Twitter, I Hear It’s A Waste Of Time!
Twitter is anything but “a waste of time” when used correctly and I’m not saying that loosely. Twitter is EXTREMELY addictive and has at times eaten up large portions of my day (when I first discovered the site). If you’ve made that a common practice even after the curiosity/honeymoon phase has passed then yes, Twitter is a waste of time and you should stop using it immediately.
But if you’ve been hearing about it and just haven’t gotten around to creating one, well, this just may be the kick in the buns you’ve been needing :)!
Here is a screen capture of the Twitter home page.
Once your account is activated it would be a good idea to utilize the background of your Twitter profile and advertise your blogs, sales pages, any social sites you’re a member of like Facebook etc.; anything you want the world to know about, add to the background and here’s how ya do it!
When you’re logged in you’ll see a small section in the upper right hand corner that says things like “Home”, “Profile”…
The section we’re going to concentrate on in this post is the “Settings” option. Instead of typing out every single thing you’ll find on this page I’ll just insert a screen capture of what page you’ll be taken to once you click “Settings”…
While you’re here you may as well fill in your information. Once you’ve completed that, save it and go to the upper right and click the “Design” tab so you can either pick a template they have made available to you or you can upload a custom background which is what I recommend if you have something to advertise.
There are a two directions you can go here.
- Use one of the backgrounds they have created and look like the thousands of other Twitter users out there… OR
- You can create your own background while advertising or branding yourself at the same time so you stick out. Sometimes being the black sheep is a good thing!
You also have the choice of whether or not you’d like to “Tile” the background which means repeat the image until it covers the entire background. I prefer to not tile the background and place my information in one centralized area. Check out the following screen capture of my Twitter profile to see what I’m talking about.
Now I’d like to point out three things about the above screen cap…
- Notice the URLs on the left I’d like everyone who visits my page to see. Believe it or not it’s quality traffic. People wouldn’t be following my Tweets if they weren’t interested in what i have to say, right?
- Also notice the Avatar I’m using that everyone sees when I add something to the Twitter time line… It’s bright, different, easy to remember and pops out at you when you see it. But I also have a real picture of myself for those who are interested in seeing my mug or need to know that I’m a real person not Mr. Roboto…
- And finally… Yes! That’s the real MCHammer! How cool is that?!?!?! MC Hammer is following me on Twitter!
If you’d like to follow me as well here is my ID, @TheoBaskind. Do you already have an account? Leave a comment, along with your Twitter username and I’ll be more than happy to follow you too!! But before you go… Please take this valuable “Twitter Nugget” with you.
“People say you can’t make money using Twitter. That is complete and utter nonsense; if you do it right ;)! Followers on Twitter have to buy YOU before they buy anything FROM you!”
Let’s just say this… My last 3 blogging projects and last 2 mentoring students came from Twitter networking and word of mouth through Twitter.
It’s viral! believe me!
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This post has 7 comments
November 9th, 2008
Everyone starts out wondering “How could anyone want to waste time with Twitter?”
This post does a great job of helping newcomers get through that stage.
Thanks. I’ll be sending tweeps here for sure
November 9th, 2008
Theo,
Twitter is one of those tools that you can only call a waste of time if all you do is spam everyone with your products.
Then you will never get a whole lot of followers and people will associate you with the brother-in-law that everyone talks about at Thanksgiving Dinner until he walks in the door.
Twitter is the place where you can actually make friends with people you would never get close to in real life…
Like you having MCHammer following you on twitter, you could develop a relationship with him and one day when he is visiting some friends in Tampa, he could tweet you to come visit him!
So if you find yourself shooting the breeze with people you really look up to on twitter on afternoon, remember that that wasted time can mean a very lucrative deal when you get together with that person at a seminar one day!
I organized a group of ladies (and one guy - Warren Whitlock) who are all very successful to come speak on a Ustream.tv show one evening in Las Vegas, because I had wasted the hours making friends with them and finding out more about them and their families. It is always better to spend your time discussing them instead of you to make a good first impression.
Because of twitter, I got to be one of the first to see John Reese break a GT-R world record on YouTube! That was history in the making. Think about the connections you make when a person that you know knows a person that you would like to know… With twitter, you are really only a couple of degrees of separation from almost anyone in the world (unless they are too good for twitter)!
Thanks for a very controversial article, my friend!
Micheal Savoie
http://twitter.com/michealsavoie
PS - Good tip on the background image. I may have to copy you right after Christmas!
November 10th, 2008
I appreciate you stopping by Warren, it means a lot to me!
I’ve been real surprised with the effectiveness of networking on Twitter. Once the concept of, “People buy you before they buy from you”, is understood everything else falls into place…
feel free to visit anytime my friend and thanks for the ReTweet
December 6th, 2008
I agree, Theo.
I was once one of the Twitter unbelievers — until I figured out (with a little help from my friends) how Twitter actually works. And I’ve made some great connections since, and have found some incredibly valuable resources.
It’s still addictive though… And sometimes hard to figure out where to draw the line — it’s impossible to read everything. But even if I don’t, I find amazing info.
Thanks for a great article!
Elisabeth
http://www.MyFavoriteSelfHelpStuff.com
Elisabeth Kuhn´s last blog post..Holiday Stress Busters Teleseminar Audio Now Available & Important Info
December 6th, 2008
Thanks for the post Theo! I have converted at least 3 people this past week into twitter users and the biggest question they all ask is: Isn’t it a waste of time.
Next time I’m just going to send them to your post so I don’t spend all my time explaining why it is not. Although .. I love talking about twitter just as much. Lol.
Would love to connect with you on twitter http://twitter.com/TiaSparkles
Have a great weekend!
Tia Singh aka @TiaSparkles´s last blog post..What sells News?
December 9th, 2008
Theo, Great article. I am motivated to go and work on my Twitter account. I signed up for Twitter some time ago, but I did not fully understant how important a tool it is. I will definitly put into action the suggestions on changing my Twitter background. Very useful information. Where can I learn more about the mechanics of using Twitter (How it works)?
December 9th, 2008
As a matter a fact there is Donovan! Kenneth Yu has JUST released a program called The Twitter Salvation System
The program is phenomenal!
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