Twitter and Corporate Culture: Match Made in Heaven?

With the nation all aflutter about Twitter, it was only a matter of time before corporations and big business started to jump into the microblogging sensation. A big advantage to the platform is that it gives companies and their HR departments a way to communicate and reinforce their corporate cultures to the general public. Of course, not everyone's going to get it right at first. To help with that, Sharlyn Lauby has compiled '7 Secrets to Tweeting Your Corporate Culture,' a simple series of suggestions for businesses to Tweet effectively. As the latest generation moves more and more toward relying on digital media, having a strong online presence is crucial and Twitter is a great way to reach directly to customers and key interest groups.

For those who still question the useful of social media sites

Social media allows you to connect with others but these sites are about more than letting you know what your friend is having for breakfast. They give us a forum to share knowledge with each other and unlike the past it is knowledge that you want. You seek out this knowledge by subscribing to someone who posts what you want to know about and if you don't like it you can easily unsubscribe anytime. Following people has increased my world view, introduced me to new topics, allowed me to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world, keep abreast of current news, the benefits go on and on. So if you want to keep learning subscribe to others today, who knows what you'll find.

Is Facebook Copying Twitter?

Ha, Facebook's status updates are becoming more and more like Twitter every day. The article "Facebook vs Twitter Its On!" (link in title) says Facebook is beta testing a way to let you make your status updates available to everyone, not just your friends. This sounds like it could be a good and bad thing depending on how people use it. I use Facebook to share with my friends and tell them what I did over the weekend or review the last movie, anime, tv show I watched or the last book, manga, comic I read. I also use it to get "friendly" information such as what is a good, cheap, Indian restaurant in Berkeley. I use Twitter (and my blog) on a more professional basis to tell the world what I'm doing at work, learning in class, etc. The information I ask my followers relates to my field and I click on news links I am interested in to stay informed.

It also sounds redundant, that is what Twitter is for. If you want everyone to be able to see your updates then just join Twitter.

On another note, I just started Waltz class today and it was fun. I learned the basic box step, hesitation, half-hesitation and a turn. I met a lot of great people, saw some old friends and was able to work out.