Chapter 24 My Twist On Twitter

Greetings from rural Australia.

I first discovered Twitter in 2007, not long after Twitter was launched. I signed up because it was highly recommended. But after looking at Twitter more closely, I decided it just wasn’t for me.

For several reasons.

I’m a very private person and have never been compelled to discuss my comings and goings with my closest friends or even my sister, Janet, who I adore. My favourite topic isn’t me.

I can’t think of one endeavour I do that’s of enough interest to coerce another person to want to read about it.

Because I don’t do off the wall activities.

I’ve never bungy jumped.

I’ve never harnessed up a pack of Huskies to a sled to traverse the landscape of Antarctica.

I don’t do white water rafting, although a drop of rain in my drought ravaged rural village would be more welcome than a froth of waves.

I’m sure you get the point.

But when Twitter makes the news on my favourite radio station, the conservative ABC Radio National, and is even discussed on Geraldine Doogue’s Saturday Extra’s Program, it’s time to revisit Twitter.

And my first impression hasn’t changed.

I recently left a comment on Valerie Khoo’s Sydney Morning Herald, Small Enterprise Blog, to say that Twitter is in danger of becoming a worse pest than SPAM on the internet.

There’s a lot of shouting and posturing on Twitter.

And some people post TWITS every hour, so if you’re following them, you have 24, 140 character messages that contain trivia about what they have for lunch, where they’re going, what they’re seeing, to wade through.

Some people have 25,000 followers and are following 25,000 people. This is about quantity, not quality.

I’m still adamant that there’s very little quality information on Twitter.

In many cases, Twitter is no more than minute by minute commercials posted by business people who want something from you, with no hint of giving something back. Especially for free.

But the hub bub about Twitter intrigues me. And it’s hard to ignore the crescendo of hype that now pervades the media. Which means Twitter is no longer in ‘early adaptor stage’ and is very much in the mainstream of communication technology.

So it’s back to the drawing board.

How can I use Twitter to my benefit? Even though I’m not inclined to share the minutiae of my life with people I know little about.

In my favour, I have Sherlock Holmes character traits. I love investigations because they all too often lead to opportunities.

I’m also an avid reader of business books. Stay with me, this thread does lead somewhere.

I read little fiction these days because I’ve no reason to escape reality. I’m living my dream.

I’ve established a world wide business while living and working from my beautiful rural property in the Central Tablelands of NSW.

I look out any window and see serenity. I walk outside and am surrounded by tranquillity.

Birds and kangaroos are my constant companions, as is my partner, exceptionally talented architect, Victor Pleshev, and my three dogs.

City slickers envy my early morning walks in the rising sun, swathed in the morning mist, with my dogs galloping through the bush. The only sounds I hear are the chatter of the birds and the thump, thump, thump of the kangaroos as they traverse across the landscape.

And I have no near neighbours who drive me to distraction.

So I devote my reading time to anything that will make a difference to the success of my business. My voracious appetite for business knowledge has never let me down.

And opened my eyes to the value of Twitter for me.

Two facts come to light immediately while ruminating about Twitter.

It’s an often quoted homily that you are who you surround yourself with.

If you want to be the very best at what you do, hang out with people who are doing what you want to do. Go to where the people are who are achieving their goals. If you want to be at the top of the tree, climb up there and hang out with the ones who are making it to the top.

Second, if you want to be hugely successful, tap into a simple, but effective strategy used by everyone who’s reached the top of their profession or industry.

Stop talking and start listening.

My little village of Ilford NSW is populated by farmers. Some of them quite famous, like Sydney heart surgeon Matt Bayfield, who owns the adjoining property. His sheep graze on my property to keep the grass down to extinguish any possible bushfire hazard on the rare times we have gully washers of rainfall.

But I’m not interested in becoming a heart surgeon. Nor am I interested in sheep farming. Although Matt is a lovely man and he and his wife Meredith and children are a charming family, there’s little in common to share with him when it comes to my business.

In fact, there’s little opportunity for me to mix with high fliers who I can learn from, anywhere in my region.

The tyranny of distance is a major drawback. And not everybody wants to share their secrets of success.

Can Twitter be the answer?

Is it possible to be a voyeur and tap into some quality information without committing myself to participate in the endless chit chat?

I reactivate my account to do some research.

I key in the names of people I admire, and discover all but two are on Twitter.

This is promising.

I then look at their messages to evaluate the quality of information they’re transmitting.

You can do this without permission from anyone. If someone has a Twitter account, you’re able to look at all the messages they’ve posted. It really is freedom of information in the truest sense.

And because Twitter is about talking, I can deduce from their posts what’s quality information and what’s trivial rubbish.

This Guerrilla From The Bush discovers she can turn a negative, for me, into a positive, purely by surveying the landscape, twisting it around and upside down, looking at it from a completely different perspective, and transform it into a market research tool I can make work – for me! And for free!

I use Twitter to hang out with the people I admire who are posting quality information on their Twits. And I’m listening to what they’re talking about.

Like master persuader David Lakhani of Bold Approach, who has written some awesome books about persuasion in marketing. And devoured by me.

And super traffic generator Alex Mandossian, who’s go, go, go all the time. His Alex Mandossian Blog is worth a visit because his energy is contagious.

Street Smarts Marketer Kathleen Gage, whose down to earth information is so refreshing to read.

Tellman Knudson, because I witnessed his rise from nowhere to somebody in a few short years. And I love his funky emails, even though I read only a few. But his List Building Blog is a must read.

The Ezine Articles Team, because I submit articles to them.

And Victoria Hansen, because she’s a very savvy media entrepreneur who I admire and she’s also a friend of 20 years.

What do I get in return?

By Twitter standards, not much. The objective on Twitter is to be followed, so you can shout and be heard, like the screaming that goes on at a football match.

But I want to be quiet and listen so I can learn. I want to follow.

The first thing I notice is that super successful people are always doing something significant to move themselves forward one step at a time.

Imagine the cheek of Victoria Hansen sending a Twitter message to Hugh Jackman, requesting an interview for her podcasts on Please Explain!

David Lakhani posts numerous links to videos and websites which are rich in content and are fabulous learning experiences. He’s a giver. These links have nothing to do with his business, Bold Approach . He just passes on information that he thinks is of value. And much appreciated by me! And remembered every time he brings out a new book.

Alex Mandossian is a learning machine. His Twitter posts are rich in content, content, content. Following them can be exhausting, but it’s all free and valuable.

The Ezine Team is awash with tips about writing articles and getting them published without hassles. Using keywords to make them valuable to search engines. How to create the perfect resource block. And more.

So if you’re like me and can’t see the value of Twitter, twist it around and use it to look into what the important people in your industry are doing.

Observe. Listen. And learn.

You’re not only hanging out with people who are making a difference, but you’re listening and learning, rather than wasting your energy shouting above the roar to be heard – by no one, really.

Then emulate – copy, imitate - what they’re doing.

Most are really upfront people who knock on doors and ask permission to enter. And they knock on so many doors it’s a given that some will open. That’s why they’re where they are.

They’re also doing things to create interest in themselves and their business.

Kathleen Gage is 55 and a non-runner. But she’s participating in a 26 mile marathon to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. Spurred on by her friend, Sam Crowley, who’s the ‘Every Day Is Saturday Guy’.

A tip.

Before you click on Follow, look at how often someone posts to Twitter. If they’re posting every hour on the hour, give them a miss. Most of it is trivia. It’s a lot of shouting and hollering and little is of substance.

One last word.

There’s a lot of information to wade through. It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Some of it fits perfectly. And sometimes you struggle to see the relevance of the piece you’re looking at.

By listening to and following people who are doers, you can pick and choose what’s relevant to you. You can adapt anything to suit your own circumstances.

I guarantee you it will be hard to walk away from these Twitter messages without some compelling information that will force you to sit down and write out a marketing and action plan, just to keep up.

If you’re having a tough day and can’t see the trees for the forest, click on Twitter and follow some of your doers for a few minutes. It lifts your spirits and energises you to move forward one more step.

If you have a creative and adventurous spirit, you’ll always turn a sow’s ear into an exquisite silk purse.

That’s my twist on Twitter.

What’s yours?

I invite you to post your comments and share your opinion with others.


Take care,

CAROL

Carol Jones
Director
Interface Pty Ltd
Ilford NSW 2850 Australia
Designers of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover
Our simple design solutions make every product a joy to use

Let’s have a chat. Ring me on 02 63 58 85 11 if you’re within Australia, OR
+612 63 58 85 11 if you’re outside Australia

The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover, Roadworks Apron, Log Lugger, Travel Bug Shoe Bag, Mr Chin’s Laundry Bag and Sweet Shoo are all simple solutions for difficult problems. And every one is a joy to use.

We’ve developed markets for these 6 products without national or international retail distribution. To see what we’ve achieved, click on our website at www.interfaceaustralia.com.

Read the story of how our business began on The Ironing Board Cover Lady. No sales hype. Just a down home story about how we started our business on the dining room table of our rural property, driving on ‘L’ Plates, without an instructor.



A comment about LinkedIn. If you’re not a member of LinkedIn, when you click View Full Profile, you’ll be asked to join. It’s free and the option is yours. There are benefits to joining. Once you’re a member, you can key in the name of any person you do business with. If they’ve taken the trouble to complete a Profile, you’ll be able to assess their background, their capabilities and the calibre of person they are. You might be, as I am, often pleasantly surprised. So go have a look.