Why You Should "Tweet"

This post mainly goes out to my family and friends who are still stuck in the dark ages of MySpace and Facebook. This is not meant to bash either of these social media sites but to help you see above and beyond. For others, if your family and friends are like mine, they are just now getting the hang of Facebook and all of the many new features it offers. This being the case, I ask myself, "When will they catch up and join the booming world of Twitter?" I have heard so many say; "It's just status updates," "I don't understand it," "I have better things to do with my time." And although some choose to use Twitter for telling their followers what they ate for breakfast, others are using it for far more interesting things.

Here are 5 reasons why I think you should use Twitter:

1.  News, News, News. Twitter is a great source for breaking news (**this is depending on who you choose to "follow")  It is best for receiving recent news on topics that interest YOU. For instance, I am a PR major, which means that I like to be kept up to date on the most recent trade stories. So, I follow PRSAnews, PRwise, BamaAPR and SocialMedia411. I also follow abc3340 for local news and FoxNews for national news. You may follow all people and things that interest you. The beauty of Twitter is that you control the content that you receive and follow.

2. Entertainment. You can follow anyone that you think is entertaining. I use Twitter to follow celebrities and to see what they are up to. I find entertainment value in following celebrities that I like and would love to meet. Following them on Twitter is like my little imaginary world because they are actually "tweeting" themselves and no one is doing it for them. It makes you feel like you are friends and actually know them. haha! Now that is entertainment! Some of the celebs that I choose to follow are: Barbara Walters, Lady Gaga, Pink, Jimmy Fallon, and Kim Kardashian.

3. Friendship. I follow friends that I actually know and people that I may not know but that share the same interests as I do. It's a great way to keep up with old friends and make new ones. My best friends Courtney and Claire are on Twitter. Follow them at courtmcdonald and claire_peters!

4. Gathering opinions and advice. Twitter is a great way to get an opinion on something from friends and trusted sources. For example, you could ask your followers to give you their opinion(s) on a new restaurant in town, a particular brand or product or a new hair-do you are trying out. This goes hand-in-hand with gathering advice also.

5. Personal Branding. Twitter is a new and innovative way to get your name out there and to create an image for yourself. You have control over what you say and how people perceive you as a person. If you are like me, this could be a great way for me to sell myself,  my thoughts, ideas and opinions to potential employers (that is only if the employer is actively using Twitter). And for example, I promote "Erin Lately" by tweeting when I've posted a new blog (such as when I post this one, I'll "tweet" the link).

So for all you non-users out there, embrace social media and all it has to offer. Follow these simple steps and you are on your way to 20Trend:

1. Go to www.twitter.com
2. Click on the big green button that says, "Sign up now"
3. Type in your information and Viola!
4. Follow me @emshipl


Until next time.