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twitter vs. activerain - The Gloves Are Off

By
Real Estate Agent with WINEormous.com

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image courtesy of photobucket

 

Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not implying that one is better than the other. Rather, I believe blogs can complement twitter  and vice versa.

One of my favorite people on activerain, Gary Woltal, wrote a post about twitter on March 7th -

Why You Won't Find This Cowboy On Twitter (Yet) 

At the time, I had had a twitter account for more than a year, but I was on the fence at best. I had about 200 followers on twitter back then, and I believed with Gary that twitter was a time waster. Fast forward to April 21. Yesterday I passed the 1,000 follower mark on twitter. I follow twitter on a program called TweetDeck, which allows me to categorize the people I follow. I don't have to be glued to twitter - I can visit it as I please, and take what I want from it.

I met a 13 year old boy named Jason O'Neill and interviewed him for a blog post -

13 Year Old Temecula Boy Makes His Mark With Pencil Bugs

This young man is truly an inspiration. I have connected with Pat Kitano and Kevin Boer and have begun taking webinars with them on how to integrate social media - blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter and more - to build your online referral network.

I can't write a post like this on twitter. You're limited to 140 characters. I can, however link to this post with a single tweet and thus instantly expose it to potentially millions of readers.

I see tweets from people like Dustin Luther, Ardell Dellalogia, Teresa Boardman, Todd Carpenter to name just a few. I heard about ReBarCampLA on twitter and because of that experienced a great day of learning and saw fellow rainers there like Ginger Wilcox, Laura Monroe, Marlene Bridges, Ricardo Bueno, Jeff Turner, Jeff Dowler and many, many others.

The beauty of twitter to me is its immediacy. I would have to search for hours here to find what I can find there in seconds. On the other hand, I can do things here I could never do there. That's my point... each complements the other. Do you need twitter? Maybe not. Is it worth checking out? Absolutely. Let me know what you think. You can follow me @TomPlant.

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P.S. Follow @nik_nik and you'll be introduced to Nicole Nicolay

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential BrokerageActive Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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Comments (21)

Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

Hi Tom:  I am still learning ways to integrate twitter.  Somehow AR and FB are keeping me busy.  Have you gotten any direct business from twitter?  Just wondering.

Apr 22, 2009 07:25 AM
Aaron Poling
Long & Foster - Martinsburg, WV
Working to get YOU the BEST Deal!

I love activerain but i think there is a place in my life for Twitter too. I joined twitter because i can link my activerain blog straight to my twitter. The best of both worlds.

Apr 22, 2009 07:31 AM
Tom Plant
WINEormous.com - Murrieta, CA

Vickie - By all means check out TweetDeck. For me it made all the difference. Let me know if I can help you figure it out.

Joan - It's a lot to juggle, but twitter is just another tool. No direct business yet, but I've expanded my referral network and have no doubt it will lead to business.

Aaron - I'm sure there is. The ability to post a link to your blog on twitter and the number of potential additional readers is mind boggling.

Apr 22, 2009 07:38 AM
Ann Allen Hoover
RE/MAX Advantage South - Hoover, AL
CDPE SRES ASP e-PRO Realtor - Homes for Sale - AL

I have Tweetdeck but have not learned how to make it work for me.  I sure would like to see someone to do a good tutorial on this.

Apr 22, 2009 07:39 AM
Joanna Szwyd
StoneHouse Properties - Great Barrington, MA

Just as I introduced twitgoo to my twitter, there is a tweetdeck as well?:) 24 hours seem not enough

Apr 22, 2009 07:50 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

I don't think Activerain and Twitter can even be compared. They're completely different products.  One's blogging platform and the other is a "status" platform where you're just leaving a thought.  If I had to vote one off the island, I would vote off Twitter as I can write so much more and generate so much more on AR.

Apr 22, 2009 07:56 AM
Li Read
Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring) - Salt Spring Island, BC
Caring expertise...knowledge for you!

Different things, I agree.    Twitter is like the billboard, and Active Rain blogs are like the store itself.    All communication, though!

Apr 22, 2009 08:10 AM
Tom Plant
WINEormous.com - Murrieta, CA

Ann - I'll see what I can do. It's really a great tool.

Donna - Thanks for your comments. The point I was trying to make is each service can add benefits to the other. I can do an in-depth post her, and then point to it on twitter this easily - "twitter vs. activerain - new blog post is up: http://bit.ly/15jog" thus exposing it to so many more readers. I'm not advocating one over the other. I like both.

Li - Great analogy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Joanna - Twitgoo? I'll have to check that one out.

Apr 22, 2009 08:30 AM
Brian Block
RE/MAX Allegiance, Managing Broker/Branch Vice President - McLean, VA
Northern Virginia & D.C. Real Estate

Tom, that video by Nicole leaves me absolutely speechless!  When's your video going to be posted -- I'm sure there's a Little Feat song for you to rock out to!

Apr 22, 2009 08:51 AM
Tom Braatz Waukesha County Real Estate 262-377-1459
Coldwell Banker - Oconomowoc, WI
Waukesha County Realtor Real Estate agent. SOLD!

Tom

It is amazing watching the Tweekdeck while one does paperwork. I do like all the linking on Twitter, not to say it lets you get to know the personal and real side of people.

Tom

Apr 22, 2009 08:52 AM
Tom Plant
WINEormous.com - Murrieta, CA

Brian - She is one of a kind. I think I'll spare the world a video like that. Thanks!

Tom - I love that aspect of it, too. You just catch what you can, when you can.

Apr 22, 2009 10:17 AM
Kate Elim
Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA
Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Tom...I hope when you say the gloves are off that in this instance you mean we're all going to get along.  As you said they are both places we should be.

I can hardly say I'm on Twitter as I have only tweeted a couple of times in the past several months sinece I signed up.  I still don't get it and I haven't taken the time to try.

Shame on me...and I'm trying so hard not to be an old fogey.

Kate

Apr 22, 2009 02:06 PM
Tom Plant
WINEormous.com - Murrieta, CA

kate - You are no old fogey. Yes indeed, I meant we will all get along. I didn't "get" twitter for almost a year and a half.

Apr 22, 2009 04:09 PM
Maria Morton
Platinum Realty - Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Real Estate 816-560-3758

Tweetdeck is cool! I just installed it. Thanks, Tom.

Apr 24, 2009 04:25 PM
Tom Plant
WINEormous.com - Murrieta, CA

Maria - It makes a huge difference, doesn't it?

May 01, 2009 07:37 AM
Carl Winters
Canyon Lake, TX

Hey Tom - I'm just now learning AR and now here comes Twitter, Facebook and so many others. I have joined Facebook but not sure I get it. Probably won't go to Twitter, can't keep up with what I have. I guess I'm an old Fogey.

May 01, 2009 03:03 PM
Donna Yates
BHGRE - Metro Brokers - Blue Ridge, GA
Blue Ridge Mountains

HI Tom:  I've had an account on Twitter for some time too, plus Facebook.  I can't even keep up with Active Rain, let alone these social networks.  I guess I just don't get twitter and I heard a news report today that a lot of people are actually dropping out after a few months.  Seems to me, it's just too time consuming to try to keep up with all these networks.  I'd much rather be out and away from the computer and "twitter" in person.  LOL

May 02, 2009 11:33 AM
Tom Plant
WINEormous.com - Murrieta, CA

Ceil - You're no old fogey. Twitter isn't for everyone. It took me over a year to figure it out. Stick with what you love.

Donna - You're not alone. For me I had a lightbulb moment where I "got" twitter. I think it's a great tool. Use what works for you.

May 11, 2009 04:04 AM
Deb Clifton
Coldwell Banker Advantage - Clayton, NC
Broker/Realtor, e-PRO, CNS

I do twitter very little but I have signed up for tweetdeck. I don't really understand it though. I have got to get educated on it! Sounds like you know what you're doing. Maybe we will get some referrals from it.

May 14, 2009 07:22 AM
David Robinson
Lloyd Cullen Real Estate - Murrieta, CA
Call Now (877) 828-0710

Very nice way of getting peoples attention, marketing and networking yourself,

Oct 21, 2010 06:01 AM