Twitter - do ya use it or not?

[speedog]

Twitter - do ya use it or not?

Have had a couple of Twitter accounts for over 4 years now, didn't do much with them because I just didn't get Twitter. But after a renewed attempt to figure Twitter out last fall, I got it and find it to be a most useful thing especially when it comes to getting unfiltered news. I also use it to promote our business although one has to strike the right balance between providing useful tweets and just appearing to be a spam producer - some of our competitors are on Twitter as well, but don't appear to have figured out as to how to get their tweets to the masses. Instead, they just tweet out links to their business's Facebook page/updates which IMHO is backwards - have Twitter drive your Facebook page instead, much easier to update.

That said and considering that the age demographic of the average Beyonder is way below my 5 and a bit decades on this big ball of dirt. I am wondering how many Beyonders actually use Twitter and for what. Personally, the #yyctraffic hashtag has been quite a bit of a time saver for me - better and more timely updates than traffic radio or Google Maps traffic. And being in communication with our alderman (Druh) - quite effective although she still replys back with very debatable drivel.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Dont use it personally.

[speedog]

Another example - found out about that recent Tuscany grass fire on Twitter way before any of the news channels had reported on it.

[max_boost]

I don't know how to use it lol

[Graham_A_M]

Fuck no. Almost the same with Facebook, as Im never on there.

Twitter is good for celebrities that like to keep in touch with their fans, but I dont see much point to it for regular everyday people, unless you're upper management in a large corporation or whatever.

[Civic_Drift]

I rarely use it as I use Facebook to interact with friends. Twitter is useful if you need to voice a concern, comment, or complaint with a company that utilizes social media to their advantage i.e. WestJet

[Tik-Tok]

Nope. I've been on the site a couple of times when eztv.it was down (they post torrent links on their twitter when the main site is down), but that's it.

[Unknown303]

I use it to figure out where food trucks will be next.

[01RedDX]

.

[charlie2]

you can "use" twitter?

:confused:

[speedog]

Originally posted by charlie2
you can "use" twitter?

:confused: Is proving to be quite useful and more so the more I figure it out. Yeah, there's spam out there, but blocking the crap just makes the various feeds (hashtags) that much more useful.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by Unknown303
I use it to figure out where food trucks will be next.
Brilliant! Can you walk a person through how to do that? I've always been wondering where the hell those guys always are, I've NEVER seen one in Calgary yet.

[schurchill39]

I use it. At first it was just to bitch about my girlfriend, then it progressed into a way to make fun of Gasland and now I mostly use it for the news. I don't get the paper and don't frequent any newspaper websites so when they post stories that I find interesting I can go and read them if I want.

Also the Jason Ellis Show uses it so its a way to get my 2 cents in without calling.

[Civic_Drift]

https://twitter.com/#!/yycfoodtrucks

https://twitter.com/#!/alleyburger

[Mibz]

I follow who I'm interested in, rarely say anything myself.

[msouther]

I used to think Twitter was useless, but I have found it to be a great social media tool for a number of reasons. I recommend just following who you are interested in as your feed will get cluttered with a bunch of crap. It is also a great way to learn about current events as they are instantly on there before any news sources report them. As mentioned above too, if you like certain actors, sports players etc., you can follow them and they are quite interactive with their fans.

Although I haven't had anything go viral, there is a potential for using it to spread the word, good or bad about service providers, products etc. I am starting to like it better than Facebook. Linkedin is great too for a bunch of different reasons.

Happy Tweeting!

[DeathBy240]

It can be a pretty good tool for networking and marketing, which is basically what I use it for.

My accounts are @albertamedia, which is a news release service and @traveldriverace, which is for a car/travel blog that I'm just getting started.

[Masked Bandit]

I've played around with it a bit but can't find any real use for it. I quit logging on about a month ago. Seems like more "noise". I've already got enough of that in my life.

[HyperZell]

I'm a Marketer, so I got into it just to know what was happening on the social media front. I quickly became accustomed to it and now I use it all the time. I run a few accounts for businesses and I also have a personal one; it's a great tool for informal communication, information and engagement.

If anyone has any questions about it, feel free to ask in the thread.

[flipstah]

I use it for my 365 project. Flickr sucks.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I used to use it strictly to gather news (I never tweeted anything), but I find it's still faster to do so via regular means. I've never got on board with it. Too many useless updates.

[Dj_DLX]

I use it in the morning to check traffic before I head out.

[beyond_ban]

tried it, deleted it. Same thing with google+.

[CanmoreOrLess]

I have both a personal and business account. For the personal, I follow persons of interest and as a RSS feed of sorts, I know when someone has new material on their website or blog. None of my friends are followed by me. For business, Twitter allows me to keep up to date on new developments in my business area. Easier than following an RSS feed as I used to do since maybe 2000.

Facebook.... have personal and business... thinking of killing both as it is a waste of time.

[GREENBOY]

I use it every day as @abjourno checking and reporting #yyc news and following events in Alberta. I'm a news junky so it's really useful to find out what's going on in people's lives and around the city/province.

[craigcd]

I follow people on my flipboard app- I think it is the same as twitter without actually having it? Either way, it works for seeing what my Supercross riders are up to.

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by msouther

Although I haven't had anything go viral, there is a potential for using it to spread the word, good or bad about service providers, products etc. I am starting to like it better than Facebook. Linkedin is great too for a bunch of different reasons.


If you're not actively using tweet (ie. getting lots of followers and whatnot), then you're better using Facebook where you're more likely to reach a wider network of people. Otherwise, the only times you try to tweet something to try to go viral ends up only going to porn spam accounts and junk.

[WhippWhapp]

No Twitter, no Facebook.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
I've played around with it a bit but can't find any real use for it. I quit logging on about a month ago. Seems like more "noise". I've already got enough of that in my life.

Same. I have it. I've "used it" (by "using" I mean read some posts from game developers, celebrities, etc) but honestly couldnt keep up with it since it was updating so constantly so I just said forget it.

I dont even like facebook anymore and with twitter I truly dont care if you're making a ham sandwich then 10 minutes later saying it was the best ham sandwich you've ever eaten :rolleyes:

[Mibz]

Originally posted by 403Gemini
Same. I have it. I've "used it" (by "using" I mean read some posts from game developers, celebrities, etc) but honestly couldnt keep up with it since it was updating so constantly so I just said forget it. Yeah, I have the same problem. I usually only end up reading Twitter when I'm waiting in line or on the shitter, it's the first app I'll open. Even then I'll end up skipping stuff days at a time because there's just too much.

[heavyfuel]

USELESS for my business and I haven't yet thought of a way I could benefit from it on a personal level. I don't use it. I never have anything that people give a fuck about to say anyways haha

[sevewone]

For the average joe blow it is retarded and never would I sign up. Although Jason Ellis and Joe Rogan seem to be the always have interesting shit posted.

[HyperZell]

Originally posted by sevewone
For the average joe blow it is retarded and never would I sign up. Although Jason Ellis and Joe Rogan seem to be the always have interesting shit posted.

That's the thing. For most people, the pervading thought is that it's useless. I disagree, but it's going to take time for it to break through that mental block.

I don't understand why people feel that they have to keep on it all of the time for updates. You can just check it...when you check it. And if you want to see what a particular person is saying, just go to their page and check out their tweets.

Right now I'm using it to follow the TSN guys to track the trades that are happening in the NHL. Works great for things like that, for starters.

[Thaco]

i only use it for CE i already know about, like i used it for municipal elections, some sporting events... i don't use it daily, but whenever i want an over abundance of information on something, i hit the twit :)

[CapnCrunch]

I only use it for Calgary Transit delays. They are pretty good at getting real-time updates.

[Dave P]

I have it. Never made a tweet, but enjoy following various athletes

[Chester]

No twitter or facebook here

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I use twitter. It's mostly to follow people, with the odd vent or rant. I've somehow managed to amass ~ 100 followers, and I have no idea how.

Personal account only.

[colinxx235]

follow @ilikegirlsdaily

'nuf said... haha

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Originally posted by colinxx235
follow @ilikegirlsdaily

'nuf said... haha

And my follow list just got a little pervier...

[Swank]

I follow people, but not on Twitter...

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by Swank
I follow people, but not on Twitter...

I follow girls, but not people...

[colinxx235]

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf


And my follow list just got a little pervier...

:rofl:

in that case don't forget @ilikesexdaily and @ilikebabesdaily
also if you're an assman... @ilikeassdaily

i swear someone could sit all day and do that... :devil:

[schurchill39]

Originally posted by JRSC00LUDE


I follow girls, but not people...

So this was you then? http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2012/02/28/sk-street-robbery-1202.html?cmp=rss

(JRSC00LUDE isn't 18 but still....)

[speedog]

So 71% so far don't use Twitter - kind of figured the poll would run those kind of numbers, but I'll bet most will click on the link Rage provided in his first post in this thread (http://forums.beyond.ca/st/350033/ron-howards-f1-movie-rush/) which would make them users of Twitter, indirectly of course. Twitter is becoming more intertwined with the web than most would like to admit and in fact, many people are indirectly using Twitter without even realizing it.

[Ven]

I use it a little bit, mostly for local stuff and politics. I can "talk" to the exact person I need to in a more efficient way. I don't follow anyone famous or for the novelty. Facebook I won't touch with a 10' pole, that kind of stuff just looks like trouble waiting to happen (and has).

[JZS_147]

i use it for lulz

[viff3r]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
Fuck no. Almost the same with Facebook, as Im never on there.




Originally posted by WhippWhapp
No Twitter, no Facebook.



Originally posted by Chester
No twitter or facebook here

Woah, you guys are cool.

[Isaiah]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c338/cabriochico/Picture1-4.png

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by viff3r


Woah, you guys are cool.

Not a matter of trying to "be cool", it's a matter of utter uselessness. I was on facebook, "collected" a couple hundred friends, and realized everytime I logged in, my feed was full of absolute useless shit (read: people) that I don't give a fuck about.

So I culled my friends list to only people I really cared about... which ended up being around 36, lol. Then a little while after that, I thought, what's the point of even being on here, when I'm in pretty regular contact with these 36 people anyways?

That along with Zuckerberg continually trying to own my photo's, and fucking with privacy every 3 months, I just said "meh", and shut down my account.

I've considered rejoining, only because a lot of small business's use facebook now, and don't have real websites. Kind of annoying.

[speedog]

Our small business has a web site, a Facebook page and a Twitter account - the most PITA to update is the web site, next is Facebook and easiest is Twitter. Twitter is also the easiest way to get a message out to literally thousands of people for no expense and our Twitter feed automatically updates certain sections on both our web site and our Facebook location. Twitter is also a good way to keep tabs on competitors as it is proving to have the most timely updates as opposed to our competitor's web sites and Facebook pages.

That said, Twitter isn't the best thing for every business - for retail, it's a good medium for getting a message out to many people. But for a business that's more service related like my brother's automotive repair shop, it's not something that will work very well for him especially in light of the demographics of his clientele but then again, he could be missing the boat on a whole bunch of prospective customers just because he's not out there on Twitter.

[Super_Geo]

I just got Twitter a week ago. Having a hard time finding interesting people to follow... sometimes you get one guy who posts 20x a day and just fills your inbox with shit.

Any suggestions?

[speedog]

@nenshi can be quite amusing, @Crackmacs is good too

[dirtsniffer]

Originally posted by Super_Geo
sometimes you get one guy who posts 20x a day and just fills your inbox with shit.
(

Some people get paid for their tweets. fuuuuck

[BigMass]

They’ll have to put a gun to my head before I touch twitter or zuckerbook. I find it amusing how they’ve managed to con people into freely giving up their privacy with fervent exuberance. Orwell vs Huxley. Huxley wins.

[jdmakkord]

I use it more than Facebook nowadays. I follow the food trucks, celebrity chefs, athletes and sports writers.

[bjstare]

Follow Paul Bissonette (Phx Coyotes). He is good for lolz, and posts lots of pics. @biznasty2point0

I'm not even really into hockey, but this guy is hilarious.

[Mibz]

I follow the Top Gear guys, Metro Calgary, crackmacs, a few F1 drivers/pundits, a few friends, Beyond, Daniel Tosh and then some various scientists.

My feed is more news than humour :P

[Spoons]

I have twitter, I don't post anything at all though. I use it to just follow different snowboarding stuff, sports, politics, etc.

[flipstah]

I'm actually thinking of shutting down my FB and just use my Twitter.

FB is basically a public photo album/organizer for me anyways.

I get txt from the people I like anyways haha. :)

[max_boost]

Still don't use twitter yet but use facebook a lot these days. Adding friends, photos and organizing events fb very useful.

[viff3r]

More people need to be on google plus. Vastly superior to FB.

[canadian booster]

i had a beta account on twitter when it was brand spanking new, used it for a week and thought "this is friggin retarded" and never went back.

soon after i abandoned MySpace and bought a ticket on the FB wagon

[Tik-Tok]

I signed up a month ago when Beyond was under DoS attack, just to find out WTF was happening. Haven't used it since, but keep getting spammed by it now "We miss you" blah blah.

[toyboy88]

Use Twitter all the time now (mainly as news feed)...follow news, markets, finance, certain celeb/atheletes.

FB I just use nowadays, like flipstah mentioned, mainly for photo albums and/or coordinating 'group' events/activities.

[DarrelK]

Twitter for news, sports, jokes, and deals

FB for events and pictures

[FixedGear]

i don't use twitter or facebook, i guess that makes me weird. i used to have a friendster account, remember that? :rofl:

[flipstah]

Originally posted by max_boost
Still don't use twitter yet but use facebook a lot these days. Adding friends, photos and organizing events fb very useful.

You should go on Twitter! Your wit and ballerness are sorely needed in the Twitter...verse?

[Jlude]

I mostly use twitter for sports updates and etc. Hardly ever on FB anymore.

@jamesMT

Give me a shout out and let me know who you are!

[95EagleAWD]

Yeah, I use twitter to follow news and some people.

@FishermanIvan for my twitter.

[flipstah]

I haz Twitter:

@doncommando

[got_mike33]

It's pretty sweet for a few things. Last summer I won a Flames jersey because of Twitter, and have had a few conversations with Jon Cornish of the Stampeders.

It's good to use if I don't want to spam my Facebook friends, which happens a lot. Come say hi, @TheEngLife