Twitter: My Personal Approach

Near as I can tell I first signed up with Twitter in 2007, but I did not begin to actively and consistently use this service until January 2009. There must be something about the month of January that makes me want to begin using a particular social media/networking service, because in January 2007 I began to use StumbleUpon.

Perhaps some sort of secret new year’s resolution pushes me forward.

Anyway, Twitter is by far and away where I connect with people online followed by StumbleUpon a distant second. Much further back is Facebook which, although a very good tool, is a bit too chummy for my tastes. At the moment, I would probably move LinkedIn up to third place ahead of Facebook with Mixx, Digg, and a few other sites meriting the occasional visit.

But back to Twitter. I now maintain three accounts through Twitter, each one serving a different purpose. @mattkeegan is my oldest account, while @theautowriter is my most active. I also manage @wordjourney which is my most intimate. All three serve their own purposes, with some overlap—after all, it is me doing the tweeting, retweeting, and connecting.

I know some people think multiple Twitter accounts is a waste of time or simply not beneficial, but I am not here to argue that point. Everyone approaches social media/networking in their own way, sometimes reflecting the way that they interact with people face to face. I found an approach that works for me.

I am not advocating multiple accounts either. They are a lot of work, easy to neglect, and open to spamming. But, hey, we are talking about Twitter where people still tell you what they ate for lunch, how they survived life in a crowded airport terminal, and lots of other mundane details.

Here is how I approach Twitter:

@mattkeegan – If you are a writer, you probably found me here. After all, when you find my Twitter connection on the sidebar of this blog (which has mysteriously disappeared…I shall investigate) that link takes you to my oldest account. Lots of writers, bloggers, journalists, and other media folks connect with me here, but I am not all that restrictive when it comes to connections.

@theautowriter – My automotive presence online is huge, thanks to my The Auto Writer and Auto Trends news and information blogs. I have one account for these two sites (@autotrends is taken by someone else, but not used) where I tweet up tons of industry news. I am most active through this account when a major auto show is held, tweeting while press conferences are being held. Has this helped me? Oh, yeah! I am connected with all of the major media people working with the car manufacturers—something I need when writing a story for my magazine gigs.

@wordjourney – I express my faith through this site, though not exclusively. Word Journey is my Christian blog, a place of encouragement and a way for me to emphasize God’s love. Unlike my other two accounts, I am very choosy about my connections because I want my Twitter stream to contain relevant tweets. I use this account to pass along prayer requests, information about the persecuted church, and have been very active of late sharing news about Haiti.

I like to use several tools to enhance my Twitter experience including TweetDeck which crunches URLs via Bit.ly and allows users to connect to Facebook as well, FriendorFollow to purge inactive users, and I am experimenting with SU.PR and TR.IM, a pair of URL shorteners. I tried scheduling tweets, but that wasn’t for me. I am experimenting with paid tweets, but I have yet to make my first million. When that happens I will let you know!

How about you? Are you active with Twitter and, if so, how can you be found?

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!