’s Fundamental Flaw:
The in the
By Tim Klabunde – Design and Construction Report Contributing Writer
A recent Sprint Nextel commercial included a brief glimpse Would you be excited to read someone’s Twitter posts if
into the world of Twitter. It depicted hundreds of little blue they informed you when they were stuck in traffic, what
“Twitter birds” with small cell phone shaped text boxes above they had for dinner, and what they were doing this week-
their heads. Looking at the group you could see that each bird end?
was speaking a message towards their fellow blue friends. Would you be excited to read someone’s Twitter posts if
As the birds chirped they were creating a flurry of messages, they regularly contained leads for new work, great arti-
yet each message was the same: “Me!” cles regarding your industry, links to requests for propos-
This funny and quick snippet speaks volumes about the als, and information on local networking events they
fundamental issue most people face when trying to leverage were attending?
Twitter for business. That is the Twitter culture to focus on
sharing about oneself. The interesting thing about the second person is that not
only would most people follow an individual that was provid-
How businesses fail with Twitter
ing those resources; they would also probably try to meet
To properly see the Twitter flaw we must first start with the
them at an upcoming event. Notably, they would be inter-
basics of Web 2.0. At first the Internet was primarily about on-
ested in building a relationship outside of the online environ-
line shopping sites and providing information. Even today you
ment. This new relationship development then becomes the
can see this in many corporate websites that are set-up as
basis for success through Twitter.
online brochures. Within a couple of years, however, things
began to change. People began to realize that the fastest way
Building success online
to succeed online was to provide value, drawing a crowd from Remember that Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogging, and
people that were looking for information and resources. This other Web 2.0 sites are only tools that can help build a foun-
new interactive online environment became known as Web dation for mutually beneficial relationships. You must person-
2.0 and included web forms, blogs, social networking com- ally evaluate what tools are best to help you reach your
munities, and information resources. personal objectives, noting that some of these tools take
In the midst of these changes Twitter was started as a plat- much more time than others. Personally, I have chosen not to
form for individuals to share short updates of 140 characters focus on Twitter but rather on providing value to others
or less to anyone that was interested in reading them. As Twit- through blogging (cofebuz.com), LinkedIn, and the Design
ter became successful in strengthening relationships compa- and Construction Network (mydcn.com).
nies began to look for ways to leverage the growing platform
to expand their businesses.
Your turn
Unfortunately, many of the companies and individuals that
As you look at your goals for your online presence, evalu-
have set out to leverage Twitter have failed. Most have missed
ate what tools will work best for you. It will most probably be
the fundamental requirement of the new web, that in order
any number of online tools of which one might be Twitter. Re-
to succeed you must provide value. Today many individuals
gardless of the tools you choose, remember that success is
and companies that try to use Twitter for business are “Me!”
found online when you provide value to others.
users rather than focusing on others. Those
that have failed to embrace helping others in
the community are ignored and filtered from
Twitter updates by users.
Tim Klabunde, founder of the Design and
How to succeed with Twitter
http://www.whga.com/
Construction Network, serves as the Director of
With the knowledge that providing value is Marketing for Gordon, a Whttp://wwwhttp://www.whga.com/ashington DC Top 20
the key to success on the web, it is easy to Engineering Firm. He is a Fellow at Johns
begin to see how you can become successful Hopkins University where he obtained his MBA
at turning Twitter into a true business tool. In- from the Carey Business School. Tim currently
stead of thinking about what you can gain serves on the Board of Directors for the
from Twitter you must first start by thinking DC Chapter of the Society for
about how you can help people that follow Marketing Professional Services.
you. Take these two questions:
11
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