Twitter – Five Levels and Counting

People use Twitter to achieve different things and in different ways.  However, I’ve noticed that there appears to be a sort of hierarchy and, like most hierarchies, it’s unhelpful, especially to those on the lower rungs.

The Monarchy – the celebrities who Tweet about their meal choices. Why? Because they think their fans want it, not because this is a normal thing to do in real life. They have to ignore the overwhelming flood of response.  They could of course just not Tweet but that’s not the point.

Drawing of a ladder demonstrating the rungs of Twitter
Which Twitter rung are you on?

 

The Aristocracy – they Tweet to share their world view, opinions and experience. They expect to get a response; they just aren’t really interested in what that response is.  Their connections are in place – they don’t need to make any more through Twitter.  And let’s be clear, if they had to meet you in real life they would be frankly appalled.

The Gentry – they Tweet and generously respond and engage with their audience. They aren’t really interested in anyone on a lower rung but it looks like they are. After all, those people on the lower rungs may actually be unidentified Aristocracy.  If they met you in real life they wouldn’t recognize you, despite communicating with you for years!

The Yeomanry – they Tweet to share and receive. They want to use the process to build relationships with other people.  Sadly, when they engage with the Gentry they think that they are engaging on their own rung, but they’re not. They want to meet you in real life – that is the point.

The Artisans – they have no idea what the fuss is all about and are just getting on with real life.

Please note:

This is just my opinion. None of this is true about anyone all of the time.  People who describe themselves as thought leaders have a special rung all of their own.

SoMe, So What? Why Bother With Social Media?

Social Media does a whole host of stuff – acts as a shop window, gives you access to lots of other shop windows and begins the process of building relationships, both with customers and colleagues. On its own it has its limits; relationships are built much better and faster face-to-face and building relationships is very important to me. (see here) But Social Media can be the beginning of something fabulous and valuable. Here are just a few people (and their Twitter handles) I’ve met first through SoMe, then in real life and what they mean to me.

 

Sarah Harvey – @SavvySarahSPM

When I first set up my business I knew that the isolation could be damaging, both in terms of my mental well being but also through working in a very small silo. I put out a call on LinkedIn for some like minded people to form an action learning set and Savvy Sarah responded straight away.  Meeting her for the first time I was a bit daunted; she’s rather an impressive character.  I soon discovered that she is generous, intelligent, action orientated, supportive and gently challenging.  She’s clever, there are no two ways about it, and she does this in such a warm and engaging way that I love to spend time with her.

 

Jo Turner – @JoodlesJo

A few years ago I went through a particularly stressful time.  I had been freelance for a while and the initial excitement had worn off but the business was not exactly flooding in.  I had a couple of things on my mind that were spinning around and around and seriously starting to affect my waking and sleeping life.  I noticed on Twitter a course on Zen Doodling – a mindfulness technique taught by the delightful Jo Joodles.  A morning in her company, with two other similarly stressed women, gave me a strategy for completely emptying my mind and relaxing.  She welcomed us into her home and gave generously of herself.  Wonderful.

 

Niall Gavin – @niallgavinuk

I met Niall at a networking event where he was doing a talk on using Social Media as a learning resource.  He had been popping up in my Twitter timeline and was obviously well respected by my peers.  He had also recently faced a major health scare and so his perspective on life and getting the most from it is fascinating.  I have spent time with him on a number of occasions. He is someone that I am happy to chat through ideas with; he has a wise and gentle way about him, along with an infectious humour and a certain spark that gives rather than drains.

 

Jo Cook – @LightbulbJo

Jo, or rather Lightbulb Jo, kept popping up in my timeline and seemed to be universally respected by my network.  I then met her at a launch for a book on webinars, one of Jo’s specialisms.  From the first moment of meeting her she was generous with her time, with offers of help and with praise.  She recently held my hand through the techy bit of being part of a webinar panel and did it with such grace and encouragement that it was easy to admit when I had been a bit numptyish.

 

Tony Jackson – @JacksonT0ny

I posted on Twitter a few years ago that I had signed up to a Tweet-up and that I had no idea what that meant.  Tony replied that he was in the same boat and looked forward to seeing me there.  Two years later I have a friend that I can discuss great big issues with – like the meaning of life and such – or have a giggly lunch with, chatting about some of the crappy stuff.  He writes intelligently, takes beautiful photographs and lives life with passion.  Whatever he does he does well.  He’s also incredibly loyal; I’m very privileged to have him in my corner.

 

Doug Shaw – @dougshaw1

I bumped into Doug at a conference; we had an interesting discussion about colour and decorating ourselves (I had just dyed my fringe blue.)  Doug is an artist and uses art to help organisations and individuals to get a different perspective on change, learning, the world etc.  We met recently for coffee for the sole reason of getting to know each other better, having chatted remotely via Twitter. Doug brings a different view point and for that reason always adds to any discussion.  He is also charming to spend time with.

 

All of these (and others) are important to me.  They keep me sane, on track, engaged, curious and content – and I wouldn’t have met them if it hadn’t been for social media.

 

When The Tech Is Not What’s Needed

Three humans blasted into space today. They were flying on one of the most complex pieces of kit ever designed, on their way to the pinnacle* of human achievement so far; the International Space Station.

These three men (they happened to be men – this is not a post about women in STEM) have undergone the most extensive and intensive training of anyone on our plant. Collectively they have the latest understanding on how to do the most technologically advanced job in history. And what did they have in their hands? Tricorders? iPads? Other technological widgets designed by NASA for the mission? No. Pads of paper with step by step instructions. Also, they had pointy sticks so that they could reach the controls whilst being pushed back into their seats.

soyuz

Tweet from Spaceflight Now, photo copyright NASA – obvs!

 

Why the low tech solution? Because these things work. They are utterly reliable, easy to use and cheap. They are exactly the right tool for the job. Sometimes tech is not what is needed.

Yesterday I met up with the wise and gentle Niall Gavin. We chatted about life, work, family etc over breakfast. We challenged each other over current ideas and helped get new perspectives. We also discussed trust. In particular the trust that you need to let the mask down, to be a bit un-professional and raw, and to be confident that this won’t cause a problem. Your Venn diagram has to have a really good overlap to get to that point of trust. This doesn’t happen via e-mail and social media.

Sometimes face to face is better. Tech solutions open up all sorts of amazing opportunities for meeting people – see next blog post. But there is no tech in the world that builds a relationship anywhere near as well as chatting with someone over a cup (or glass) of something comforting.

So, if you can, go and meet your personal network, your client, your supplier, your delegates. Because that’s what works.
* in my opinion – happy to debate this. (Unless you think that the pinnacle of human achievement has anything to do with a sport! Or the Kardashians.)