Mr. Godin explained in a blog post today that to him, Twitter is no more than a platform where he reposts links to his blog posts using an automated tool. Mr Godin added that he’s focused on his blog and on his books, and “alas can’t tweet and do that at the same time.”
I thought Mr. Godin’s observation was interesting, especially in light of this Mashable post, also from today, that explains how to utilize social media as a tool rather than succumb to its tempting distractions.
I resisted Twitter for a long time, sensing the incredibly high level of noise over there. Even after finally joining Twitter I changed my mind a couple of times and closed the account before finally settling on a level of participation that fits my personality (introverted) and lifestyle (busy).
I still consider Twitter a highly valuable marketing tool, especially for those of us who need to market ourselves (unlike Mr. Godin), but I freely admit: Twitter often gives me headaches! Real, physical, throbbing headaches.
As disciplined as one is about using Twitter, the very nature of the service makes it incredibly fragmented and full of continuous, unrelenting distractions. While one can and should have a strategy in place for using Twitter (goal, method of achieving said goal via Twitter), once you log in it’s hard to stay completely focused.
In my ideal world, I would use Twitter just the way Mr. Godin uses it. In my ideal world, I would also have no need for marketing. Alas, I do.
I'm Vered DeLeeuw, a blogger for hire and a social media consultant. My social media campaigns increase brand awareness and loyalty, improve search engine rankings, and drive targeted traffic to my clients' websites.
