Definitely not.
I think that before someone gets “addicted” to Twitter, he or she goes through a stage of denial. “Isn’t it just a bunch of those dumb Facebook statuses?” “Why should I care what someone is thinking at every point of the day?” “What’s the point?” If you are currently in this stage of denial (you’re not the only one), please read on.
Once you spend some time on Twitter and follow more and more accounts, you will realize that there is no denying how amazing Twitter is. Social media outlets allow an insane amount of information to be publicized in a short period of time. More specifically, I think that Twitter is the best social media source when needing to find out new information about literally any topic. Follow some influential twitter accounts (news sources, celebrities, companies, Twitter superstars, etc.) and every time you look at your Twitter feed, I promise that you will learn something new.
In the meantime, you might as well spruce up your own profile… you might even end up being the next Twitter celebrity! Use these next few tips to work on your personal Twitter “brand.”
Privacy?If you are going to write Tweets that you would not want your grandparents to read, then you should make your Twitter account private. This means that unless you approve someone to follow you, no one can see your Tweets. If you are using Twitter for more of a job search and to develop your personal brand, then you should keep your account public! That way, companies will have an easier time finding your Tweets by any common interests you may have.
Handle: For example, mine is @smelissareohr– My first and last name with an “S” in front of it to make a corny joke about my name (SMELLissaREAR). When creating your Twitter handle, try to make it something original. If your name is John Smith, there is no point in making your handle @JohnSmith1234567… people will confuse you with all of the other John Smiths.
@mentionyourfriends: Using Twitter handles, you should try to mention both real and Twitter friends. This is basically like writing on your friend’s wall on Facebook and giving that person your attention over the internet.
Bio: At the top of your Twitter profile, you will find your biography. You have a limited amount of space, so make sure to put your interests, goals and whatever else you would like to explain you in only a few characters. You can use hashtags (#) here if you want too! For example, I have #bentleyu as one of my interests. (My Twitter bio is one of the attached pictures).
#hashtag: This is where all the other components become obsolete – THIS is Twitter and this is how the information flow gets around. On your Twitter account, you can see the trending topics that people are talking about. In the search box, you can discover any topics that you would like to learn more about. At the present time, there is a progressing trend of looking for jobs and internships through Twitter. I think that this is a great idea since companies are constantly Tweeting about job openings and postings with hashtags like #boston, #internship, #marketing… etc.
Give Twitter a chance and use these simple pointers to help watch and join in on the amazing information flow on social networks.