Twitter Dilemma: To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Pros, Cons, 50+ Links & Tools

the-birds-rickydavid.jpg

The birds by rickydavid.

In recent weeks I faced a huge onslaught of posts about Twitter from at least 5 sources per day I read. Many people will probably assume I’m an early adopter, but I was not on Twitter, well, until now. So follow me or I will never again stumble, sphinn, mixx or link you! Now said that, I’m not sure yet if I will use it for more than testing as with the hundreds of Web services I try. Indeed I’m only an early adopter where it does make sense from the start. Now Twitter was useless as is but with growing community and market share it seems the point where it matters has arrived.

Now I’m still undecided and was was analysing pros, cons among all things twitter like tools for a while now to assess if and how I will use it if I will. As I’m a social media monster when I enter a new service to really contribute I either take it by storm or I won’t at all. This way I conquered the above mentioned social media StumbleUpon, Sphinn and Mixx.

Indeed Twitter is a lot like Mixx although it’s a different concept. Both sites do not result in significant direct traffic or other benefits you can measure easily. I wanted to share my thoughts on Twitter and help you decide whether it makes sense or not so I collected 50+ Twitter related links to answer the question: To tweet or not to tweet? Also once you decided you want to use it, you will find plenty of ideas how to use it below:

pretty-bird-picture-taker-2.jpg

Pretty bird by Picture Taker 2.

Balanced Twitter pros and cons articles


polka-the-humming-bird-cris-perry.jpg

Polka - the humming bird by Cris Pierry

Reasons to use Twitter

i-look-up-to-the-little-bird-monkeyc-net.jpg

I look up to the little bird by monkeyc.net

Reasons not to use Twitter

red-wing-black-bird-3723-casch52.jpg

Red wing black bird 3723 by Casch52

Twitter tools
clients



scanners (Twitter search etc.)

bejia-flor-humming-bird-marcio-cabral-de-moura.jpg

Bejia flor / Humming bird by Marcio Cabral de Moura

Twitter marketing how tos, tutorials and resources

Now of course the main reason why I’ll be using Twitter is to inform you of my eating habits! No, probably to indoctrinate you with my SEO 2.0 propaganda. It does only make sense when I have enough people to preach to. So follow me now if you are really serious about the SEO 2.0 cult!

On a side note: I have been on Pownce for a while, but like with Digg, SEO hater Kevin Rose has failed to create a real community here. Basically most people who are my friends on Twitter either never show up at all or just reuse their Twitter stream there like Dosh Dosh for instance. I already was angry at him for not replying when I noticed this…

  1. How do you use Twitter?
  2. Do you use a client?
  3. If yes, which one?
  4. What are you using Twitter for?
  5. What do you tweet about actually?
  6. What are you doing?
  7. What is your user name?

If it makes sense I’ll follow, stumble, sphinn, mixx and link you! Did I miss some valuable links? Add them in the comments, this list will be continually updated.

del.icio.us StumbleUpon Facebook Google Mixx Sphinn TwitThis

30 Comments »

  1. Ann Smarty

    1. Daily but I don’t spend too much time there.
    2. Yes
    3. TwitterFox (though it’s a bit slow and I plan to switch to something else) + Gtalk
    4. For communicating with friends mainly. Sometimes for asking for help with some sphinn submission. That’s also a great news source.
    5. SE and social media news mainly.
    6. Answering your questions actually :)
    7. SEOSmarty

  2. spostareduro

    I respect Maki (Dosh Dosh) but had to delete him from my friend list in Pownce. I already view his Tweets. ALL of them..sheesh.

    Following Annies lead:
    1. 23.9 hrs per day. 22.hrs observation time. 1.9 hrs interaction. (give or take a minute or two)
    2. Yup
    3. I use Twhirl for recieving my updates. Real time. (unless Twitter’s down, which occasionally happens. you’ll get a tweet 5 hrs after its sent. bummer)
    4.mostly observe others and follow links, etc. to get a feel for the people I hang with. and chime in with my own URLS and comments to allow them to get a feel for who they hang with.
    5. I Tweet anything that rolls off the top of my little blond head. for example: “Do you poke yourself in Facebook?” (I do), “Does spaghetti come out of your nose if you laugh while chewing it?” “Hey! Check out Tads new post! lmao”…that sort of thing.. ;-)
    6. Trying to answer your questions with a full bladder. I guess it will have to wait, since you are impatient and all. (note your Tweet, http://snurl.com/26h8f )
    7. SpostareDuro

  3. Anne Zieger

    Hi there: Just wanted to say that this was a great Twitter wrap-up, perhaps the best I’ve seen anywhere. (You’re a pro, so I’ll assume you’ve posted it on Sphinn and Gooruze.) It’s a very useful blog generally, actually.

    Also, thanks for linking to my blog in the wrap up. Much appreciate the shout out.

    Cheers,

    Anne Zieger

  4. Adrienne Doss

    1. I mostly lurk and read. Did you mean “how often?” If so, pretty much all day M-F.
    2. Yes 3. Twhirl
    4. News and hopefully building friendships. I enjoy helping people with their social submissions.
    5. I tend to tweet silly things, but I occasionally ask for help.
    6. Checking my e-mail and feeds mostly.
    7. https://twitter.com/seowoman

  5. onreact

    Thanks Ann! Any particular reasons for choosing (or not anymore) TwitterFox?

    Thank you Anne: Yeah, I’m a pro in some areas but as a true blue SEO 2.0 I let others do the dirty work of submitting most of the time ;-)

  6. Makakman

    1. Daily
    2. Yes
    3. Twitteriffic
    4. Making new contacts, keeping in touch with friends, sharing latest blog posts and sharing useful links.
    5. SEO, SMM and monkey business
    6. Building a site
    7. makakman

  7. onreact

    Thanks spostareduro: Had to approve you first in WP. So you’re more into humor ;-) ?

    Adrienne: So you’re a “connector” in social media terms.

    Makakman: Never heard of Twitteriffic. Any reasons for using it?

  8. Paula Hawk

    Brilliant post for Twitter lovers & newbies everywhere!

    1 daily
    2 yes
    3 Twhirl
    4 Networking mainly, also to learn from some of the greats in the tech world
    5 anything and just about everything
    6 thinking I should do some work today :)
    7 hawksdomain

  9. Lid

    What a brilliant post! This must have taken forever to write - gonna have to tweet you now and ask :)

    1 How do you use Twitter?

    I love that I find out stuff there really quickly about people I like - looks like it might take over my RSS because most people let me know when they update a post - YAY!!!

    2 Do you use a client?

    Yes and no

    3 If yes, which one?

    Twhirl to read - Web to write

    4 What are you using Twitter for?

    A ton of stuff but mainly in the hope of getting rid of my feed reader

    5 What do you tweet about actually?

    Stuff I do, stuff I notice and to get stuff quick!

    6 What are you doing?

    Going through my feeds [groan]

    7 What is your user name?

    MadLid :)

  10. onreact

    Thanks Paula! Just followed you :-)

    Thank you Lid! in fact it was easier than expected to write this and took I think something like 3 to 4h.

    Next post: How to write huge resource posts in 5 minutes ;-)

  11. Melanie

    #1 On my laptop? Maybe I don’t understand the question.
    #2 Sometimes.
    #3 Twhirl.
    #4 I use it for interaction with my SEO peers, sharing information or just to make everyone laugh.
    #5 Breaking news, sharing cool links, talking SEO. I tweet about whatever is on my mind.
    #6 Burping.
    #7 status_girl

  12. Ann Smarty

    RE: TwitterFox - just been using it for a long time (the first client I learned about) but now I know there are quite a few faster ones… like the one Kim cited…

  13. Tibi Puiu

    Good to see your funky sombrero on twitter too. Welcome on board, mate!

  14. Paul

    1 In between the hard work - I like it as a distraction

    2 Nope!

    3 –

    4 Fun, quick link scanning, occasional job interviews including speedos and thongs - don’t ask!

    5 SEO / Search / YouTube Video finds

    6 Erm … Late night trawling.

    7 NorthSouthMedia

  15. Pingback » blogging about twittering and twittering about blogging SEO and Findability blog: LJ Banks — findability expert

    […] blogging about twittering and twittering about blogging Published in April 30th, 2008 Posted by LJ Banks in blogging, web 2.0 Great list of pro and con articles and tools for twittering at SEO 2.0 blog: Twitter Dilemma: To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Pros, Cons, 50+ Links & Tools. […]

  16. Internet Marketing Joy

    Others are claiming that Twitter is not good way of promoting their sites..but for me, I believe that Twitter has a lot of potentials..even though others are saying that it’s not worth it at all..

    Anyways thanks for sharing these articles about Twitter and also the different tools you can use for this platform..^^

  17. Kimota

    1. Just started, getting into a daily routine of seeing what other people are reading and networking.
    2. Not yet, but I want to install Twhirl tonight
    3.See above
    4. Networking and promoting my blog as well as keeping up with people.
    5. My day, my blog, interesting reads I find…
    6. Avoiding writing a particularly boring article on hand care…
    7. Kimota

  18. andymurd

    1. I lurk all day and most of the night asking and answering questions.
    2. Yes.
    3. TwitterFox works well for my style of twitter use.
    4. Joining in the conversation, germinating ideas.
    5. Random (sometimes cool) geeky things.
    6. Trying not to get mad at a stupid javascript error I’ve got fix this morning.
    7. andymurd

  19. James Duthie

    I have vehemently defied the Twitter craze up until now. But I’m also reconsidering my stance given the hype, and to be honest I’m wondering if not being on there is actually hurting me…

    Sigh…

  20. onreact

    Tibi: Now I realzed! I forgot to add your Twitter guide! I will add it along with a dozen more articles soon.

    @all: Thanks for the feedack!

  21. NaturalWoman

    I use Twitter to keep up with friends and industry chatter and to connect informally during the workday
    As far as a client, I was using twhirl but have issues with it recently. Your post and several comments convinced me to try twitterfox. So far, so good.

  22. Marc

    1 How do you use Twitter?
    mainly listening to industry experts and getting the jump on news stories

    2 Do you use a client?
    yes

    3 If yes, which one?
    twitterfox

    4 What are you using Twitter for?
    industry news, social networking, fun with friends

    5 What do you tweet about actually?
    marketing news, cool stuff, whatever nonsense i might be doing at the moment

    6 What are you doing?
    catching up on the latest tech and marketing news

    7 What is your user name?
    nyseo

  23. Ann Rusnak ~ The Time Diva

    Great list tnx for @jlturn for posting this in Facebook

    1. Almost every day. I do take days off. So twitter doesn’t drain my time, I turn it off and off during the day.

    2.Yes.

    3.Twhirl allows me to manage my twitter time.

    4. Build relationships, talk to friends and colleagues, get help, find great resources.

    5. What do you tweet about actually?
    articles, resources, what I’m doing, promotions, connecting other tweets

    6. commenting on this article.

    7. thetimediva

  24. Pingback Weekend Reading: Kickass Blogging and Design Articles

    […] To Tweet or Not to Tweet? 50+ Links & Tools by Tad […]

  25. Mohsin

    7. MohsinN ;)

  26. Pingback .neteffect | BlogWell

    […] Twitter Dilemma […]

  27. Susan Reynolds

    I’m with the “it must have taken forever” - oh and the birdies really gave me the impetus to go from one part of the list to the next. Yummy photos.

    So of course I’ll play along

    1. How do you use Twitter?
    I keep a sidebar open most of the time and glance at it, answer my @ msgs all at once every so often. Don’t go to the site at all

    2. Do you use a client?
    Yes

    3. If yes, which one?
    Tried many as they - and I - evolved and settled on twhirl. It’s interesting to look at the graph generated by tweetstats and see how my use of a client changed over time & has added up. http://tweetstats.com/graphs/susanreynolds Apparently I used snitter quite a bit until twhilr. Twitbin was my pre-twhild fave. Now I sometimes tweet from alertthingy which I use to look at friendfeed but I don’t read tweets there.

    4. What are you using Twitter for?
    As a networking, communication, interaction tool and for the watercooler effect. people working on their own need some interaction during the day - or night. I began tweeting around the same time I began to use Second Life for business.

    When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Dec 07 I tweeted it and the community rallied around me. I feel a connection to tweeters just because they are tweeters

    5. What do you tweet about actually?
    Daily happenings - personal and blog - and my general community / communication web 2.0 interests. Anything I’d blog about - and stuff too random to rate a blog entry.

    6. What are you doing?
    Branching out and reaching out. Interacting, thinking, conserving energy, wondering whether http://boobsonice.com should roll into the other blog.

    7. What is your user name?
    I’m the same me everywhere. @susanreynolds

  28. subcorpus

    i kinda like twitter …
    i dont post stuff much … may be one a day …
    but i like getting updates from others and i like to be in the know what my friends are upto …
    i use twhirl on my mac and twinnkle and hahlo on my iPhone …
    i just saw a new one mentioned … tweet-r …
    gonna check it out now …
    good article … thanks …

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