I was stoked to share my views on the Twittaclypse of 2009 with Palm Beach Post Staff Reporter Adam Playford last night, “Twitter crash leaves user in survival mode”... I love discussing Social Media and all that comes with it. He asked what I do for a living, my age…and my reactions to the outage. I joked likening the initial response to that of a “B” grade ZOMBIE movie scene. I have a weird sense of humor…what can I say.
He needed just a quick “sound-bite” from a “man” or “gal” on the street. And as much as I love his quoting my zombie reference…I hope my fellow Tweeps and I are not seen as “pathetic.” I’m quoting one of the comments from the online article.
Sure…the easy assumption to make is that we have no “real” friends. We sit all day broadcasting out into the Twitter abyss nonsensical statements like…” just trotted off to my local Publix to pick up milk and pudding.” I don’t want the real value of Twitter to be misunderstood. So with that being said let me elaborate on a couple quoted statements.
“I went into hurricane survival mode.” For me Twitter is one more communication stream I swim in. I check Twitter conversations using “TweetDeck” just like I check in with my work e-mail, GMail, etc. Traditionally with a power outage where my phone and internet go out…I start down my checklist of connection tools. Can I still connect via cell phone…via text…via drums or perhaps smoke signals?
“How am I going to know what’s going on?” When I made this statement…I really meant it. From my Twitter community I found out that Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite, Billy Mays, and most recently John Hughes passed away before mainstream media announced it. For more serious news, like the rioting in Iran over the most recent elections…I got up to the minute – blow by blow updates over Twitter.
I had a hard time believing it…but also got the word that Bill Clinton had successfully negotiated the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee on Twitter before any other news outlet. Once these stories broke on mainstream media…almost felt like I knew more than the media.
From a professional perspective – clients ask me…where are the success metrics around this “social media” thing. Prior to Twitter…I really couldn’t point to anything concrete. Now I reference Dell’s groundbreaking $3million dollar success with the Dell Outlet Twitter account. This case study alone proves the value of Twitter from a “Social Media Makes “Cents”” perspective.
Twitter is the heartbeat of my social network community. I can put my finger on the pulse of what’s happening now…with local, national, international news events. I hear from my local community network – whats happening on the weekend- where’s the next Tweet-up. I’ve built real “business connections” and passed solid New Biz leads onto colleagues. My personal circle of influence is a living breathing experience now…not just a Rolodex of names collecting dust.
I don’t want this to be perceived as a rant…so with that being said…thank you Adam for giving me this opportunity to expound on my initial silliness…and stay on the lookout for those Zombies. 😉