Presentation from 12/09 Cool Twitter Conference, Mpls -How my brother invented Tweeting -Why shared participation vs. propaganda -What big brands are doing (badly) -Home Depot gets it -Businesses shouldn't use Twitter for business -If they can't help themselves here are a few ideas -Be authentic -Stay out of the way -"Following" as a great metaphor -#doyoufollowme?

1. #doyoufollowme? Eric Hayward 12/3/09 Cool Twitter Conference, Minneapolis Twitter is Counter-Propaganda or, How I Learned to Quit Worrying and Love the Bomb copyright 09 Eric, just give credit is all

2. #doyoufollowme? I think my brother invented Twitter.

7. #doyoufollowme? Being a sadist, I took great pleasure in creating those messages.

8. #doyoufollowme? But it was really the response I was going for. What was he going to say…

9. #doyoufollowme? … This was how we connected with each other. Not only that, his response gave me something to respond to.

10. #doyoufollowme? He wasn’t just a faceless audience for me to push messages at, but an equal participant.

11. #doyoufollowme? Two ways of looking at Twitter:

12. #doyoufollowme? 1) Man, here’s a place where I can see what people all over the world are saying.

13. #doyoufollowme? 2) Hey, here’s another billboard for me to put advertising messages on.

14. #doyoufollowme? The first of these is a social impulse; business is not interested in social impulses. Maybe it should be -

15. #doyoufollowme? The second involves somebody feeding marketing messages into the same channel we use for personal conversations.

16. #doyoufollowme? Kind of like telemarketing.

17. #doyoufollowme? or just another Sunday Circular:

22. (Wendy’s: Now Serving Canned Tweets)

23. #doyoufollowme? Home Depot stands out:

25. #doyoufollowme? So do a few examples from Mashable’s “Best Twitter Brands.”

27. #doyoufollowme? But back to the examples of what’s best not to do. Another is “meforming.”

28. #doyoufollowme? Studying thousands of Tweets, Rutgers University professors determined 20% of users in form, where 80% me form.

29. #doyoufollowme? Informing = sharing useful info. Meforming = “I just ate a sandwich.” Informers have far more Followers.

30. #doyoufollowme? Meforming is virulent among business users. Consultants, so many of whom have become “Social Media Experts,” are the worst.

33. #doyoufollowme? A lot of this is etiquette. And because these are social utilities, social rules apply to business.

34. #doyoufollowme? Recommendation –

35. #doyoufollowme? Businesses probably shouldn’t use Twitter for business.

36. #doyoufollowme? Rather, use it the way most of the Twitter community uses Twitter.

37. #doyoufollowme? Moment of Zen -

38. #doyoufollowme? Repeat, “I have no business agenda. I’m just tweeting.” Soon it will actually happen. (Or you should take a method acting class.)

39. #doyoufollowme? You figure out what to post by really listening to people, finding out their interests. Perhaps they’ll line up with your own.

40. #doyoufollowme? Social networking is PR without the middle-man. People are the new editors.

41. #doyoufollowme? And this doesn’t mean “engaging in dialogue with customers,” which is a euphemism for “finding new ways to sell sh-t to people.”

42. #doyoufollowme? But if your marketing people just can’t help themselves, here are a few quick ideas.

43. #doyoufollowme? 1. Use what’s there. Cultivate enthusiasts from within; allow them to do what they’re already doing. It’s authentic.

44. #doyoufollowme? Give them interesting, exclusive things to post. Sneak previews. Behind-the-scenes. The history of X.

45. #doyoufollowme? 2. Stay out of the way.

46. #doyoufollowme? Let Twitter do it’s thing, which is likely to be to your benefit. Social media strategy is one of No Action. Avoid cheapening your brand by appearing insecure.

47. #doyoufollowme? Do you want people to see you because they follow you, or, because they can’t avoid it -

48. #doyoufollowme? “ Following” is a great metaphor.

50. #doyoufollowme?

51. thanks erichayward copyright 09 Eric, just give credit is all find this at #doyoufollowme?

52. copyright 09 Eric, just give credit is all 2oo9 SOAREYOU PRODUCTIONS