now”. I want to expand on our discussion and cite some interesting examples of Tweets.
First a little history (for non-Twitters):
Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to their followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them.
Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained extensive notability and popularity worldwide. In November 2008, Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester Research estimated that Twitter had 4-5 million users.
Some Interesting Statistics:
A February 2009 Compete.com blog entry ranks Twitter as the third most used social network (Facebook being the largest, followed by MySpace), which puts the number of unique monthly visitors at roughly 6 million and the number of monthly visits at 55 million.
In March 2009, a Nielsen.com blog ranked Twitter as the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009. Twitter had a growth of 1382%; Zimbio had a growth of 240%, followed by Facebook with a growth of 228%.
Research reported in New Scientist in May 2008 found that blogs, maps, photo sites and instant messaging systems like Twitter did a better job of getting information out during emergencies, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech, than either the traditional news media or government emergency services. The study, performed by researchers at the University of Colorado, also found that those using Twitter during the fires in California in October 2007 kept their followers informed of their whereabouts and of the location of various fires minute by minute.
Tweets for the Greater Good:
On February 12, 2009, there was a global meet-up called Twestival(www.twestival.com) where Twitter users came together in over 170 cities around the world to take the online community surrounding Twitter offline as well as to raise money and awareness for Charity: water.
On April 10, 2008, James Buck, a graduate journalism student at University of California, Berkeley was arrested in Egypt for photographing an anti-government protest. On his way to the police station Buck used his mobile phone to send the message “Arrested” to his 48 “followers” on Twitter. Those followers contacted U.C. Berkeley, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and a number of press organizations on his behalf. Buck was able to send updates about his condition to his “followers” while being detained. He was released the next day from the Mahalla jail after the college hired a lawyer for him.
Organizations that support relief efforts are also using Twitter. The American Red Cross uses Twitter to exchange minute-to-minute information about local disasters, including statistics and directions.
During the 2008 Mumbai attacks, eyewitnesses sent an estimated 80 tweets every five seconds as the tragedy unfolded. Twitter users on the ground helped in compiling a list of the dead and injured. In addition, users sent out vital information such as emergency phone numbers and the location of hospitals that needed blood donations.
In February 2009, the Australian Country Fire Authority used Twitter to send out regular alerts and updates regarding the 2009 Victorian bushfires. During this time, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, also used his Twitter account to send out information on the fires, how to donate money and blood, and where to seek emergency help.
Tweets & the Media:
Media outlets are also starting to use Twitter as a source of public sentiment on issues. The first trades union Twitter service was launched by the news and campaigning website LabourStart in June 2008.
During the CBC News television coverage of the Canadian federal election on October 14, 2008, the CBC cited a graph, produced by the Infoscape Research Lab, of items mentioned on Twitter, along with Tweets regarding Elizabeth May and Stéphane Dion, with the majority of the Dion Tweets calling for him to step down in response to the election results.
In January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 experienced multiple bird strikes and had to be ditched in the Hudson River after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Janis Krums, a passenger on one of the ferries that rushed to help, took a picture of the downed plane as passengers were still evacuating and tweeted it via TwitPic before traditional media arrived at the scene.
Twitter can be a vital tool for communicators. I believe it has its place among the technologies we use to highlight our organizations. At this time I don’t think it should replace other methods of communication, but it should not be ignored.
To close I want to call your attention to another blog called 50 Ways to use Twitter For Business by Chris Borgan. He makes some interesting points and lists a few negatives we should not lose sight of.
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/
There will always be those who use these applications for sending out frivolous information, (i.e. see toast example at the beginning) and worse, those who actually follow this useless information. But for many, Twitter can be a low cost tool to alert our followers about important aspects of our organizations. Or, as in the case of the American Red Cross, a vital tool for people within your organization to stay connected to each other as events unfold.
If this type of application fits with your organization’s culture, then the question really is: why not Tweet?