If you go to Robert Scoble’s blog, to the right you’ll see a widget he has added that streams tweets from people on his Twitter lists. And in a round-about way, this is one of the reasons why I am spending less time on Twitter these days.
As many people do, I use Twitter primarily as a tool to connect with other people. Now for the most part, I’d always had some so-called unwritten rules about my Twitter usage. The main one was that time spent on Twitter during ‘business hours’ was mainly for business usage, while time spent ‘after hours’, or on the weekend, I would give myself leeway to use Twitter more as a chat facilitator to talk about pretty much whatever I wanted.
But I noticed that clients and companies that contacted me about work would, on occasion, reference my tweets made during my ‘personal’ time. Nothing shocking, it might be someone saying they didn’t realize I was a Bama fan, or that they also liked Flash Forward, but it made me realize that the people that are following the content I create on Twitter, and on any social site, don’t understand my unwritten rules. They are basically approaching the content I create (and the content we all create), as a channel.
And I think this is an important point for us to remember. I’m constantly having people that work in this space ask me who they should be following. If I tell them to follow Jason, and Jason has one INCREDIBLY profound business tweet once every 2 weeks, my friends might not stick with Jason’s tweets, and might begin to question my judgment in recommending them.
Yes, the very name ’social media’ implies that interaction is going to take place. But we have to remember that so many people simply want to consume content, not interact with it. To these people, they look at us as being content channels, and nothing more.
Am I saying that we should change how we use social media in order to placate others? Absolutely not, but I am saying that I do think we should be aware of the content we are creating, and how it is being received, and by who. If you’re primarily using your blog as a tool to get more sales, but also like a good political rant every once in a while, you have to consider that your potential customer might not like your rant about how much their political party of choice is dead wrong.
So for now, I am using Twitter more for business, and less overall. How are you using Twitter and other sites? Is one for business, the other for personal, or do you mix the two? How do you manage different sites being used in different ways?
Tags: Social Media, Twitter
Excellent topic Mack. I’ve long thought of Twitter as more of a ‘business’ channel and Facebook as more of my ‘personal’ connecting point. However, I do think that some humanity in our tweets is good, when approached thoughtfully. I’m extremely aware of the fact that potential clients, partners, etc. could hit my Twitter page at any time, and the tweets that they see at the top are going to tell the story for them. Nobody has the time to go digging through tweets to find a gem that resonates with them. You’re lucky to get them to look beyond the first few tweets IMO. It gets interesting for me as I’m looking to align my personal passions with my business goals. I follow people that are providing value in social marketing primarily, but I also follow those who share my passions around sustainability, environmental responsibility, etc. It can be a tricky balance, but in the end I’ve decided that this mix is important to me, and I’m seeking to connect with others out there that feel similarly about this. Still, by and large, my tweets are business minded, with a little humanity thrown in so that I don’t come across as a robot.
For more personal dialogue, I prefer to keep it on Facebook. My thought there is that Facebook is a personal network first and foremost, and a business tool second. I will engage in political discourse there that I would never discuss on Twitter. On Facebook, I’m interacting with people that I actually know. That’s one of the filters that I use for accepting friends on Facebook – do I know this person, or is there some kind of tangible connection? If not, I usually ignore the request. That’s my personal channel, and if people want to connect with me there, they have to do more than click the ‘add as a friend’ button.
I believe that as our society becomes more social overall, everyone on all sides will need to be more accepting of other points of view in these channels. We’re in the growing pains stage now – the boundaries are fuzzy at best, and people have their own rules about what is and what is not appropriate. It’s ironic that we preach transparency and openness, yet we caution against saying the wrong thing in the wrong place. I think it’s up to each person to define for themselves how they want to approach social channels, but I also believe that norms will emerge that will allow people to be more free and open to share their true feelings online. Otherwise, we’ll be moving in reverse and all of the benefits of engaging with people through social channels will evaporate as it becomes a big facade that has to be interpreted as such. I don’t think we can risk going there. We all have to adapt and understand that if business is going to be open and honest, then people should also be given that latitude in their personal online space.
Thanks for the great topic Mack! I always enjoy your writing.
@brandon101
Good story, thanks. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
My channels of choice are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is business contacts and business commentary only.
FB is close friends and family only. Photos, family news and personal observations.
Twitter is less simple. I started with one account, thinking it would have a mainly business focus. But quickly found I wanted to engage on a more conversational and personal level.
Like you Mack, I had some ‘rules’ but quickly realised nobody else knew the parameters I’d set myself.
I became uncomfortable with my increasingly chatty, irreverent and opinionated feed appearing on my website, but I was enjoying Twitter too much to change my patter. The solution was to set up a second ‘business-only’ account.
Running the two accounts is easy enough. @eliterate is me, identified as Kirsty Hughes. @eliterate_email is eliterate limited, and appears on my website.
The accounts appear on very different Twitter lists and I like the opportunity they give me to consider my options for posting.
Thanks again for the story. Writing this has clarified my thoughts on my own best usage of these channels… no doubt it will all change again at some point ?
Right now I’m trying to work out where Google Wave fits!
What’s wrong with just being who you are at all times? I personally like it when people mix business with personal on twitter because it gives me a way of discovering whether or not I have anything in common with the person outside of work.
Life isn’t all about business all the time. If it were, we’d have named our on-line efforts to find people business networking and not social networking…
It also depends on if you’re using Twiter just to chat, or as a professional tool – I like to think of it like being at a conference. The 80-20 (20% personal) approach seems to work on Twitter. A little new kitty, great dinner, blind ref — but respect your audience.
I’m with Brandon that Facebook is more personal for most people, and I don’t advise people to link them unselectively.
Mack, I think you’ve hit on something that many people are struggling with – how to use what and why. I tend to agree with Brandon. I started out using Facebook for friends and family and yet, after time, I began to stray and accepted people I don’t know. I think I’m going to try and regain this space for my personal use.
I still use LinkedIn a lot and will connect with almost everyone. That’s my space for business connections.
As for Twitter, I have found it a good place to connect with my marketing colleagues and share valuable resources. But, frankly, the decision makers in my target markets are not typically on Twitter.
Guys thanks for the great comments. I agree with you guys, I see Twitter as being more for professional use and Facebook for personal.
But I think it’s also important to understand why you are using a site AND that people are watching the content you are creating.
Chris I think it’s fine to get off-topic occasionally, and I do often
And really if you think about it, maybe the larger issue here is that social media can sometimes DISconnect us, as we do become like channels, instead of interacting.
This is such a relevant topic in this information age. I think that since we are all content channels now we must be thoughtful of the content that we produce. Especially if you are promoting your business you need to be cognitive of the message that you are producing and how it will be received.
I tend to use Twitter pretty much the same as I always have up to this point. However, I have thought about the same issue as you, that being the differentiation between my business and personal life.
I’ve basically come to the assumption that they are one and the same and that people who follow me are going to have to just deal with it.
Facebook, via its Fan Pages, facilitates a means by which business can separate itself from personal, but that’s via the brand. Certainly that can be done via Twitter as well, except in the case where, like you Mack, YOU are the brand. What do you do then?
My suggestion, you be you both during business hours and in the off-times. Who’s to say you wouldn’t get a new client due to something personal that you tweeted. It happens.
Oh, and one other thing…may Bama kick Florida’s butt in the SEC championship game!
I agree with Brandon and Elaine about injecting some personal side. My initial social account was for sharing and connecting with other SEO/SMM people. Early on, I loved debating ideas with my web team at work. Via Social web, I get a broader, richer stream of ideas. I don’t calculate my posts on 80%:20% (business vs. personal) basis as noted by John Mark, but showing your human side truly keeps virtual relationships much more interesting. I probably post more personal stuff AFTER work hours… Best Advice is to create your own blend of personal and “passionate topic” posts. Those who share your passion will dig it and would hopefully enjoy (or at least respect) your personality.
Brandon explained well the value of having more than one account, for business and personal, or for “different business channels”. Separate accounts would allow us to bond or engage with those who are “more relevantly aligned”.
I think this is another piece of the personal brand. As companies or individuals, doing business online and within the social space, openness and transparency are more and more of a requirement.
This translates to all of us giving over more of our personal life (if we so choose). And it often is a benefit, using your personality, sharing the human side. That is how stronger relationships are formed.
In the cluetrain tradition, marketing is a conversation. Conversations take place between people, through relationships. Relationships are people learning more about one another. Each of us has different barriers for what we let out and what we don’t. This balance, this tightrope, is becoming more and more of a calculated decision. Something each brand (personal or corporate) needs to consider from all of these angles.
My perspective: I am myself. I stay positive. I offer value.