Your Twitter Thumbprint



The Twitter experience is nothing if not unique. How each of us tweet, how we share and what we draw from the experience creates our own Twitter Thumbprint. Nary a one the same.

When I was asked the other day, “How can I get a bunch of followers in a short time span” I drew silent. (Uncharacteristic, I know.) That is so not Twitter to me! I suddenly realized that the questioner and I were not ideological Twitter bedfellows. Clear to me was the fact that this fellow wanted numbers, big numbers, tons of cool followers for his home page. Ego buffering, perhaps. And as we spoke a bit more, I suspected that my Twitter Thumbprint which has allowed me the organic growth of a couple thousand new followers was not what he wanted out of Twitter.

I can only tell you that I find Twitter both a classroom and a playground bustling with wise teachers and hilarious playmates. The experience that I have had with Twitter these last few months has been remarkably positive. So, I will share with you my thumbprint.

Here’s how I twitter. If it resembles your intentions and goals for Twitterland, you may find it helpful. If you seek the transparent popularity that of the “10K followers in two months” folks deem possible, my thumbprint won’t suit you. And I'll fashion you a glittery "Muy Popular" paper crown.


Throw a line out.
After spending some time viewing others on the Twitter stream one day, I finally casted out my own line. Prior to that moment, my tweets were literally “What are you doing now? answers with little value to anyone but me who already knew the answer to that question in the first place. I had 67 great followers most of whom I knew in person and I followed double that. My lightbulb experience came when I began engaging in dialogue with other tweeple, retweeting what I found interesting, and seeking ways that I could do some of these awesome new followers a kindness. I shared their links, I recommended them to others, I left a sincere comment on their blog. I tweeted about it in a 140 character version of this, my Twitter mantra:

The moment when you stop viewing your followers as a SUM and see them instead as a SOMEONE, then Twitter becomes meaningful.


Be yourself, be sincere, be interested.
To truly benefit from this social networking tool you need to know your intention clearly. I am a friendly, upbeat person forever open to learning from others. So I behaved true to myself. Each time I had a new follower my first step was a visit to their home page to paruse their tweets and follow a website link. It’s easy for me to find a interesting bit about everyone, I like people, so I sent a DM thanking them for the follow with a genuine nugget about why I was glad to be following them. That’s when I started meeting many rockstar “someones.” Unfortunately, to keep greeting followers individually as they arrive has become too time consuming to maintain. Girl's gotta work, eat & sleep too.


Seek out followers with common interests.
Twitter is not one size fits all. Do a self analysis on your interests and plug it into Twitter Search. You'll be shown tweeple who are talking about that very topic. I do this every so often to get akin followers. I explained this to my mother who searched "gardening" "NCAA March Madness" and "cooking" to help her find some interesting new folks to follow. To each their own, follows.


Soak up the beauty of kindness on Twitter.
People who seek only numbers, will get only numbers. I found new true friends, creative inspiration, personal connections, support, caring, business advice and best practices, a large network of people whom I care about everyday and who in turn feed my soul. I have so many great Twitter experiences to share but this is a fine example of the sharing community that makes it so awesome: I uploaded a two hour interview off of my digital voice recorder into my Mac and it erased the files. Panic set in…I did a few somersaults to calm myself down…and then spent the next 45 minutes on hold with the technical help number.

In comes Twitter. I decided while on the phone to ask my Tweeple if anyone had a potential solution. Within a minute, four people @AzureMarcommTX @Kbzon @Mama_Red and @andypohl came to my rescue. I spent the next hour plus the phone with Andy, coincidentally from my town, who walked me through the whole thing. Crisis averted. Friendship solidified! Beer owed :)

Twitter's mark on me is pronounced (hmm. I am wearing a shirt that says "eat. sleep. tweet" for Pete's sake. That is why I wanted to share the ways that I have optimized Twitter for my enjoyment. Seek out your mark. Your Twitter thumbprint is your own.

Leigh
@fleurdeleigh

Run for Reggie



How many of us are touched by Cancer? Personally, I have lost six family members to its relentless grasp, had a personal scare of my own which makes me associate birthdays with mamograms, and feel a kinship with those who are braving Cancer.

A member of my husband's Buffalo Wild Wings team is battling stage three lung cancer and we are committed to helping him and his family. Paul has never been witness to the positive power of the social networking I believe runs rampant on sites like Twitter and Facebook so when he asked me to seek help, I told him I would go to my team (YOU, my network of fine folks) to make a difference.

Reggie Foster, father of two and active member of his church, is undergoing treatment for lung cancer his hometown of Owensboro, KY. His coworkers of the Buffalo Wild Wings team have committed themselves wholeheartedly to helping to raise 40K for Reggie & his family to defray the cost of cancer care. The BWW Running Team is lead by Directors of Operations, Peter Tomkins and Dale Gallion. My husband Paul, a Regional Manager, several other team members, family members and spouses are taking part in BWW's sponsored Run For Reggie on April 25th at Nashville's Country Music Marathon. Reggie's status and BWW's Reggie Foster Fund updates can be found at runforreggie.blogspot.com.

How can you help? Believe me, we feel the palpable economic crunch like everyone else. But Cancer doesn't have a recession. Treatments, bills, procedures continue and EVERY little bit we muster for Reggie counts.Perhaps your contribution will be a prayer for this man of great faith, a donation to the Reggie Foster Fund, or your pledge per mile or participation in one of the events in Nashville's Marathon this April. Please consider what you might do to help Reggie & his family. No one can do everything; Everyone can do something. We, the friends, family, BWW's coworkers of Reggie, sincerely appreciate your support.

Thanks for your time and support!

Please email us at runforreggie@gmail.com to make your contribution or mail your donation:

Buffalo Wild Wings
7714 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236
ATTN: Michelle Gould.
Please make checks out to: The Reggie Foster Fund.

Leigh Caraccioli
@fleurdeleigh