"The Tao of Twitter" Truths

The power of a tiny little blue bird.

     Recently, I read the book "The Tao of Twitter" for my Public Relations 490 class. Honestly, I thought to myself "why on earth do I need to read this, I know everything about Twitter." Not even four pages in and I realized just how wrong I was. Although it is mainly a guide for new "eggs" on how to use, set up and follow on Twitter, there are many pearls of wisdom that even the most "hatched" of Twitter users can benefit from.

    I have been @acbshaw since the summer of 2010, and back then I was considered a Twitter late-bloomer. My tweets include a wide array of topics, as does my mind and personality. These include news, funny quotes from my friends, the bi-polar Knoxville weather, my obsession with the Vols, lyrics to a song on the radio, the list goes on and on. One thing I never really considered when I tweeted was that I could use to for my professional benefit. Mark Schaefer, the author of "The Tao of Twitter" explains in great detail the 3 steps one takes on their 'tao', or path, to a great Twitter account:

1. Making targeted connections

2. Providing meaningful content

3. Offering authentic helpfulness

    Like I mentioned above, I have always thought that my personal, quirky Tweet content would hurt my in the attempt to professionally network via Twitter. According to Schaefer, employers are going to want to see your personality, interests, etc. to be evitable in your tweets so they can learn more about you. Just like these Twitter birds pictured below, my Twitter account is full of many different aspects of my personality.

If you post nothing but boring, "professional" content, people will think you are that way in real life. Although my professional persona on Twitter has not yet been fully established, I am going to use this book religiously on my path to creating a balance between the personal and the professional. Take my advice, go buy your copy of "The Tao of Twitter." Start your own journey toward social media influence and business success today!

TWEET TWEET Y'ALL