Rob Paller A blog about databases, business intelligence, and an outlet for my inner geek

Twitter

Understanding Twitter

If you haven't figured out why you should be using Twitter, may I suggest grabbing a copy of the free e-book, The Simple Twitter Book, written by a friend of mine, Brent Ozar. Brent has done a great job of breaking down the basics of Twitter covering things such as hashtags, common terms on Twitter (e.g. RT OH #FF), and how to use lists on Twitter.

Why do I use Twitter?

I started using Twitter in early 2009 and like many wasn't sure why anyone would want to know what I was doing at any point in time. However, I quickly started following other people that shared the same professional interests that I did. Once I my network of people began to expand to include other database administrators, business intelligence, data management, data quality professionals and industry analysts things started to click. Twitter wasn't so much about broadcasting what I had for lunch or where I buy my groceries but more about sharing short bursts of information and following those who were live tweeting from conferences or webinars. It also became a way to share updates on various blogs from those people that I followed on Twitter. In short Twitter became another tool to stay connected with people from around the world in my industry.

What about Facebook?

Many people may argue why not use Facebook to stay connected. After all there isn't an arbitrary limit on the status updates to keep in mind. You can share links, pictures, and follow pages just as easily. Early on I made the conscious decision to draw a separation between Twitter and Facebook. As I write this I am following 415 people on and have over 625 followers on Twitter, many of whom I have never met in person. However, on Facebook I have less than 200 friends who are family members, former classmates or people with whom I have had shared a personal interaction. I will admit there is a little overlap between Twitter and Facebook but far less than you would think.

Social Reality

That isn't to say that I place more value in my Facebook connections over my Twitter connections. As I was about to describe the differenced between these connections I remembered that my friend Jim Harris wrote and excellent blog that parlays this topic almost perfectly, The Challenging Gift of Social Media. The reality of the matter is knowing your audience and sharing what matters most to them using the channel that makes the most sense.