Still Trying to Figure Out Twitter?

Twitter has been a hot topic at a number of parties I've been at recently. My peers (the 50 - 70 year old crowd) are a tolerant group, but many shake their heads when it comes to Twitter, perplexed about what the big deal could be. ("who wants to communicate all the time," is a common question.)

I confess, I haven't found a way to work it into my routine much -- I'm still working on learning to blog regularly. Who knows, by the time I get that down, we may have moved on to something else.

Nevertheless, here is a great article in the Wall Street Journal that shows exactly how Twitter works, if you work it.

Illinois politicians on Twitter

Libertarian org Illinois Policy Institute has created Tweet Illinois, a website collecting the Twitter feeds of state politicians obviously inspired by Tweet Congress.

Doesn't look very populated yet - no one representing me is on Twitter. It will be interesting to see how many jump aboard, especially when election season nears.

Pizza for the Birds: Tweeting about DiGiorno

Everybody is Twittering these days, even if they don't know what it means. And in the latest sign that social media has equaled the stature of their print, radio and TV predecessors, this story from Crain's (the on-line version, of course) reports on a new product launch conducted via Twitter.

Kraft's DiGiorno Pizza brand will hold parties for Tweeters to showcase a new pie. Perhaps what's most notable about this story is not the fact that DiGiorno is tapping the Tweeter community, but the highly calculated way it's going about it.


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After all, word of mouth campaigns tend to flourish precisely because they seem unrehearsed. Whether the outlet is YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or a blog, on-line cultural sensations resonate in part because they appear to have originated organically. People trust their friends more than they trust a professional pitchman.

But by announcing these Twitter parties, the DiGiorno marketing team is making little pretense about their attempt to orchestrate their street cred.

It would seem to buck the current orthodoxy in the communications world that traditional PR methods -- news releases, press conferences -- won't work with upstart social media that pride themselves on resisting marketing manipulation.

But the new frontier of social media is still so uncharted that there really can't be any orthodoxies. So it will be interesting to watch how this DiGiorno campaign fares.

In the meantime, the marketeers at DiGiorno have done of savvy job of generating news coverage on the mere fact that they're engaging Twitter. They've already leveraged the campaign without generating a single tweet.

Illustration taken from utdummies.com via Google Images.

What NOT to do on Twitter

VDC engages folks on Twitter for one of our clients and individually - if you are considering or already using Twitter for your organization, this list of what not to do on Twitter by B.L. Ochman is very useful. A lot of these "don'ts" apply mainly to businesses, but they are good lessons for nonprofits and activists as well.

The advice on the list I think is most important is that your main goal should be to be interesting and add value to the community - try to make only every few tweets about your organization specifically. In between promoting the work of your group, link to interesting articles about your subject and retweet and respond to folks talking about it. Most importantly, "listen" to what is being said on all sides of the discussion - you can search for key terms and monitor conversation in real time. Doing this will postition your org as trusted and useful to people who care about your cause - if all goes well, in turn, these followers will share your content and message with their friends who may not be as familiar.

Remember, principles for engaging people on Twitter are similar to all social media tools: the quality of your relationships and interaction matters more than the quanitity.

Tribune lists Twitter handles instead of names on masthead

Chicago Tribune is listing Twitter handles instead of names on its masthead:

If you're signed up on Twitter, you can find out what Tribune Publisher @twhunter, Editor @gerrykern, Editorial Page Editor @BruceDold, Managing Editor @jjhirt, Digital Media Editor @Bill80, and Associate Editor @jwinnecke are all having for lunch (or writing about) every day.

If you want to know what I'm having for lunch (or what I'm reading or ranting about), I'm @hughadam.

To Tweet or Not To Tweet?

Twitter is the latest social media/communications/networking/online gadget that everyone seems to be on.

With only 140-characters for messages (aka “tweets”), people post daily musings, trade food recipes, or provide real-time commentary on special events.

Many organizations are tapping into this network to reach audiences in a new way. VDC recently launched a Twitter feed for one of our clients, the Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition (@healthylakes). We see it as a great tool to provide instant updates on advocacy issues, links to media reports, and find other individuals interested in our cause. Before you hop on, check out this article on finding the right "brand voice" for your organization.

Chicago media outlets and reporters are all over Twitter too - here's a good round up on where to find them.

I myself started a Twitter account (@FirstLadyA). At the moment I've been using it as a tool to connect with my sister and read tweets by my favorite media sources - from David Gregory to Perez Hilton. My tweets are pretty random though - but feel free to check me out!