implicitly put: twitter.

twitter is like sushi. most hate it because it is weird. they come to love it, obsess over it and want everyone to try it once they too appreciate it. that's okay, ignorance is bliss and the unfamiliar is weird and hard for some.
I find myself wanting to and being asked to help people who don't know where to begin with twitter. so I thought I would post a few pointers. if you are an avid twitter user, this will come as nothing new. thanks for reading, and maybe share with that next person who calls twitter lame and a few months later asks what that 'number sign thing' is.

twitter: talking at each other?

I love twitter, I really do, but there is a side of twitter that is less focused on sharing, supporting and innovating and feels more like an annoying nightclub promoter. I had friend tweet this week "twitter seems slightly narcissistic do people really care what car i just test drove?" @jonweiman1. I think there needs to be an appropriate amount of personal antidotes, self promotion and supporting others for twitter to stay relevant and it's use optimal. Jeff Sweat puts it perfectly in Is Twitter Social? "Most of the activity I see on Twitter is really broadcasting. With the exception of a few dozen of our followers, we're not talking with each other. We're all talking at each other." Retweet, follow back and reply and keep twitter beautiful.

social networking and why maybe you should stick to facebook.

Social networking sites are the most prevalent way of staying connected with our friends. In our short lifetimes we have experienced pen pal letters in the mailbox transfer to waiting for our dialup modems to check for our emails to load at sloth speed. Instant chatting became mind-blowing with icq and msn messenger, which now seem ancient. Facebook exploded and suddenly old classmates to  co workers and relatives  are a click away and so are their status updates and floods of pictures.. But do you really care?

People I care about I follow on twitter. Not to say there are not many people I wish had twitter. I should be getting some kind of cut from twitter the way I promote it. But here it is: twitter is for those who are smart and witty and positive. So if you lack all of these qualities, stick with facebook, twitter isn't for you. Facebook has everyone you have to be friends with. twitter is everyone you want to be friends with. From celebrities to authors and politicians to classmates you never saw out of class but share the same interests. A way to vibrantly connect and share with friends in your twitterverse like they are a second away and not in another country. I love the quotation "facebook is everyone you went to high school with, twitter is everyone you wish you went to high school with". You "retweet" what people say that you want heard, spreading positivity and good vibes. Others love foursquare- the site where you update your location and get rewarded for different achievements. I tried it out and it's not my style- but its important to try anything if you want an opinion on it. I can't wait for what is next.

@kalecooper

maximize your social media platforms.

brilliant slides from my social media guru sidney eve matrix. how to connect across social media platforms- stretch your content and networks. what a successful facebook page entails- how to use twitter effectively and admirably.
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image: brittney bush