Twitter – Maine Creative Services

Twitter update: They like me, they really like me!

Tom McKay — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:41:26 +0000

Despite a LOT of initial skepticism, I have been tweeting for exactly one week now, squeezing it in between my client work — and trying to resist the temptation to do it ALL the time. It’s really fun!

Here’s an update. I have attracted 65 followers in those seven days. That’s amazing to me, since I have done zero promotion except for the two previous posts (scroll down). Wiser tweeters than I have told me that’s pretty good for one week. All I did was spit out the quick ramblings of my troubled mind.

As I mentioned before, I was a HUGE Twitter skeptic. It seemed like nothing more that a huge time-waster to me. Where were the benefits? What was the upside?

Boy, was I wrong. First, did I mention it’s fun? Second, Twitter makes it incredibly easy to connect with anyone, including major figures in my field (and probably yours). I have already made connections with people I would never have dreamed of emailing for fear it might be perceived as spam or just an unwanted intrusion.

My tweeting hasn’t turned into paid work yet, but I’m confident it will, and probably fairly soon. I’ve already received one message from someone looking for a good copywriter. I’ve also gotten some good ideas from other people’s tweets. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and sharing it is even better.

Twitter is filled witrh smart people who help you stay fresh and up-to-date in your field. Each message (tweet) is quick and VERY brief — 140 characters max, including spaces — so it’s much less of an intrusion. Plus, people seem to really welcome tweets, although you can ignore them if you like.

Conclusion: Definitely worth a try.

Look, I’m busy, just like you. I have no use for stupid fads, no matter how popular or trendy they might be. But this is something more. If you haven’t take Twitter for a test-drive, do it soon. If nothing else, try to grab your name (or your business name) while it’s still available. Come to think of it, that was the ONLY reason I signed up originally.

I have seen the future of networking, and its name is Twitter.

Want to be one of my Twitter groupies? Follow me. C’mon, it won’t hurt a bit.

Is Twitter good for finding leads?

Tom McKay — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:19:34 +0000

How would I know? I’m a complete Twitterookie. (Twookie?)

Seriously, lots of smart people are extremely enthusiastic about its ability to find, attract and influence prospective customers. Today John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing offers a guide to Mining Leads on Twitter, focusing on utilizing Twitter’s advanced search tools.

“Advanced search is where the real data mining comes to life. It allows you to filter everything that’s being said for your keyword phases in your town, for example. Think that might be useful?”

It's true. I've become a Twit.

Tom McKay — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:31:49 +0000

Despite hearing a lot of hype about it, even from people I like and respect, I have been a huge Twitter skeptic. I perceived it as an enormous time-sink with little or no value, except maybe self-gratification. (No, not that kind!) That was until I finally took the time to actually visit the site yesterday. Wow, amazing people and ideas flying around there. Fun, too.

Now my problem is, how do I get any work done? Being a twit (hmm, that’s probably not the right term, is it?) is a lot more fun than actually working!

Shameless plug: Follow me at @tom_mckay