About Twitter

Until several months ago, I thought that Twitter was just an interpersonal communication tool for non business purposes; this is obvious because e-mails and mobile phone SMS are more than enough for me to handle.

Recently, I opened an account with Twitter because I heard from friends and other people that it can be very useful for social and business purposes. Then my perception changed.

According to Jonathan Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management, Twitter has become an essential part of Crisis Management. We first saw this with in-person Tweeting from natural & man made disasters e.g Hurricane and Plane crashes, then from breaking news of all kinds, because Twitter makes it as easy as an SMS not just to inform one person but also everyone who subscribed to Twitter, including a rapidly growing number of news reporters. And if you are working with an organization that regularly covered by the news media, it can be ascertained someone from the media will be tracking the mentioning of your name and/or brands in Twitter.

Further, Bernstein mentioned about how he & his client found out that the State Attorney General plan to sue the client before the lawsuit was even served, because the AG office has tweeted about it! This was then tweeted by two Twitter subscribers in Texas, including a representative of a TV station.

Considering the above fact, I felt that Twitter is a very useful communication tool for both social and business purposes, especially in times of crisis. But it should be used properly and wisely, so that inconveniences can be avoided.