5 ways to NOT suck at Twitter

I am not an expert.  I don't pretend to be.  But after going to a couple REBarCamps and being a pretty good listener I have discovered something very powerful about Twitter: asking for business before you even know someone is LETHAL - Twitter homicide!

I have been told this by several people so I have never tried it, but yesterday, while I was in a meeting I wasn't paying attention to, I decided to start following some of my followers.  Within a few hours I had 10 people asking me to do business with them.

Seriously, how fast can you say unfollow!

So here is a quick lesson for how to use Twitter:

1)  Make relationships!  Twitter is about meeting new people who have common interests.  Just like ActiveRain, it is a social networking platform.  Treat it that way.

2)  Share:  Twitter is about sharing interesting links, articles, and showing people who you are.  Don't ask for something, especially befoe you even know them.

3)  READ!  Just like blogging, reading and commenting is more important than writing.  Don't tell people how wonderful you are - tell people how wonderful OTHER people are.

4)  Retweet Often: I love this feature.  Re-tweeting is taking someone else's tweet and re-blasting it.  It is a wonderful way to show someone you value their perspective.

5)  It's not about you - it's about them: Remember, Twitter is just like blogging, make it about them, not you.  If you do, you will make friends quickly, be part of an amazing social networking community, and yes, even possibly make money.

See you there!