Here a Tweet, There a Tweet
Everyone’s twittering about Twitter.
As @ev explained on @oprah today, the term twitter comes from the sound birds make when they’re communicating. It symbolizes chatter; quick or light conversation.
So now that the rest of the world is catching on to Twitter, how do we “veterans” 
get them to understand what it’s really about?
I got an email today with the following question:
OH YEAH…I want to brand and market. I just haven’t wrapped my head around developing the content for it. I have some vague ideas. I’m sure you know by now that I am a content developer. Give me an idea and I will hone the topic and I will give you the world (if I can). That’s what happened at [my former job as a game designer]…they gave me a subject and I developed and produced software.
There’s so much out there right now for “foodies” etc.; I kinda put it aside for a few years because I wasn’t sure how to deliver it… there was a new venue going on at the time…what now IS, and I didn’t know how to get to that.
…Twittering…Facebook, whatever…and I’m wondering how to integrate my ideas about that, and what I could do, and thinking of targeting a certain audience.
I’m still bakin’ it. But…good news…I know have enough stuff behind me in terms of content development, etc. to do it once I know it. I need to focus.
Okay, so maybe it’s not a question, exactly, but I felt compelled to resond anyway:
One idea that might help you to focus a little bit: community
The cost of distributing, broadcasting, delivering (whatever you want to call it) content is basically $0.00 – zero. Many people are making content all the time and there’s no friction to get it out there.
I think along with content comes this question… How do you build/engage/evangelize a community around which your content is a central point?
One reason that Facebook, Twitter, etc. are so strong is that they facilitate community.
You and your followers are a community.
So…
What’s the community’s purpose and passion?
Taking the foodie world as an example, here’s how I would start. Find the top 10 foodie blogs, read them regularly, comment on their posts, and engage in conversations with other readers and writers of those blogs. Hangry Pants is one that’s run by my business partner and his girlfriend.
Then find the foodies on Twitter, follow them, see who they’re conversing with, join in the conversation.
Do the same on Facebook.
Find the foodie networks on Ning.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Before you know it, you’re part of the community. And to bring it back full circle, you CONTENT will be valuable to that community. It will fuel conversations and ideas, and you’ll be giving something of value back.
How do YOU explain these concepts to people who are new to all of this?
How do YOU teach your mom why Twitter is so vauable?
