Hope Writes

Linky Love

Posted by Hope

I have a busy day today, so I thought I’d send out some linky love. Enjoy!

• How To Gain Experience Without Writing For Peanuts I love Courtney’s creative titles
• Are You Blogging with Confident Feet? Very interesting concept about blogging with confidence
• Why Twitter Isn’t A Waste Of Time Good read if you’ve been wondering how to use Twitter to market yourself
• Twitter Pays My Rent More tips on how to use Twitter to your advantage
• How To Create A Scanned Signature Just what it says
• 5 Ways to Kill a Great Idea Fast! And How to Avoid Them! Simple, but oh so true!
• The Reluctant Expert Quick and simple research tips

Technorati Tags: linky love, writing tips, blogging tips, Twitter

Popularity: 22% [?]

Is Twitter Harmful To Your Health?

Posted by Hope

I joined Twitter a little while ago after I saw murmuring about it on the Warrior Forum. At first, I wasn’t very sure what to do with it. Then I started adding friends and interacting with others. At that point, Twitter took on a life of its own.

The first thing I did every morning as soon as I sat down at the computer was turn on Twitter. I’d catch up on all the latest blurbs from everyone while I was sleeping. Then I’d jump in and start Twittering with the best of them.

It didn’t take very long until Twitter consumed quite a bit of my time during the day. I’d get my work done, but boy I’d Twitter up a storm every few minutes. One day I sat down and figured up how much time I’d spent on Twitter that day and I was…shocked, to say the least.

It’s funny how these simple little “conveniences” can eat up so much of our time without us even realizing it. Now, I’m not saying don’t use Twitter. Lord knows I still Twitter with the best of them even still! But what I’m saying is that if you do use Twitter, be very careful. Allow me to elaborate…

Today I did some serious thinking. (Yeah, if you heard thunder clap and saw lightening strike, that’s probably why!) What I realized is that I have been using Twitter as more of an instant messaging system, rather than a “mini blog.” Hmmm…interesting!

Furthermore, a lot of my Twitters on a daily basis sometimes consist of nothing more than “LOL! @so-and-so” or “Yeah, me too @so-and-so”. Is this type of social communication really profiting my business?

Sure, I’m forging new friendships and relationships with others through Twitter. I guess my main concern right now is this: Is Twitter doing more harm than good for my business life? Is it merely a distraction? Is it really furthering my business in any way? I’m afraid at this point my answer to this would have to be “no.”

I love chatting with others. I especially love the sense of “community” that social networking like Twitter can bring to the picture. However, I’m not sure if my using Twitter is really anything more than truly a social tool or if it can become something more useful for my career.

What do you think about all this? Have you thought about it in this perspective, if you’re already using Twitter? In what ways have you found Twitter useful in business-building relationships? Or am I the only one who is being unproductive in using Twitter?

Technorati Tags: Twitter, social networking, social networking for writers

Popularity: 15% [?]