What Do You Use Twitter For? New Twitter Power Poll Survey

Jeff,

I have a lot of respect for Guy. I think his use of Twitter to broadcast and promote Alltop is great for him…if it’s working, why not? I follow Guy and scan many of his tweets, actually reading and clicking through to links on only a small fraction of his tweets. But like I said, I like him as a person, so I follow him. But I, personally, don’t faithfully follow his tweets (or even close to faithfully).

Tonight, I caught a few tweets he wrote about a friend of his passing away. It was the first time he felt really human to me (on Twitter, that is). It was the first time I was inspired to not only read every tweet but to reply to him and DM him. He struck a chord with me on a human level. It was like the business/marketing mask came off and he was sharing openly about personal loss and a reflection on how short life is and actions he’s taking to prioritize his time better because of all this.

THAT moved me. All this to say, I’m a relationship-oriented Twitterer. I like to learn and find value in tweets, and I like to share tweets (and retweet) all kinds of stuff from value-added news/ideas/apps/technology to introspective and philosophical ponderings to humor and matters of the heart. Basically, I use Twitter and love Twitter for the opportunity it provides me to be human, share openly and authentically, and relate to other people who are engaging, real and diverse in so many ways. It is my belief that my relationships on Twitter are enriching and rewarding to me personally now as well building more meaningful connections for future possibilities (visions of the future possibilities are not clear yet, but that doesn’t change the fact that I know these relationships are valuable to me now and will inevitable be of value to me in the future.

Professionally, I write (ghost write), but I don’t use Twitter to promote that. I use Twitter and blog from my “personal brand” – a brand with nothing to sell, just a heart to pour out in pursuit of enriching others in some way. My blog is just me being me as openly, honestly and authentically as I know how, hoping that putting myself out in often raw and vulnerable ways there is some value (encouragement, learning, growth, understanding, comfort, hope, etc…) for someone else out there who reads my words.

All this to say, I “liked” Guy well enough before tonight. But after he tweeted about personal pain, reflection on how short life is and the impact that had on his time-management decision making/prioritizing, I REALLY liked Guy. He became a “real” person to me on Twitter – not just a respected, high-profile guy selling/pushing his stuff on Twitter like so many others. He used Twitter tonight the way I do, and it made an impact on me.