I read somewhere that with Twitter, people either love it or they don't get it. There are a few brave souls in Missoula on Twitter but we haven't reached the numbers you see in other areas yet.
I didn't "get" Twitter at first but realized I was hooked last week when I sent my husband the following email on our anniversary to get him to check his Twitter account:
I tweeted at you from the Tweetdeck and blipped you some songs :)
So what is Twitter and Why do you Care?
Simply put, Twitter is a Social Networking and a Microblogging tool. It allows you to send status updates - similar to Facebook, and read others status updates - called "Tweets". Tweets can be up to 140 characters and are more "real time" than what you find on Facebook or other Social Networking sites.
According to Wikipedia, "In November 2008, Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester Research estimated that Twitter had 4-5 million users.[2] A February 2009 Compete.com blog entry ranks Twitter as the third largest social network (behind Facebook and MySpace), and puts the number of users at roughly 6 million and the number of monthly visitors at 55 million.[3]"
The site Twitter is not overly impressive but they have written the software in a way that others can develop applications to use with Twitter. This is where it gets interesting as there are hundreds, and possibly thousands of application you can use for Twitter - including Tweetdeck, Twitterberry (for Blackberry), Tweetie (for iphones), Twitterific, and Tweetbeep.
A few of my favorites include -
- Tweetdeck (use on your desk top to better organize Twitter)
- Twellowhood (find out who is using Twitter in your area)
It's also helpful to be able to search Twitter at www.search.twitter.com.
Twitter is a great tool to stay in touch with friends, family, business partners, and is also a tool to network with potential clients and others in your industry. It's also a great way to organize Tweet Ups (meetups in Twitterease) and fundraisers. A fundraiser we attended in Seattle was Twestival that raised $3787 for Charity Water.
You can follow events or topics if a hash tag # is set up such as #twestival for Twestival and #Rebcsea for RE Bar Camp Seattle.
Twitter is a powerful business tool once you understand it - just ask @Raillife's Nick Bastian, a brilliant marketer who is able to use Twitter to update the community about its new LightRail system, and sell real estate.
Photo: Seattle Twestival - Stacey Harmon, Mike Simonsen, Andy Kaufman, Nick Bastian
Oh, and once last thing, I blipped my husband two songs for our anniversary using Blip.fm where you can be your own DJ and send your Blips across Twitter, but that's another post.
Some of my favorite Missoula Twits:
Clint Miller - Real Estate Client Referrals
Missoula Sustainable Business Council
Judy H. Wright - Author, Speaker
Are you in the Missoula Area and on Twitter? If so, post below.
Helpful Posts About Twitter
Tweet It Forward, Building a Twitter Community
How to Use Twitter for Lead Generation
So You Think You're Using Twitter, No You're Not
Kevin and Monica Ray are Missoula Real Estate sales and marketing professionals for Access Realty in beautiful Western Montana. For more information on Western Montana, they can be reached at 406-207-1185 or online at www.YourMT.com.
Service, Results, Peace of Mind
Kevin and Monica Ray are Missoula Real Estate sales and marketing professionals for Access Realty in beautiful Western Montana.
We provide services for Buyers and Sellers in Missoula, Mineral,
Ravalli, Sanders, and Lake Counties. Contact us at:
406-822-SOLD (7653) or 406-207-1185
You can also Connect with Us On these sites:
Nice post Monica...
Twitter is amazing. I didn't know about Twellowhood, I'll check it out!
thx...
René
Hi Rene - Thanks for the comment, Twellowhood is great, I've been able to find several friends that I didn't know where on Twitter, and some new friends too.
Nice post, Monica!!! And thank you so much for the shout out. :-) Catch you in the Twitterverse. ;-)
Thanks Clint and we'll tweet at you soon.
Kevin and Monica, I *really* enjoyed meeting you in Seattle. Thanks so much for your kind words.
I love your ideas and vision for your company and look forward to keeping in touch with you!
Thanks Nick - ditto for us, it was great to meet you and we are impressed with your ideas and marketing concepts. Stay in touch.
Nick - thanks for the Reblogging our post, check it out at http://activerain.com/blogsview/947830/Twittering-In-Missoula-Montana-What-Is-That-Anyway.
Monica & Kevin -
So great to be at the Seattle Twestival and REBarCamp with you! What fun it was to meet you. Great post and I look forward to staying connected with you both via Twitter.
Stacey Harmon
www.twitter.com/staceyharmon
Hi Stacey - thanks for visiting our blog and it was great to meet you in Seattle also. We'll stay in touch on Twitter. Have a great week.
Kevin and Monica