Should You Abandon Your Blog For Twitter?

Analysts have correctly noted that the internet has disturbed traditional media to the point where old ways of communicating are dying while new media is thriving. One of the newest forms of media communication is blogging with the blogosphere itself only finding sure footing around the turn of the millennium.

Emerging Blogosphere

Print media is dying, but blogging is thriving. Unless, of course, you fall for the hype where some are calling people to abandon their blogs.

Since then, blogging platforms such as WordPress, Movable Type and Typepad have matured making it easier for millions of people around the world to create their own sites and, in many cases, allow relatively unknown citizenry to emerge as authoritative voices in their respective niches. Blogging is a great equalizer, giving the person who works at home in her jammies just as much of a chance at succeeding as a beat reporter, perhaps even more.

Oddly, the blogosphere is already being threatened by external sources including social media sites which have been established to pull web users together under one roof. Friendster and MySpace were two of the earlier sites of this kind, but have since been eclipsed by Facebook and Twitter, if not so much in the number of users but in rapidity of growth.

Abandon Blogging?

And it is that growth which is making some bloggers wonder if their blogging is all for naught. After all, if everyone you are communicating with is on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, et al, maybe you should abandon your own blog? It can be very tempting to do so when you soon realize how valuable and powerful your tweets are, bringing instant responses from other Twitter users, some of whom might even pay you to tweet on their behalf.

Honestly, I would hate to see capable bloggers move away from controlling their own web presence to allowing a third party — social media — do that for them. After all, once you tweet, leave a message on a wall or post a comment to a stumble, you really don’t have full control over what becomes of your message.

Hold Fast

Consider these three points if you’re tempted to sink your blog:

Your influence – Inasmuch as your tweet gets attention and “everyone” is reading your wall, neither step impacts your personal authority apart from these sites. Google hasn’t yet figured out a way to value tweets and 140-character messages have only so much of an impact while a carefully crafted and intelligently written 400- or 500-word article gives your customers more information and gets your page indexed and ranked.

Your marketing – Twitter can and should be a wonderful tool for you to market your products, connect with like minded people and to extend your brand. Your Twitter profile should be an extension of your blog, providing a link back to your site with helpful information to draw people over. Brand your Twitter presence by adding in a customized Twitter background page.

Your knowledge – I’ve found some very helpful tweets that have made a difference for my business. But it wasn’t the tweet alone which did that for me, rather it was the link provided to the blog article which explained in detail that person’s marketing strategy, business tools, or imparted some other valuable information. Consider Twitter to be the public square, but people still need to come to your house (blog) for a full reception.

Juiced Up

I shared mostly about Twitter in this article but much of what I have said can be applied to other social media sites. Blogging alone or tweeting alone provides only half of the juice you need to connect with people. Do both, and you’ll get the full benefit of what the internet has to offer to you today.

Twitter This? I Don’t Think So!

I’ve gotten accustomed to reading a variety of tweets since I became very active with Twitter this past January. In between the obvious marketing blurbs and newsworthy items I have learned a lot about some of my fellow Twitter users including their business trips, flight details, conference highlights and assorted away from home tips.

But it seems that I’m not the only one following tweets so closely. Israel Hyman learned that his tweets may have led to his Mesa, AZ home being robbed this past spring when he and his family journeyed to Kansas City to visit his wife’s family. The police didn’t link his Twitter activity to the crime, but Hyman did based on all of the details he shared leading up to and through the time he was away.

Well, I just returned from a trip but didn’t even use Twitter once when I was away. I like Twitter, but there is something about sharing 140 characters worth of intimate details that turns me off. Okay, maybe you enjoyed your mocha latte this morning which is a harmless and fun statement, but there are times that I find other details twittered about people that I think are best left off of social media sites.

5 Tweets That Should Never See The Light Of Day

To that end, I’ve compiled a list of five things that I believe should never be tweeted let alone mentioned by people online. Sure, free speech is great but why supply more information about yourself than necessary?

Your Trip Details – What Israel Hyman experienced should be fair warning to everyone. People complain about their privacy being eroded due to the internet, but I blame web users for a good deal of the problem – if you like to Twitter about visiting a certain place, light up the Twittersphere with your comments after you have returned. Otherwise, don’t blame anyone if your home is robbed.

Your Family – In many cases, I know the names of Twitter user spouses, their children and in many cases their pet’s name. I get uncomfortable when family is mentioned beyond generalized terms for the simple reason that there is bound to be someone, somewhere who would love to have that information, but for all of the wrong reasons. Maybe I’ve watch to much of “America’s Most Wanted” which would explain my thinking, but there are enough cyber creeps out there who could do you or your family members real harm.

Company Problems – A sure way to get fired is to tweet about your employer, a client or someone else you have a working relationship with in a negative light. I’ve seen it done and wonder what point the twitter user was making. Whether the company caught the tweet or not I don’t know, but once something has been tweeted, it can be dug up forevermore. Find another way to vent!

Hashtag Spam – I haven’t seen it too often but once in awhile someone gets the brilliant idea that hashtag (#hashtag) spamming is a good idea. Gee, if you’re trying to sell a product unrelated to iPhones then why would you use that hashtag? Socialmediatoday caught a furniture company doing this very thing – I got to believe that the company lost customers as well as respect thanks to this practice.

Avoid Flame Wars – Tweeting is micro-blogging so it stands to reason that just like commenting on a blog, leaving comments on tweets makes perfect sense. But, unlike a blog which has a limited audience, tweets can be read by anyone, anywhere. So, if you plan on having it out with someone on Twitter, be forewarned that your tweet conversation can be followed and monitored by everyone. Show some restraint, avoid calling people names too.

Add Your Mis-Tweets Too!

I’m sure that there are other things that shouldn’t be added to Twitter, but I’ll keep these “fab five” on my list. If you want to add one or more of what I call “mis-tweets”, feel free to hit the reply button and let us discuss the matter!