I responded to a manifesto by Devin Coldewey at TechCrunch today, asking:
Why do you, or why don’t you, use Twitter?… I only forbid one answer: “because everyone else is doing it.” That’s the same reason people wore Hammer pants.
In short, my answer was that I use it because it’s part of my research to do my job effectively, and to stay on the cutting edge of my industry. (Go here for the long answer.)
That all led me to wonder how my tweets were being used by others… if at all. I know what value I am getting, but what do others get out of my 140-character banter?
Sure people retweet what I say or converse with me via my public lifestream at @sherrymain. But is all the noise I make actually worthy of anything other than building my online-ego?
I came across an LA Times article from May 21 that quotes my tweet verbatim (down to the hashtag!), and associates it with my full-time profession:
Gun scare at UCI serves as test for text-alert system
…Reports also spread through campus through hundreds of messages on the microblogging site, with students sending tweets about helicopters hovering above campus, swarms of police and apparent lockdowns. “For those reporting on #UCI incident, evidence that UCI’s ZotAlert system works, and Twitter helps to spread the word beyond,” wrote Sherry Main, a communications director at UCI.
Someone is listening! The media are listening, especially because I wear a communications hat. So in fact, the primary reason for my tweeting maybe to research the medium, but a by-product of that research is that I represent not only my private self, but any and all organizations that I am affiliated with.
In such a public forum, I must always be “on” – whether I tweet about my restless night at 3 a.m. or the hair in my lunch – people (and the media, which include major papers, bloggers, etc.) are listening and looking for quick, easy ways to obtain and retool information.
I’ve always been consciously aware that anyone can read what I write, but being consciously aware that someone can reuse what you write, is something completely different.
What starts as research quickly turns into addiction – ahem, Twitter and Facebook – especially when my interactions with the respective communities grow. But the value in this addiction lies in the ability to filter out the noise and extract lessons for both my life and more importantly to carve a career path and expert niche for myself.
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