Twitter – I just don’t get it

by Jeremy Schoemaker on January 30, 2008 · 144 comments

A lot of the SEM industry is twitting away…. tweet tweet tweet, but not ShoeMoney… I tried it … I just do not get it. I read the other day Darren Rowse’s post about twitter and how much it has increased his blog readership. I think its a good post and I made note to maybe look into twitter again… but I still don’t get it.

Do you use twitter? What do you use it for?

About the author...

– who has written 2414 posts on ShoeMoney.com.

Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.

Images provided by ShutterStock


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{ 135 comments… read them below or add one }

1 webprofessor January 30, 2008 at 1:34 pm

I get it, its for people to dumb to use IRC

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2 Start Blogging January 30, 2008 at 1:35 pm

I think the purpose of it is to make a more “community” feel to the site. Don’t really care much for it personally.

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3 Dax January 30, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Amen.

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4 Rhys January 30, 2008 at 1:37 pm

I use it. I’ve managed to get a few more readers from it, and it’s a great way for posting posts that probably don’t justify a whole blog post (rather like this one :P )

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5 Kris Karkoski January 30, 2008 at 1:40 pm

Mobile blogging UFC event results

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6 KristensGuide.com January 30, 2008 at 1:44 pm

I completely agree with you. The idea of Twitter is that it sends your “friend’s” latest updates to your phone.

#1 I don’t have time to be notified every time somebody wants to announce that “they’re going to the bathroom, right now!” And I’m not sure I want people knowing every move that I make.

#2 Let’s say that you just use it to announce updates to your blog/site. If most people are getting these notifications on their phone, how is that going to help me get more site traffic. Can we really expect people to remember to check out our websites when they get home (or to the nearest computer) just because we announced that we have a new update. Everyone is already so bombarded with “come visit this site” all day, so I would imagine that it would just get lost in the electronic clutter.

#3 How is posting updates on Twitter any more beneficial than posting updates to your blog and simply forwarding the feed to blog communities profiles?

So many people swear by it, but I don’t get it. I’m starting to feel like I’m missing something.

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7 Nullamatix.com January 30, 2008 at 1:46 pm

All these Web2.0 companies popping up just sound silly… I could never see myself using something dubbed: Twitter. I’m not a Twit, nor do I plan on Twittering…

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8 Justin January 30, 2008 at 1:55 pm

I barely have time to keep up with the social networks let alone type in updates of what I’m doing throughout the day. meh…….

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9 Joao January 30, 2008 at 1:56 pm

So you excitedly announce that you’ve signed up for pwnce but yet you don’t get twitter?

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10 Lee January 30, 2008 at 2:00 pm

I am starting to use it, mainly to just post snippets to the blog of things I find interesting. I can see it being useful for really short thoughts.

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11 Jeremy Schoemaker January 30, 2008 at 2:00 pm

its all about staking your claim…

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12 My Awesome Blog January 30, 2008 at 2:10 pm

Hey Jeremy… I am the one who squatted your twitter name a long time ago… I’m such a nice guy, aren’t I? I think once you use it a bit you will “see the light”. I think it is only good for people like you, Leo Laportes, Darren Rowse’s…etc…. anyone with a large audience/readers. Keep twittering and the light bulb will go off.

If the light bulb does go off and you want to buy some of the twitter names I have squatted, let me know. I have ones such as “football”, “horoscopes”, etc.

Try twittering from your cell phone, too

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13 Think Like An SOB January 30, 2008 at 2:11 pm

I had signed up, but never used it, but have started again a few weeks back. I guess it takes a while to get going, especially if you are not following anyone, and have no tweets to read, other than your own.

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14 gamermk January 30, 2008 at 2:14 pm

I tried it for one of my very successful blogs and literally no one signed up to follow me. No one understood the widget that showed my tweets and no one complained when I eventually removed it. I keep spouting at Sphinn that this thing is just nothing special. It’s nice to here I’m not the only one.

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15 ImageGag January 30, 2008 at 2:16 pm

I don’t get it either. Not knocking those who do it, but my friends stay my friends because they aren’t telling me about every second of their day.

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16 Erica January 30, 2008 at 2:30 pm

Let me first say that I never tried it, but I just don’t get it either. Way back when i first heard of it, I wrote a post about it , but it never really sounded like something I wanted to try. So, it kept getting pushed further and further down on my list of things to try. There are people that swear by it, and make me think I should try it at least once.

It still seems like a stalker thing to me, I don’t need to know which song my peers are listening to or if they’re bored. (Note: i know that’s not all its used for)

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17 Jeremy Schoemaker January 30, 2008 at 2:30 pm

hey dude thanks for that!

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18 Erica January 30, 2008 at 2:31 pm

and yet there’s people that are “proud to be twits…” Once again…I just don’t get it.

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19 Gary R. Hess January 30, 2008 at 2:31 pm

The point of it is microblogging, with 140 characters tops right? So pretty much everyone and their brother types something like “I am eating pie”. Everyone once in a while you’ll get a gem though, like the latest news. The Bhutto assassination rumors were first heard on Twitter and spread throughout the blogosphere. But for something like that, you have to watch carefully and you still can’t follow many people otherwise it is quite tiresome.

As for webmasters, it’s good to get followers at the beginning, then after you have a few hundred announce link bait campaigns there and get people to talk about it.

IMO Twitter is annoying though. Horrible layout and it’s hard to follow a lot of people at once. I tried it out when it first lauched and that didn’t last long. I’ve been using it for a few weeks on my second time around, but it isn’t going too well.

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20 Erica January 30, 2008 at 2:32 pm

It’s important to note that you don’t have to receive the “tweets” on your phone. You can choose to simply get it by email, rss, or just check the site for updates…

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21 Hyder January 30, 2008 at 2:34 pm

Yep you’re awesome alright. So awesome in fact, I want to stay far far away.

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22 Santosh Puthran January 30, 2008 at 2:45 pm

I don’t use twitter. I have an account in twitter… but don’t bother about it.

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23 ShowYes January 30, 2008 at 2:49 pm

I love much of Twitter. The Brazilian elite of the blogosphere is all in Twitter

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24 Matt Huggins January 30, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Seconded. I just don’t care what people are doing every second of the day. Give me meaningful content-rich information, and I’m there. “Just got back from the bakery, got a chocolate chip muffin, SO GOOD” — WHO CARES??

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25 corey January 30, 2008 at 2:57 pm

No.

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26 Jeff - buzzmyblog.com January 30, 2008 at 3:00 pm

I just don’t really get it either. Sure its kinda cool. But with a blog as young as mine, I need to be careful how much time I spend messing around with the “next big thing” versus devoting quality time towards building decent content on my site.

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27 Todd Mintz January 30, 2008 at 3:01 pm

Jeremy…just try it and be yourself…it’s like being in a virutal bar with people who you are interested in and are interested in you. I also think that you’d think of some most excellent viral marketing ideas that use Twitter once you’ve been there for a while.

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28 james January 30, 2008 at 3:04 pm

i have an account but have been half-assing my usage of it. Perhaps i’ll use my whole-ass for a while before writing it off.

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29 domprofesor January 30, 2008 at 3:12 pm

I have the same problem. I tried twitter after i read the ProBlogger post. But WTF, i don’t get it. How do u use that thing?

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30 Eric Odom January 30, 2008 at 3:14 pm

Nope… not for me.

I see the new Prologue Wordpress theme as being much better for this sort of thing. At least for me…

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31 Jake Matthews January 30, 2008 at 3:16 pm

i’m torn by twitter…it’s a tough one. could be a complete waste of everyone’s time. then again, it definitely allows one to share. don’t give up completely just yet shoe…hang around and see what happens.

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32 Brian Free January 30, 2008 at 3:17 pm

I twitter about once every 3 months. I dont have time to read everyone else’s twitter, let alone add my own twitter

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33 Adamxcl January 30, 2008 at 3:24 pm

Seems like a waste of time. Think about all the time spent reading about others peoples lives and also writing about your own. All time could be spent building content, links, etc. to make real money. Kind of like when I cut back on forum time, other than solving problems, my earnings went up.

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34 Michael M January 30, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Is for retarded people who don’t have friends, and like the idea that they have friends to talk with via Twitter.

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35 Debby January 30, 2008 at 3:40 pm

I found Twitter useful when I attended Blog Orlando last year. The attendees were able to communicate with each other quickly and effectively. People would Tweet what class they were in and if it was good. They would Tweet where everyone was going at night. Josh Hallett set up a community for us on Twitter. During the opening session he sent out a Tweet saying, “The first person to show me this wins an ipod.” It was very useful that day because I didn’t bring my laptop and I could stay in the loop with my Blackberry.

http://twitter.com/MarketLeverage

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36 Phillip January 30, 2008 at 3:43 pm

Jeremy, I also read the article of Darren, tried it out and left it after a week. No point unless you have a major readership maybe?

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37 Darren January 30, 2008 at 3:49 pm

for me Twitter is a logical space to ‘play’ in. It’s the type of medium that a lot of my readers (bloggers) use and use in great numbers. I’ve always said that bloggers should find where their potential readers are already gathering and participate in those spaces – so that’s what I’m doing.

I don’t think it’d work for everyone as well as me – guess it depends upon the niche.

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38 Seocracy January 30, 2008 at 3:53 pm

Twitter is a great networking tool. Ive heard ALOT of things through twitter that I wouldnt normally get exposed to. There are only so many blogs I can read in a morning, so I log onto twitter and see what people are talking about that I missed.

Love it.

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39 chris January 30, 2008 at 3:53 pm

I am fairly new to it but so far it’s been great for live blogging and breaking a story or posting a link before you can get to actually writing the blog post. Being able to just text message in your thoughts is a great feature.

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40 Roland Hesz January 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm

I use it. It’s fun. Found a few nice people, a few good blogs through it.
But, to be honest, it won’t save the world, or my blog or anything. Nice, but not worth the hype it gets.
It is good for I sending a short message about an idea, and get some quick responses.

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41 Michael D January 30, 2008 at 3:55 pm

Honestly shoemoney, it would be a great way to keep up on your posts. I am visiting nearly every URL submitted by people I’m following. It’s also a quick way to message each other. Seems like the place most people I communicate with daily are at, which makes it a useful tool.

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42 Ross Dunn January 30, 2008 at 3:55 pm

I LOVE Twitter because it keeps me in sync with the latest news from my friends or colleagues in the SEM realm. At this time all of them are actually posting themselves – not using a doppelganger and that is a value in itself because I can actually interact with them one on one. In addition I find it a great place to share my own articles that I think would be of value to my Twitter followers. It has done wonders for my network!!

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43 Andre Blackman January 30, 2008 at 3:58 pm

I enjoy using Twitter for the groupthink aspect, if I have a question on something or if I’m teetering on the edge of making a decision, sometimes I get a collective answer to help out. Sometimes the responses can be a quick “research” point for future blog posts.
The networking aspect of it is also amazing, I have met and connected with SUCH a great group of people (and I absolutely love doing that) that I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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44 Michael Lodispoto January 30, 2008 at 3:58 pm

Twitter is useful only if you have a group of people that you are coordinating stumbles and digg votes as you see evident daily by the top diggers. They twitter with each other to coordinate mass votes.

Other than that though I don’t get it either. The last thing I want is to be in contact with everyone I know constantly. As it is I try to avoid people as much as possible in my downtime. There’s something to be said to not being on contact with everyone at all times.
Darren said he likes it ( above from Problogger) and I believe him regarding the community building aspect. It’s just that I work 12-14 hrs a day as it is and to be twittering before during and after work as many do seems insane to me. Reminds me of all of the people on MyBlogLog who actually have the time to constantly thank every single visitor to their site. Not the commenting visitors, just people who pass by.
As you know for some of us this is near impossible or highly improbable as a huge time waster.
What I find most amusing is when you see fake people twittering with others in the hopes of making them believe they are real. That can make you laugh hysterically and I wrote a whole post on how there are so many fake people, especially in the SEO field ( in my link).
I think I agree with Jake Mathews in that It’s worth a try if you have the time. Let’s wait and see. For not it seems way too time consuming to me.

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45 Ron Dean January 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm

I have been using twitter for only a few days now but I feel it lets me post a little more casual and it also lets me just blurt my commentary on things that don’t really fit my blog or aren’t worth a whole post. I would never fire off my opinion on politics on my blog but I would tweet about it.

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46 Roland Hesz January 30, 2008 at 4:01 pm

You mean, only wordpress twitter is for you? :)

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47 Roland Hesz January 30, 2008 at 4:03 pm

Michael, the fact that a lot of people just smash things with a hammer does not mean that the hammer is a stupid idea, does it?

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48 redwall_hp January 30, 2008 at 4:03 pm
49 Mikita January 30, 2008 at 4:06 pm

I don’t get it either, but here’s a good post on how Twitter can be used effectively: http://www.doshdosh.com/ways-you-can-use-twitter/

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50 Rhea January 30, 2008 at 4:08 pm

I wouldn’t have known about this post if not for Twitter. I also wouldn’t have known about Danny coming on your show. I’ve subscribed to the feed, but frankly too many feeds result in noise over-kill and I turn to Twitter as a source for instant industry gratification.

Through Twitter I get immediate responses to questions like… does anyone have a LinkedIn contact? Has anyone worked with Red Dot? Why does Oilman keep shouting boobies?

The responses took less than 2 mins!! For anyone with ADD or just a lot on their plate, that kind of instant response is invaluable.

Of course there’s a ton of noise, but it’s easy enough to ignore the topics that don’t pertain to you. Keep your followers down and you won’t be bombarded with obnoxious chit-chat. Keep those you follow down to a trusted resources and you’re golden.

Bottom line – Twitter is fun and distracting. When someone has a little self-control it can be a powerful tool.

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51 SD January 30, 2008 at 4:12 pm

I use it to ask quick questions. Especially since my site is still new, I can get feedback on the changes I am making. For instance this morning I added a section of books I recommend then on Twitter asked if people thought it was a good addition or in the way. Got some great private feedback on that.

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52 Ger W. January 30, 2008 at 4:12 pm

Yes, I Twitter. Some Twittee’s are fun to read, some take themselves way to serious, just like life in general. I have read though that most Twittee’s are under thirty and they don’t take to well with the over-thirty crowd joining the Twit.
But, it is in good fun overall. Twit On!

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53 Kyle Dylan Conner January 30, 2008 at 4:14 pm

I use it to let people know what I am doing, exactly what it was created for.

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54 Bud January 30, 2008 at 4:15 pm

I am a new blogger and twitter has really helped getting more readers. I use twitterfeed to post from my blog onto twitter. It also helps meet me other bloggers.

Bud
http://www.budcalabrese.com

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55 Michael Lodispoto January 30, 2008 at 4:16 pm

True Roland. I agree completely with you and think maybe you took my answer the wrong way. Like anything, Twitter can be fun for some and an annoyance to others.
One of my linkbait people had me join and Twitter with one of the ‘in crowds’ of Digg and Reddit. It gave me flashbacks of breaking my cell phone after everyone and their mothers were calling me using the contact info on my site. I think for some, it is better to NOT Twitter as it gets way too much attention. At least that is the case for me. Everyone wants me to hire them just because they know I have money and the Twitter brigade passes that around like crazy.
That makes me want to do the opposite and keep to myself more – which according to the blogging experts is not a good idea for a blog.

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56 Rhea January 30, 2008 at 4:17 pm

ps – For anyone that’s saying they tried it and no one followed them… “if you build it they will come” doesn’t apply to business! Get off your butt and make connections with valuable resources and consider that if you have nothing to offer them why should they give a crap about your lonely little Twitter profile?

For those that say Twitter is only useful for social media gaming, you’re right, but that’s a small piece of the puzzle. Ahh! Get out of your self-inflated bubble and realize traditional marketing can and does still apply.

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57 Karim January 30, 2008 at 4:18 pm

It’s a mood, I work and from time to time let people who I know for most are working too what comes to my mind. I use it also to let my followers know about new features, bug fixes of the projects I’m working on and that interest them. Easy and simple, doesn’t take much time as IRC.

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58 Steve Blanchard January 30, 2008 at 4:21 pm

I agree. It’s just hype and will die down after awhile. I know someone that is utilizing twitter and nothing has happened of any benefit towards traffic. Plus most people don’t want to be bogged down with extra messages. That’s why sticking with blogging and getting emailed the update still makes the most sense to me because then I read it when I want to.

It maybe useful for sites where people need to react quickly to the content.

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59 John January 30, 2008 at 4:22 pm

I gave it a shot, but I just didn’t like the feel of the site and don’t have the time between work, wife, family, and my site to try and build a tweet community area.

I am sure Darren can get a big group going using his sites as leverage, but I just don’t know if it is worth the time for my site.

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60 Vince January 30, 2008 at 4:23 pm

I usually check it daily though not obsessively. The mundane stuff like- “wow! this pizza is great” – just clutters the space but I’ve definitely been compelled to click on a link or two from those I admire – and have found good content that I otherwise would have missed.

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61 Fat Kid Unleashed January 30, 2008 at 4:24 pm

I signed up for it a while back, but found it boring. Tried it again a few weeks ago…still bored. If I need updates on things, I check feeds, if I want to talk to people, I chat on IM. I guess Twitter is an acquired taste. I just don’t have time to waste on little apps like it.

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62 Collin - Feed Flare January 30, 2008 at 4:25 pm

J – there are so many sites like that out there and most are a wasite of your time.

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63 Jack Hansen January 30, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Ok now we know all your thoughts about Twitter.

So lets move on to the important topic: Can you earn money via Twitter? Will your twitterposts turn up inside Google? What pagerank does the Twitter-URL have? If I twit some valuable keywords, will they be place high up in the search results?

And when talking about Twitter, did you know that in Europe there is another “Twitter” that is more popular? It is called Jaiku. Check it out.

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64 RacerX January 30, 2008 at 4:41 pm

It just feels like random acts of communicating…

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65 Roland Hesz January 30, 2008 at 4:49 pm

Aye, I can hear you there. For me, it’s sort of safe – I don’t have money, and everyone knows that :)
And yes, it can be abused, can be addictive, and so on.

All I was refering to that it’s like a tool, you have to use it well. I am not too good with metal working machines, so I avoid them, however I think they are cool. :)

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66 Roland Hesz January 30, 2008 at 4:51 pm

Also, limiting twitter for only after work time helps. I simply don’t open it ’till I am at home, and ready for it.

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67 Simlock verwijderen January 30, 2008 at 4:52 pm

I don’t know why people are wasting their time with twitting. I don’t get the message of it like you Jeremey Shoemaker, maybe they do it for the traffic or it is such a hype.

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68 Mike January 30, 2008 at 4:55 pm

I use it mainly as a way of microblogging about what I do throughout the day. Then a Wordpress plugin on my blog compiles all my daily tweets and posts them to my blog as a consolidated entry. This not only gives me the ability to allow those following me on Twitter to see my tweets but those who simply visit my blog as well.

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69 domprofesor January 30, 2008 at 4:56 pm

I think RacerX is right – Just random acts of communication, just for the sake of communicating.

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70 Omar Yesid Mariño January 30, 2008 at 5:02 pm

Same for me. Twitter is not working, in my case. I guess that I need to add a lot of contacts in order to take advantage, but I don’t have much time right now.

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71 randomguru January 30, 2008 at 5:10 pm

I’m inclined to just forget about it at this point. And it’s interesting you posted about Twitter… it has been down several times in the past few days. And I kind of just don’t get it either…. and still considering staying with Jaiku.com, though. you can Jaiku also display photos uploaded to flickr, show your blog posts,etc….

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72 Sean January 30, 2008 at 5:12 pm

I’m pretty new to it and only follow a couple of people. I do find myself looking at thei blogs and site more.

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73 Gayla McCord January 30, 2008 at 5:17 pm

I use it to find inspiration for writing – social networking and increasing readership. I’ve seen a large increase in the couple of weeks I’ve been using Twitter. It’s a great program. I’m sorry I didn’t jump on the wagon sooner.

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74 Norman January 30, 2008 at 5:21 pm

First time I started twitter I was bored quickly too but gave it a second try and now I am hooked.I try to find cool people to follow. Pretty interesting to see what they are doing, well most of the time that is.If its shite oh well, how much crap do you read on the net anyways,you`ll get over it. If you dont like it dont use it, man it is so easy.

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75 Michael January 30, 2008 at 5:26 pm

Shoe,
I use it to track specific phrases. For me, this is its best purpose. Usually someone will tweet about a breaking news story in my area of interest before I will see it in a feed.

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76 Linda R. Moore January 30, 2008 at 5:28 pm

I’m a very new user, so using it to see what the fuss is about. So far I find the following value, all of which surprises me as I have been dubious about it:

whiteraven13: blogger/personal ID:
(1) Less distracting than IMs: there is not the same need to keep conversations going.
(2) Allows me to keep in touch/feel connected (work from home can be isolating)
(3) Get news/gossip/etc. quickly–plugged into community
(4) Able to disseminate links to my blog posts to a wider group.
(5) Ask questions/get feedback.

Additionally, I have a second site/twitter (www.markeroni.com; ID markeroni):

(1) A way to apprise its membership of what’s going on at the site
(2) Work list/record
(3) Keeping in touch in a more direct fashion.

Whether I will still be using it in another month is anyone’s guess. So far, I’m enjoying it.

What I don’t get? The scorn with which non-users denigrate others. Seems to me like the worst kind of idiocy. Disagree agreeably, folks: I have no problem with a dissenting viewpoint, only with stupid name-calling and cluelessness. I don’t use MySpace etc. but you won’t catch me denigrating any MySpace users in this way.

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77 supermom_in_ny January 30, 2008 at 5:40 pm

At first, I didn’t get it either. The day before yesterday, I created an account and added some people. It’s more intimate. It’s easier to communicate with people you would not otherwise be able to network with.

In your case, it may not be as helpful. You probably have most of those people on speed dial, your im list or email contacts. I’m sure it’s another way to get Stumbles, diggs and sphinns. I’ve followed a few links that I stumbled and dugg.

It may increase your readership.

BTW, I followed Darren’s tweet to this entry. Look at the stats and see if it’s worth your time. On Twiiter, a tweet can only be 140 characters anyway. How long could that take to type?

Something to think about…

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78 Free Auto Blogs January 30, 2008 at 5:42 pm

I tried it a while back and gave up very quickly. I just really couldn’t see the attraction. I might take another look at it though. It certainly seems to have picked up some momentum lately.

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79 sean January 30, 2008 at 5:54 pm

no it’s for people who need to be hyperconnected and those that market to them

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80 Mike 11|15 Media January 30, 2008 at 6:08 pm

For my personal and business blog, it just doesn’t work. But I have seen some good ideas using twitter as marketing media. Someone named TwitterLit is using her profile to send the first line of a novel (like a game for bibliophiles) and an affiliate link to Amazon for the book.

I’ve also seen a restaurant use it to send the main course of the day out to patrons right before lunch to spark interest.

I’ve been fooling around with it a bit and I think it can be used as a good marketing tool.

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81 Mark Kaye is The Endorser January 30, 2008 at 6:09 pm

I twitter…mainly just to get Diggs…I send the Digg link and say something simple like…
Hey, can I get a Digg?”

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82 Start Blogging January 30, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Haha, that’s how I see it too.

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83 Dan January 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm

Personallly, never used it, but have heard some good things about it. Love the blog ShoeMoney!

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84 Melvin January 30, 2008 at 7:17 pm

I use twitter to have a lot of readerships.. It can be weapon in digging and sphinning

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85 Nick January 30, 2008 at 7:30 pm

I can see how it might help get some readership, but I don’t use it enough to get that out of it. I mainly just use it to show readers what I am up to on my blog, so they know I am actually around and update the site. Some people also find it entertaining to see what others are up to!

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86 Don Andrews January 30, 2008 at 7:40 pm

I signed up but that’s as far as I went. I haven’t mastered the cellular world yet.

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87 julia wilkinson January 30, 2008 at 7:47 pm

I have a twitter account but don’t twit that much. I don’t know how it’s affecting people..I’m not ready to give up on it. It seems like a good “short attention span” tool. I only see twits on facebook and if I go to the twitter site itself, which I don’t do that much.

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88 Kaila Colbin January 30, 2008 at 8:24 pm

I use Twitter and like it, but fully recognize that it’s not for everyone. My worst social media experience ever was accidentally spamming a Twitter invite to anyone who had ever emailed me — if you’re not continually looking to connect with a crowd there’s no point to it.

I also had a really positive experience with it — Hugh MacLeod Tweeted (Twitted?) about a post I wrote on the Internet’s Hierarchy of Needs and drove a whole heap of traffic…

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89 jan January 30, 2008 at 8:56 pm

shoemoney, you are getting old ;)

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90 Hottest Girls January 30, 2008 at 9:04 pm

i don’t get it either :(

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91 SEO Rob January 30, 2008 at 9:10 pm

I guess it IS about staking your claim.. lol.

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92 Simple Mindz January 30, 2008 at 9:15 pm

I use it. I update it when I feel like it. And it is also connected to my feed – so when I post, it will update my Twitter too. Sorry – Can’t remember the name of the program I use for that.

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93 Harold January 30, 2008 at 9:40 pm

It’s an experiment at this point. I think it works best if you have a community that you follow and who are following you. If those who follow you on rss also follow on twitter they may see your post sooner. It may cause people to respond more or differently. At least that’s my perception.

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94 NextGiant January 30, 2008 at 10:06 pm

Twitter is tons of fun and very enjoyable, if you like wasting your time. Notice I said: “IF”

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95 Affiliate Confession January 30, 2008 at 10:41 pm

I don’t get Twitter either and I don’t need to waste more time.

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96 Affiliate Confession January 30, 2008 at 10:52 pm

I just read Darren’s post and he is seriously into Twitter. He also has a good post on how to use it for blogging. Might check it out.

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97 Nathania Johnson January 30, 2008 at 11:32 pm

Twitter can be highly useful if you know how to use it and who to follow.

1. Do not follow people who just update what they’re doing at any given moment. It gets really old.

2. Use the “track” feature to find people to follow who share interests (whether business or personal). For example, if you type “track affiliate marketing” – then you’ll see every time someone tweets about affiliate marketing. Start following them. They get an email notice about that and most will follow you back. Soon, you could be doing business. When you want to stop tracking, just type “untrack affiliate marketing”

I didn’t “get” Twitter for several months. But after attending a local marketing event focused on social media and hearing Peter Shankman talk about it, I gave it another try. It’s now working beautifully since it’s more than just life updates. It’s a networking tool.

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98 Mike Huang January 31, 2008 at 12:19 am

Shoe…what the heck is happening to your posts? You and John Chow are just going at it…:(

-Mike

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99 Amit January 31, 2008 at 12:43 am

Its so simple Shoe ! I really don’t understand why the quality of your posts have gone down recently !

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100 Dennis Bjørn Petersen January 31, 2008 at 1:37 am

I’ve had a twitter account for quite some time now, but like you I never really got into it..UNTIL last week. I gave it another shot and I’ve become addicted. It’s a great place to get the latest news. It’s faster than many feed readers in terms of breaking news and a great community to get help and help others.

It feels like a small community, of course it’s up to yourself how big you want your community to be.

http://twitter.com/dennisbp

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101 Karen Putz aka DeafMom January 31, 2008 at 7:21 am

I joined Twitter just a week ago when I had a run in with Steak ‘n Shake Denies Service and it was a powerful tool for me to get the word out.

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102 Mr. Salem January 31, 2008 at 8:54 am

I tried it a while back and hated it, but after all the hype lately I am giving it another try. This time around it has delivered some traffic.

Feel free to hit me up I’m saleminsider http://twitter.com/saleminsider

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103 webprofessor January 31, 2008 at 9:27 am

mmmm…. hyperconnected

2 more buzzwords and I’ll have a bingo

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104 Erica DeWolf January 31, 2008 at 9:45 am

This is a great use for twitter. Something like a chat room for people at the same event…except on your phone?

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105 Erica DeWolf January 31, 2008 at 9:46 am

also a great way to utilize the technology. I guess you have to find the ways it can be most effectively used instead of blindly jumping in and telling everyone you’re listening to “Car Wash.”

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106 ShowYes January 31, 2008 at 12:06 pm

All these comments and only 3 people left your address in Twitter… =/

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107 Day January 31, 2008 at 2:02 pm

I use it to see what if my favorite company are doing anything interesting

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108 Tyler January 31, 2008 at 3:11 pm

I use it sometimes. I don’t really get its true use right now. It could be a nice messaging tool with integration between more social systems..

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109 Alan Johnson January 31, 2008 at 5:10 pm

It’s basically a journal, where you provide updates as far as your blog is concerned and, why not, the occasional short rant :)

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110 Alan Johnson January 31, 2008 at 5:13 pm

It really depends, it can indeed be useful as far as networking is concerned but simply registering and posting updates will not have that much of an impact.

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111 Alan Johnson January 31, 2008 at 5:15 pm

I agree, even if there are benefits when using Twitter, taking the time to create quality content for your website should always be on top of your priority list.

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112 rodel January 31, 2008 at 9:19 pm

wewww.. i’ve registered one account last year up until i haven’t used the tool .. :) lolz!

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113 Keith Cash January 31, 2008 at 9:52 pm

I have signed up for twitter, just not used it http://twitter.com/semcents

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114 Simlock verwijderen February 2, 2008 at 8:11 am

According to Mike I can believe something about tweeting. I will give it a try, to look which benefits I can make with using it. Maybe become friends with someone, working at a social contact.

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115 Franklin February 3, 2008 at 8:52 pm

I also tried twitter but I have not seen any benefit to using it for anything but placing urls on the site. So what? They are nofollow anyway right? Altogether it seems to be a kid’s fun toy, and I have no use for it. I wonder how it can be used?

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116 Sandra February 3, 2008 at 9:34 pm

I’m glad to hear someone say they don’t get twitter either. I have no desire to use it. Telling people what I had for dinner or other random comments just sounds like such a time waster. And a bit creepy IMO.

I can imagine some applications for it on a limited time basis or for very specific reasons though. Surely there were some football fans ‘tweeting’ details from the Superbowl today? I also like what Michael said about using it to track specific phrases. That would be useful.

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117 Richard Mclaughlin February 4, 2008 at 2:25 am

seems like a things for kids to play with, unless you are one of those few that generated a list of people that supply support for job issues. I have heard of, but not actually seen people that do this.

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118 brettbum February 4, 2008 at 10:22 am

I find it very useful for two unrelated purposes.

when you are at a trade show and trying to connect up with people coming and going from different events, Twitter comments can help you gravitate together.

From a blogging perspective it helps your readers get a better sense of who you are and what you are up to. In that regards, its all about customer facing. You are providing another face to the customer (your readers) helping them to get inside your head and make a more personal connection. That increases stickyness, it increases visit frequency, it increases communications.

If you read all the way down this comment list and you do not own this site or write for it, then you probably do not get twitter.

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119 The Marketing Dojo February 6, 2008 at 10:44 pm

Jennifer Laycock at Search Engine Guide wrote an article about “Retweets” today and how Twitter can be a source of traffic and subscribers.

Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/3aacua

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120 Paul February 11, 2008 at 2:44 pm

It is a nice application but I do not use it either. There is just no need for me.

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121 web design February 19, 2008 at 1:36 am

Checked it too, I don’t think it’ll be of any use to us.

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122 File Snatcher February 21, 2008 at 7:41 pm

I’ve never even heard of it, I’ll have to check it out and see what it’s all about.

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123 geld lenen February 23, 2008 at 12:03 pm

For me it is just a hype coming by. Here in NL just some “guru’s” are using it to show the world or better said, there world what they are doing.

Nothing for me, just a regular guy ;-)

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124 Brent Hodgson February 26, 2008 at 6:34 pm

It’s the most incredibly invasive little tool I’ve ever seen…. But that also means it’s great for controlling “mind share” as a marketer ;) (Hence Darren Rowse’s experience of it)

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125 Chris February 27, 2008 at 10:29 pm

I have to agree. I just don’t get twitter either. I don’t see the appeal of letting people know what you are doing every second of every day.

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126 Uzair March 2, 2008 at 6:05 pm

I can’t go online without Twittering LOL.

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127 Rudy March 3, 2008 at 1:37 pm

There’s a reason why he has a photo, holding a check. You can insert any company’s name in there.

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128 Bill Hazelton March 4, 2008 at 7:41 pm

Seems to be sort of a micro-networking application. Seems a bit too overindulgent for my tastes but also appears to be ye another thread in the quilt of the social media fabric.

But then again, I have no idea what I’m talking about.

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129 Daniel Andrade March 9, 2008 at 7:26 pm

Twitter is cool, you can use to tell people what you are doing. But not that amazing i think

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130 CodeFreedom March 24, 2008 at 4:44 pm

Like anything online, until you get into it and experience the value of it, it’s always hard to assess before how much use something is. I will always try someting new if I see it will add value to what I am doing and/or save me time. See its off to twitter I go.

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131 Dan Bolivar April 29, 2009 at 9:30 am

I don’t get Twitter at all.

I don’t care what anyone else is doing minute by minute, nor do I wish to let anyone in on what I’m doing minute by minute.
What’s the effen’ point of that?

To me it’s something kids do to feel more important. Just a bunch of attention whores.

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132 Merrill Dongo August 24, 2010 at 3:45 pm

I have just taken a look at your site and I’m not sure if it’s just me but I noticed that the site’s logo area on the upper area is showing as a blue square. Is it supposed to look like that? Good post by the way.

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133 Terrance Matzen February 8, 2011 at 10:20 pm

Useful info as per usual, ty. I sure hope this kind of thing gets more attention.

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134 Lisa August 13, 2011 at 10:39 pm

Some of the sites considered similar to mine use twitter but when I go to see what they are tweeting about it just seems like a bunch of spam. Can’t for the life of me understand who and why anyone would want to follow this stuff??? Wish someone could explain its benefits and what follower get from it.

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135 rhinestone jewellery,costume jewelry,costume jewellery,Bead jewelry,bead jewellery,diamond jewelry,diamond jewellery,jewelry wholesale,body jewelry September 20, 2011 at 11:47 pm

certainly like your web site but you have to test the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very bothersome to inform the truth however I?ll definitely come again again.

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