I was reading Twitter Marketing: Why You Don’t Need to Mass Follow Users

The discussion turned to whether one should have a lot of connections, or close relationships

Why not both?

I have both, and know it’s possible.

It’s very natural that someone known by hundreds of millions on TV would get a million followers on Twitter. I would expect that the relationship with each of them would be at least as close as the relationship they have through TV, magazines, etc… at least there is some chance of 2 ways communication.

Of course, if I had to choose, I’d got for close friends over numbers. But with Twitter, you don’t have to choose.. There is no right way for follow ratios, how often you tweet or how you use Twitter.

NO RULES

I hear tweeps say “I can’t imagine how you have a relationship with thousands” They are right. Before I had thousands of connections, I couldn’t imagine it either. This is all brand new.

I do not expect 50,000 people to read every tweet. I DO read ALL my @ messages, all the tweets with my handle and hundreds of threads a day. It’s become a natural part of what I do.

Does it take a of time?

Nope, it SAVES a lot of time. I have loose relationship through email, phone, teleconference and media with subscribers, clients, prospects, friends and business assoicates. There is no way I could reach out to them in any way other than Twitter.

Twitter alone does not make for a full relationship.. but it sure helps.

Technorati Tags: twitter followers, twitter marketing, follow spam

@joycemckee is looking for success stories for a report on Trade Show Use of Twitter.

Here’s my submission… @ her if you can help.

By searching for the hashtags (unique ID words related to the event, usually starting with # sign) on the event the week before it starts, I am able to see who the real leaders are.

I follow many of the attendees and all of the speakers (Twitter links are on speaker bio pages and/or their blogs). Often I meet several of the speakers before the event starts, and make appointment to meet up with attendees that are active in the community. I also check to see if the is a “Tweet Up” (meeting of those who have connected on Twitter) and add that to my schedule.

I’ve found that the best opportunities at most shows happen in this network. Once these tweeps (Twitter users) decide to RT (”ReTweet: A Twitter post that gets repeated) I know that a large active group will be aware of whatever I’m promoting.

Two more tips to get traffic to your booth:

1) Give aways for Twitter users. I often tweet “I’ve got a copy of Twitter Revolution for the next person who finds me.”  It works for @The RealShaq with NBA tickets and it will work for you.

2) Get your staff tweeting. This is not a media to advertise on.. this is a way to network. Get everyone involved. Your customers expect INDIVIDUALS to be availalbe

Wired Magazine’s Danny Dumas and Steven Leckart stop by Twitter headquarters
to probe its new moneymaking brainchild.

(If video isn’t available, watch it by clicking here on WIRED’s site.)

Is Twitter making a gadget?

Or is this just a clever April Fool’s Day joke?

Because it’s actually a pretty cool tool that I know people would buy.

Could this be an opportunity for a fast-acting entrepreneur?

What do you think?

Do you need a wingman? Because I’d never leave home without it!

Leave your thoughts in the comment box below (and remember your Twitter handle so peeps can follow you.)

Kindle Monetization Rumblings « Stephen C. Rose

 Twitter makes helpfulness pay. If you go on Twitter with the idea of making a million by directly getting people to buy you or your brand, you will be instantly viewed as a spammer of some sort.

If you confine your Twitter activity to things that are genuinely aimed at helping or informing others, you are in Real Twitterland. You need not hide your light under a bushel, but you can bring it out only when doing so makes some sense other than lining your pockets.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, helpfulness, giving, connections

I was thinking about the world social and especially what it means in social media.. preparing for my presentation at Increasing Sales With Social Media coming up tomorrow in San Diego.

(you can still get your ticket here, or listen to just my segment live at Friday at 9am Pacific on TwitCastRadio).

Is this play or work?

You may have heard me say “If you can tell the difference between work and play, you aren’t doing one of them right” .. but people in stage 1 or 2 keep telling me that they are looking for:

• How do I make more money with social media?
• Does Twitter get me more customers?
• What’s the ROI on using Twitter?

I’ve answered these question so many times. Told them that marketing in the future is dependant on meaningful connections and building relationships with real human beings.

Then I tell them a couple of stories about people making money with their social media connections, doing business faster and why meaningful connections will make their work more like play and play profitable.

I thought I really knew this stuff.

Then I get this tweet:

I have to admit that my immediate reaction when I read the post was “What a lot of nonsense! I have real work to do”

I’m literally sitting next to my front door, should be on my way to the airport.. and I’m reading a blog about playing tag?

Just then, I noticed @mvndrvrt’s photo on his web page with the caption that this was him in his work clothes

He get it. Work is play, play is work. Life is FUN!

Thanks for the reminder Mike

So here I am, not worried about being late for my flight.. playing tag on my blog.

You can read the rules here.. I’m breaking the rules (NO RULES.. remember) so subscribers to the blog and everyone I know on Twitter will get to be “it”

Tag.. Your it?

Link back to this post.. follow the rules on @mvndrvrt’s post if you’d like, but do follow @mvndrvrt for sure.

Then leave a comment here to let me know your thought on the difference between work and play.

Technorati Tags: blogging, tagging, social media tags, mvndrvrt, work is play, Twitter book

Our Twitter Radio show this week will focus on using social media to promote you book or business.

Many in our network are authors, many others want to become a best selling author at some point. Twitter and Social Media are great tools for any author or business wishing to build meaningful relationships to attract new customers and readers, sell book and products, and form strong bonds with your market.

Special Guest @BBSpress

Alan Bechtold has been using high tech solutions to build information products and businesses for since the mid 80’s. Alan (@BBSpress on Twitter) will be on the TwitCast to tell us how anyone with any passion can turn their knowledge into info-products.

Get Results Before, During and After the TwitCast

Before the show: Signup and login to http://TwitCastRadio.com. While there, look for the bookmark button to share the show with your network. Tweet about it.

During the show: Login to chat, and say hello to those you know (and the host). We have an active group and love to follow like minded tweeps. You will have more followers after the show, and they will be people that are on a similar path. Tweet that you are on http://TwitCastRadio.com

After the show: Post a comment on the show’s page and rate it. If you make the show a FAVORITE, we’ll grow in influence and reach more new people for future shows. More tweeps to add to your network, build into friends and connect for more publicity for your business or cause and more influence in everything you do

Do you want to become a famous best selling author?

We take questions live, and from COMMENTS here.  When you post a comment below, you have a chance to create a link to your web site (in the form) and include your @ handle so that anyone that identifies with you can connect on Twitter.

Make sure you follow others that comment if you like what they are saying. It’s the highest of compliments when people see a tweet that you liked their comments and build more meaningful connections in our group.

Twitter Revolution, the handbook, the radio show and this blog are here to help us all grow our networks in social media. We know that by helping you grow, we ALL have more influence and power to spread important memes to make the world a better place.

Tweet me at @WarrenWhitlock and let me know how you are using comments on blogs, the TwitCast Chat, and social media to help other spread good causes. I want to know about the best ideas and memes and help you build your network.

I just read a piece on Slate’s The Big Money by Chadwick Matli that sought to address the issue that “Everybody wants to know how Twitter will make millions”

Really.. Everybody?

The article suggests that Twitter is suffering from Peter Pan Syndrome and does not want to grow up. It’s way beyond me to question whether that is true. I never was much for psycho-analysis of corporations. Supposedly, a reporter at The Slate, where they have a history of trying every monetization plan ever on readers, would know all about this.

I won’t bring up all the ways Twitter might choose to make money someday. In my own outsider opinion, many are credible, few are likely and they all really don’t matter to us.

The fact is. Twitter has become a lot more stable over the last several months, gained a lot more mainstream users and continues to grow its’ base with very little chance that this will change soon.

I think what “everybody wants to know” would more like be How Can I Build My Own Revenues With Twitter and Social Media?

Moreover, regardless of Twitter.com’s future, the Twitter Revolution in the way we communicate, meet and build meaningful relationships will continue.

If you’ve been using Twitter for more than a very short time, I ask you

===> “Can you imagine going back to a world without micro-blogging?”

I’m looking to add more Twitter Success Stories, Twinterviews and inputs here on the Twitter handbook blog. Please share your answer to this question here, and remember to add you Twitter @ name to the post so we can follow you.

@GaryVee could be the poster child for the revolution we talk about here at Twitter Handbook.

After his awesome keynote at New Media Expo, I jumped on stage and grabbed this Twinterview:

We’ve got a great line up for the TwitCast tonight.

With you on board, it will be even more AWESOME

The TwitCast is a live radio show, hosted on the Internet. Just go to http://TwitCastRadio.com to listen LIVE over the internet. You can get your own free account account so we’ll be able to see your user name and chat with you live during the call. Otherwise, just use this post to share your comments.

If you have a BlogTalkRadio account, it’s that same username… If you are creating a new one.. use your Twitter handle so we’ll all know who’s who. (this isn’t a rule.. you know how we feel about rules.)

Next step will be to Tweet to your followers. The bigger the crowd we get, the better the social experitment will work.

August 1, 2008 4pm Hawaii / 7pm PST / 10 EST Call-in Number: (646) 378-1641 or listen LIVE over the internet using Blog Talk Radio http://TwitCastRadio.com Comment on this post before and during the call using your Twit ID & name so we’ll have an organized place to pull from for the published Twitter Handbook.

Here’s the agenda.. Tweet away on:

	Special guest Rodney Rumford @Rumford will be with us. One of the smartest social marketing strategists on the planet
	A second guest, Matt Brown @MattSurfs popular speaker on social media from California will also be adding to the discussion on social media
	@CoachDeb is in the house tonight, back with me to put down a few more idea for our book
News of the Twitter Handbook… including a social engineering experience live during the call.

You may have seen some of the twitter sized events, promotions and happenings we be doing during the writing of Twitter Handbook.

Now’s YOUR chance to get in on this .. big time.

Now, one IMPORTANT REQUEST.

We need our feedback. The experience start now

Before you leave this page, place a comment here. In your comment, share anything you think might help bring more people into the movement, onto the TwitCast, or into our group.

If you can’t think of a great idea, post a comment about other comments, or ASK A QUESTION to help us clarify and refine this experience.

Your input is important. .. you see why when you join us tonight.

@WarrenWhitlock

I just heard that Growing Wealth Magazine is doing a feature on social media in an upcoming issue.

Here’s the request I received from Geoff Williams.

Post a comment if you are interested and I’ll tell Geoff to connect with you

Needed: BIZ OWNERS/NETWORKING SITES

Media Outlet/Publication: Growing Wealth magazine

Region: USA

Deadline: 6:00 PM EASTERN - July 28

Query:

“I’m writing an article for Growing Wealth magazine about the

growing popularity of networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter,

etc., among the business crowd, particularly business owners, with

a focus on making money through these sites (i.e., hiring people

through LinkedIn, meeting people who wind up being a supplier or

your biggest client). If you’re the owner of a business that makes

at least $1 million in annual revenue and you have some anecdotes

or advice to share about using online networking sites to further

your business goals, please feel free to drop me a line and

hopefully I can get you into my article.