Leave the Hang-Ups To Us

Twitter

by Colleen McCarty, VP Talent & Organization Development

I really am feeling my age. I'm not an early adopter but I'm usually far ahead of the Average Joe, but Twitter has me stumped. Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say this moment? However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I resisted Facebook for about six months. Even wrote a blog about why I liked LinkedIn better than Facebook. Truth be told, now I love them the same but for different reasons (much like you love your children equally but each has their unique strengths).

But back to Twitter... like a third child, can I love it too? I've learned never to say “never” but I have my doubts. Do I have time for all three? Can I justify the time for all three? I decided this time I will really try Twitter before making a final decision.

In a few days I have learned:

• Twitter is fast, real fast. Send out an update or “tweet” and someone will respond. Pretty surprising given that I only have three followers. Oh, I just checked and now it's four! Now it is six!

• Twitter is about broader networks than just friends or colleagues. Perfect strangers will follow you, conversely, you can follow anyone you like. I only know two of my followers and I'm still wondering why the rest have  followed me (and am I right to feel pressure to entertain them?).

• Still working on learning the lingo. So far I've learned # (use this to make your tag/term more searchable) and @ (precedes a username), RT (retweet, similar to forwarding email) and OH (overheard) are a few I'll need to practice using.

So I'll be testing Twitter further and evaluating Twitter for work, fun and family. I'd love to know how others are using it and do you have any tips!

How do you network?

by Colleen McCarty, VP Talent and Organization Development

Recently my husband was cleaning out his memorabilia and was reminded of an old friend from high school. Nostalgic, he googled his friend, found an email address, and sent his friend an email. Within minutes his email was returned with the message:

“I just facebooked you last week!”*

So have you facebooked anyone lately? And is it business or pleasure?

Personally, I like LinkedIn as I network for business. Apparently that shows my age as the May 2008 issue of Selling Power Magazine suggests that professionals 30 and over prefer LinkedIn while those under 30 prefer FaceBook.  Linked In lets me stay in contact with my professional network. There I can find past and current business associates and stay up-to-date with their professional successes and ever-changing contact information. I can ask questions and leverage their relationships. I can stay in-touch on a professional level. And when I want to stay closer on a personal level I pick up the phone to talk.

How do you use social networking sites to stay in touch?