Understanding the Power of Twitter

If you’re a Twitter hater, you might want to read this. I was a hater myself only a few months back.

“I don’t have anything to Tweet about and I don’t care what others are Tweeting about” was my mentality. Funny thing is, I had — and still have — so many friends who shared my belief about Twitter’s uselessness.

But I’ve had the Twitter epiphany. I finally understand how it can be used in a powerful way. Here’s my take on it:

It all comes down to identifying the community or niche you’re a part of. In students’ cases, for example, the community is probably your university. But even more than that, it can be your major, residence hall, student organizations, etc. Everyone has a general tribe they’re a part of, but the key is being able to narrow it down to your own personal niche.

Next step: follow people wisely. The more you know about your niche, the more valuable you become to it. Follow news organizations, leaders, professionals and other important players that are pertinent to your community in order to stay in the loop. In this sense, Twitter’s amazing. You’re constantly fed with 140 word blurbs about information that you actually care about!

And finally, you must also Tweet wisely. There’s a very professional side to Twitter and there’s also the useless side I knew before, where everyone’s just letting us know every detail of what they’re up to. What can you add to the conversation that will benefit your niche? Decide whether you need to make separate accounts for the two, or better yet, find a good mix between them.

Don’t overwhelm followers with your Tweets, either — if you’re constantly posting useless stuff, you’ll get the ‘un-follow’ button. I’ve done it before. Save them for the good stuff.

Of course, I don’t know it all and am still learning new ways to use Twitter effectively. Nando Rodríguez writes his own blog on the The Power of Twitter on twitip.com, another source for better understanding Twitter.