Whenever a new form of social media hits the scenes, it's usually dubbed as just a fad, present only for the time being. However, some of these have withstood the test of time and have cemented their place in the fold of society. The two that come to mind are Facebook and the more recent, Twitter. All social networks have relatively the same foundation: connect, share, rinse, and repeat. The beauty of social networks is that you can be virtual friends with people whom you may never meet in person and learn things you would never have otherwise known. The way I use Twitter and Facebook differ. Facebook is more of a medium I use to connect with family, friends, and co-workers to keep in touch via photos, wall postings, notes, etc. Twitter, however, is less personal. I follow (the lingo used in Twitter to refer to friends) people half way across the world, from different age groups, races, occupations, etc. Because Twitter is less personal, I feel that is its biggest advantage.
By being friends with people from various backgrounds, I get to learn things that I would not otherwise be aware of. Yes, most of the news stories I receive in my feed can be read on news sites but the personal insights that ordinary people give cannot be replicated elsewhere, making them unique. What I find most attractive about Twitter is its way of communicating: in 140 characters or less. So yes, I can read a news story about something or I can get the main points in 140 characters through Twitter. Quite honestly, I prefer getting it through Twitter. Another aspect I love about Twitter is that it is in real time. I'm a big sports fan and I found out about the historical move of Christiano Ronaldo going to Real Madrid from ESPN via Twitter. Even more recently, I learned about the Iranian election dispute and the revolution currently taking place there from CNN and TIME via Twitter. The way I look at it, Twitter is the RSS feed simplified; it brings a wealth of information to your fingertips, seamlessly and efficiently.
Moving away from just the personal use of Twitter, I'll shift my concentration to the business facet of it. Given Twitter's huge number of active users, along with it's exponential growth, it gives marketers and brands a new avenue to build customer loyalty and to reach to potential new customers. I've had a few interesting personal experiences and would like to use them to illustrate the value of Twitter. A few months ago, a pair of Altec Lansing headphones I had bought not long ago ripped. In my moment of upset, I sent a tweet expressing my dissatisfaction with the brand and giving it two thumbs down. The following day, I received an email from the Product Manager of the headphones division apologizing to me for my unpleasant experience. The fact that he apologized for the brand's shortcomings impressed me but he didn't stop there; he went above and beyond the call of duty. He asked which pair I had and was going to give me a free replacement pair. I told him which pair I had (yes, I was honest!) but told him that I wasn't too fond of that model and asked for another model. He said he'd be willing to give me an even better model than the one I had asked for. Am I wowed? Ecstatic would be a more appropriate word. So after a few days, he gets back to me and apologizes saying that his team can't find that pair he told me he was going to give me. However, he said he was going to give me a higher end model than the one he initially said AND to make up for the delayed response, he would give me one of the highest end models. So a few days passed and I received both sets of brand new headphones, both in perfectly new shape. I was wowed out of my socks as I was totally not expecting this kind of great customer relations and treatment just from simply venting my frustration through Twitter.
Altec Lansing isn't the only one with outstanding customer care. I've had pleasant experiences with both Drugstore.com and Zappos. There was an issue with one of my orders from Drugstore as it kept getting destroyed in transit. I vented my frustration and the next day, the Director of Customer Care saw my tweet and contacted me directly. She apologized for the hiccup and offered a $20 credit and overnight shipping. Ironically, the second shipment also got messed up in transit. She apologized once again and reissued another $20 credit and overnight shipped my package, this time with a shipping manager overlooking the package. So all in all, for a $60 order, I only had to pay $20. Not bad : ) The same incident happened with Zappos. I ordered a pair of sunglasses and they were slightly cracked and in my usual fashion, I sent a tweet venting my discontent. Minutes later (not even exaggerating), a customer care rep contacted me apologizing for the faulty product. He offered a replacement to be sent overnight and I didn't even need to send my faulty pair back. Pretty awesome.
I don't only tweet my unpleasant experiences with brands/companies; I also commend companies for their good work. All three of the above-mentioned companies got a shout out with my approval and have all been recommended to my friends and family as both reputable and pleasant companies to do business with.
Twitter can be used in a variety of ways. There are some who simply tweet about their personal life and yes, it can get a bit boring. However, there are many people who are not quite household names but still celebrities in their own right. I use Twitter for news, for laughs, for insights, and just for a nice little read. It's a nice, little, 140 character (or less) bundle of joy.
For those looking for interesting people to follow on Twitter, here are some of my faves: @espn, @TIME, @arjunbasu, @avinashkaushik, @rainnwilson (Dwight from The Office), @THE_REAL_SHAQ, and @caseymckinnon. There are loads more from my list of people I follow so take your pick!
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