Archive for the Category »To Tweet Or Not To Tweet «

21
Feb
Why Bother To RT?
Denyse

First of all if you are not a member of the Twitterverse you may not even know what a RT is.  When you send out a message you send a tweet which must be composed of 140 characters or less.  When you read messages from people you follow you might find one that really touches you in some way.

You might find that it is very interesting, funny, informative, inspiring.  There is a vast amount of ways that a tweet can affect you.  You might read it and it means nothing at all to you.  The tweets that really are profound are the ones that you would like to share with others.  So you click a button that is on your screen that says ReTweet.  That makes it so that everyone in your own personal stream can read it.  At the same time it gives credit to the original author of the tweet as well as your name as the person that RTed it.

It is a pretty easy thing to do, but Why Bother To RT?

First of all, if you found this information useful then it is most likely that someone else that reads your tweets will as well.  Or if you were inspired by a quote, it may be profound and it might have had an impact on your day.  So pass it on so that it can impact others.

The biggest reason why you should RT is that it is the greatest complement that you can give to someone that you are following!  It shows the person that you have RT that you do read their tweets and that you think that they have something to say that is worthwhile.

There is no greater praise to a tweeter to know that you have been to their blog and read it and then you elect to pass it on to other tweeter.

Myself, I am very touched when people take the time out of their busy day and RT one of my quotes or articles that I have written.  We are all so busy today, so one of the most valuable things that we have is time.  We can make more money, and buy new things, but we cannot make or buy time.

So when someone gives up that precious treasure and is willing to share part of it with me, it is a very high complement indeed.  For me, it makes me value the friendship of that person even more and I want to be sure to look for tweets of theirs that I can share with others.

I do spend a lot of time looking for things to inspire others.  I also use these same tools to motivate myself.  There are times when we all need help in getting through a day that is not going as you want it to.  So when someone RTs one of these Quotes it really is uplifting as I know it has helped them and they are sharing it with others.

So why bother to RT?  Do it because it will make you feel good, do it because it is passing valuable information on.  DO NOT do it just for the sake of wanting to have a tweet in your stream.  Do it because what you are RT will help someone.

You can even RT just list of people’s names that others have recommended to you.  However, if you do this, you should also be following these people as well.  It seems silly to recommend someone who you do not even follow yourself.

When some one does RT you, please try to thank them.  I know on Follow Friday this is close to impossible if you have a large following.  It is the right thing to do though.

Looking forward to RTing you in the future!~

Follow me on Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/denyseduhaime

Check out the way to market your self through twitter at http://www.thetwitterfever.com

Category: To Tweet Or Not To Tweet, Twitter Etiquette  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
07
Dec
What Can Be Said In 140 Or Less
Denyse

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.  The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.  ~Henri Nouwen

This is a small thank you to those of you that have touched me through my Twitter stream.  Today I reached 50,000 followers.  It is with a very humble heart that I share this with you.  13 months ago when I started writing my profile and signing up on Twitter I thought, who is going to follow me and what will I ever say to them?  What I have found in Twitter can only be understood if you connect to others on Twitter yourself.

Who would think that someone you do not even know, that might even live a world apart from you, would ever have really touch you in any way that really mattered.  The followers in my stream on Twitter do that each and every day.  There is never a day that goes by that someone does not ask me how I am doing, and really is waiting for a genuine answer.  They are not saying that just because they need something to tweet.  They are saying it because we have connected!

Within 140 characters we connect in such a way that I never would have thought possible.  We have shared the joys and pains of our lives.  We have cheered at achievements and listened when an ear is all that we can give.  We have reached across the miles, across borders, stretching into countries we will never see, and we have connected in such a way that lives have actually been changed just by tweeting.

I saw the love and caring working at it’s fullest in Twitter when I lost my mother this past summer.  People from my stream that I had never connected with followed her health progress with me.  They prayed and told others and people that were not even following me were praying.  It is not only your followers that touch you, but they ReTweet to people following them, and some of those people in turn also reach out to you to offer you hope and comfort.

When Mom passed on, many of my followers listened to me and offered me love and comfort and encouragement.  Some even shared loss of their own parents with me.  It was a process of healing and these people helped so much.  As in the quote above these people chose to share my pain with me and reached out and touched me with the viral hand of 140 characters.  Often they only gave me a place to share my grief, but they were always there.

Besides, the sorrow they also share in the joy!  Many connect and ask how business is going, how the projects are going, and are interested in what is going on in our lives.  Yes, we even laugh and joke and play tricks on each other, make fun of our funny hats, or dance in the rain, or a number of crazy other things like the week we had a virtual pillow fight!

My Twitter stream is filled with new friends.  A year ago these people were strangers to me.  Today, right now, I could send out a tweet and someone would be there to answer a question or smile with me, or share a moment of my day.  Twitter changes daily, so people will come and go, but the spirit of the people of my Twitter stream will be always with me.  Many people have touched my life just by connecting.

When you follow someone, you actually do yourself a great disservice to not try to connect.  You just never know what kind spirit you may find that will touch your lives as so many have touched mine.

To my followers, I thank you for the wonderful opportunity you have given me to connect with you, to learn from you, to laugh with you and to share moments of our lives.

Follow me on twitter if you don’t already

http://www.twitter.com/denyseduhaime


Category: About Life, Just Thinking, My Twitter Family, Reflecting, To Tweet Or Not To Tweet, What's It All About  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
29
Nov
Twitter Etiquette–Following and ReTweeting
Denyse

If you are like me, you use twitter now in your everyday life.  Just a little over a year ago I did not even know what Twitter was.  Well being a member of the twitter community gives you and unspoken responsibility.   Twitter is micro blogging at it’s best, but to keep it that way we really need to follow some simple Twitter Etiquette.

Etiquette: Following

It does not matter if you use twitter for yourself personally or if you use it for your business, there are some things that you must do.  You must connect with your followers.  It is not just a game to see who can get the most followers.  If you do not connect with any of those that follow you, you have lost the entire point of social media.

It is commonly believed that to successfully market yourself and your business online, you need to develop a large list of followers. Followers are the individuals that will receive your message and updates. I do not believe that this is the correct approach to take to use twitter to market your business.  I think that you need to connect with those that you follow.  In addition to that you need to be constantly adding value to your stream in the content that you tweet.  This can be about business things, but try to offer something to your followers that is unique to you.  You will start to gather followers that trust you.

As in any business, you want to develop a rapport with your customers.  You can not do that if you do not connect with them and get to know them.  They in turn will recommend others to follow you.  Soon you will have a nice number of followers that are enjoying your tweets and look forward to what you have to say about your life, and yes, even your business.

You do not have to follow everyone back that follows you, but I think that is is good etiquette to do so.  You will find, from time to time, that you will need to block someone or unfollow them.  That if perfectly acceptable.  You need to do what feels right for you.

Etiquette: Re Tweeting

I think when you first join twitter one of the most confusing terms is RT.  Simply put this is Re tweeting.  It is when you read some ones tweet that you really like, or something that you think your followers would enjoy knowing, or a relevant news event.  Twitter now has a special web button for this, and it has made RT so much easier.

If you see a tweet that you like, by all means Re Tweet it for others in your stream to be able to read.  By the same terms though, if someone RT’s you, please take the time to thank them for doing so.  I know that you have a limit about of time to spend on twitter, but this is an important step in your connecting.

One thing that I have found is that many times I get new followers because someone has Re Tweeted one of the tweets.  So in addition to adding more valuable content to your followers you are actually helping yourself gather more followers that already like what you are doing.

Good Etiquette on twitter will only make your experience that much more rewarding.  It does not matter if you are using twitter to just get to know new people, cultivate friendships, find those of mutual likes (for example dog lovers), or if you are trying to market your business, you should follow these simple steps and you will be respected as a person who adds value.

If you do not already follow me–please follow me on twitter !

Category: To Tweet Or Not To Tweet, Twitter Etiquette  Tags: , ,  One Comment
01
Nov
We All Need to Make Life Easier
Denyse

This is true in all areas of our life.  Lately I have found myself on twitter a lot.  I say a lot, but who is to judge how much that is.  I tweet often through the day, and I have so many wonderful friends and contacts there.  I can go to twitter to get news, to ask a question and someone is bound to know the answer.  I have been in the middle of planning dinner and run in and asked twitterville how do you cook this kind of pasta.  The box did not say, I had never done it before, and sure enough someone was there within seconds with my answer.

Now that twitter has become a daily part of my life, I have found that I need to use certain tools to help me manage my time better.  I will share these tools with you, as I think that they really are helpful.  For instance, do you use Huitter to follow back all of those that you miss following.  I do this every couple of days and I am always surprised at how many I miss.  That one little tool can save me a lot of time.

Well today I was introduced to a free tool that I fell in love with at once.  It is Twitter Miner.  What this tool can do for you is to save you a lot of time.  You really need to go to the video and look at it for yourself.  Here is the best part, this tool is FREE!!  So Check it out now!

Category: To Tweet Or Not To Tweet, Twitter Tools  Tags: , , , , ,  Leave a Comment