The Value of Twitter

I wasn't sure how Twitter could really be useful to me. Most people I know use Facebook exclusively and I don't have anywhere that I could advertise my handle to jack up the follower counts. On top of that I don't have a particular area that I focus in - so I don't appeal to niche categories of people. So, what use is it other than a dumbed down RSS feed? It took me a long while to figure it out, but the answer is interaction.

Almost everything I do there is based on replying or talking to someone rather than just saying something because I thought of it. I don't have enough followers to just go Tweeting things and feel like I'm not shouting in to a black hole.

I have found it useful in reaching out to specific people or companies. App developers for mobile devices are incredibly helpful on Twitter. If I've had questions or praise for them their dedicated accounts have always been good about getting back to me. That is some direct contact that I wouldn't have necessarily had before.  

@GoodOLMC Not likely I'm afraid. An Android version just isn't financially viable.
— Twitterrific (@Twitterrific) October 6, 2013

It's really very humanizing in a way that I wouldn't get from a blog post or an "About" section on a website. I'm no different than a lot of people in that I like spreading the word about products I love and getting a pat on the head for it is always a nice reward.

@GoodOLMC Thank you for the kind support and evangelism. :)
— Flexibits (@flexibits) October 17, 2013

Thanks buddy! When enough of you remember to do this, it makes a difference! @GoodOLMC
— Dan Carlin (@HardcoreHistory) August 29, 2013

Being able to have incredibly direct communication with app developers is just one example of the humanizing nature of Twitter though. Take for example when I accidentally started a conversation between two geeks (I say that lovingly) I follow on Twitter and on their respective sites: Phil Nickinson from AndroidCentral.com and Eric Geller from TheForce.net. I listen to their podcasts weekly and follow AC regularly so to get a reply from either of them was pretty cool in the sense that, while they're just people, our communication had only ever been one way up to that point. I tagged Phil in a Tweeted response to Eric about the Moto X and, hey, they had a small conversation. There's really some power there.

@ericgeller @GoodOLMC Because it's only August. Just wait.
— Phil Nickinson (@philnickinson) August 20, 2013

But being able to converse with people who I DIDN'T pay for a service from feels even better.

I don't have a lot of followers and relatively speaking I have few Tweets - but Twitter has proven valuable in some small ways. For fans and creators alike it adds a new dimension to communication - especially if used well.