TimBer's Talk: I'm finally getting it... I think

TimBer's Talk: I'm finally getting it... I think


My friend Tim (@timbergman) from work wrote this post today on figuring out Twitter. He used me (@paconmiller) as an example of someone he learned from so I figured I would share a little too.

I just started using Twitter a little over a month ago. At first I, too, had no idea what I was doing or even what the purpose was. I actually tried to follow the Facebook trend and actually answer the question "What are you doing?" Well, that is a pretty boring question to answer most of the time, and a huge constraint to creativity. But, then I realized through someone I was following (can't quite remember who) that I didn't have to answer that question. Twitter wasn't like Facebook. People decided to break that constraint of always trying to answer the actual question literally. So I started posting links that were of interest to me (this was right around the time too that I started reading blogs, mostly about tech and Africa). Then all of a sudden people started to follow me who had the same interests. I posted more on Africa and development than anything and became connected to all these people doing great things in Africa and the development world and holding great conversations on those topics (plus a lot more great links).

It was after those first few followers that I truly started to realize what Twitter was. It was a way to connect with people outside my normal friends, groups, work and networks. It was a way to connect with people all over the world who shared the same interests. That was one thing I never liked about Facebook. I always felt constrained by my network, and always worried about "friending" people I didn't know real well. With Twitter that isn't the case. You follow who you want and they can choose to follow you back or not. It's more like sharing conversation with interesting people than committing to a relationship. There's no need to break up or "unfriend". Just "unfollow" or walk away from the conversation (you can always come back).

Then I took the leap to update my Facebook status from Twitter. Crazy? I know. I was completely defying those infamous words "What are you doing right now?", and honestly I worried what my friends might think to my blatant disregard for "everything that was good and holy". Well, so far I haven't been "unfriended". To the contrary I've actually received pretty positive reaction to what I was doing and as a result I've become more active than I ever was on Facebook (I never got into it before) and started to interact with my friends....it started to become more like casual conversation than forced awkward interaction. People started to find me instead of me having to use friend finder and debate whether I knew someone well enough to click "add friend". I'm sure there are a lot of my "friends" thinking "That crazy Paco and his constant status feed." But for now I can live with that as long as a few are commenting on my updates.

As @timbergman is learning and figuring it out, I too am still figuring it out. I think I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg. One thing @timbergman has taught me (as he surpassed me in followers ;)) is that you need to engage the community, especially those you follow and those who follow you. I have mostly posted links that I find interesting. But I haven't conversed enough. I know I'm no expert compared to a lot of my followees and followers, but that's the beauty of Twitter. You don't need to be an expert and can still be in the conversation.

So I think I too am starting to get it. I'm ready to start engaging. And I can't wait for what comes after that....