Who Gives A Tweet? Mommybloggers Do. - Jory Des Jardins - MediaBizBloggers

Originally published May 30, 2008.

A few weeks back I attended a conference in New York and wondered what was going on at a simultaneous event being held across town. I needn't have worried about missing the details, the attendees at this other event were Twittering their experiences in real time. And attendees at my event, also on Twitter, were kvetching with them.

Before we go any further, let's step back and answer some questions, starting with What is Twitter?

Twitter is a free social networking service that connects its users by "microblogging," or in the Twitter addict's parlance, tweets—messages of no more than 140 characters.Users can opt to "follow" other users and allow other users to follow them. Many people who have taken to Twitter are bloggers. Imagine instant messaging a whole chunk of your social network to share some news, and those recipients just happen to be some of the most networked, influential people on the Web. The possibilities seem quite powerful, but then I look at the first tweet on my Twitter page today, by a pregnant Momblogger: "(was) told my ankles look REAL swollen by the neighbor" and I think, or … maybe not.

I first encountered Twitter at the 2007 South by Southwest conference. Flatscreen monitors displayed in real time the tweets of users who were attending the event. It seemed like a convenient appliction for people in crowded places. Can't find your buddy? Look up at the screen and see his tweet: Yo Jacko! Over here next to the Coke machine!" I thought the technology was useful for catching my friend in a bald-faced lie when she claimed she was going to retire for the night, but actually needed to ditch me to party more ferociously somewhere else—her late-night tweets gave her away.

Everyone seemed entranced by this fun, immediate technology, though the big question on more commercial minds was, how does one use this service to make money? Especially with this crowd, it seemed sacrilegious to post branded messaging without pissing off some of the most technologically fundamentalist people on the planet. They tweet because they can, using tech as a means of personal expression. My more crass curiosity centered on the question: "How do you target this stuff?"

I used the "I have a digital life, thanks" defense in explaining my resistance to opening a Twitter account. It was already frustrated trying to stay on top of the myriad blogs I read and my blogging, which has declined over the past few years, why should I now keep my digital community apprised of every business trip, gastric twinge, or fleeting mood I might have? But I felt a bit insecure sharing with others what I had only vicariously learned through colleagues with vastly populated Twitter accounts. I got my update on an event J&J recently held for bloggers called Camp Baby, for instance, though friends who "backchanneled", as we call getting the skinny on something by pinging someone via Twitter and reading their feed. Even some clients scooped me on bloggers' whereabouts and associations, as just reading their blogs was no longer where some of the realer conversations were being held.

Initially I assumed that Twitter would be a man's domain. After all, men prefer to "blink," a term I picked up from Dell Global Marketing VP Andy Lark, who himself loves to blog in short, pithy sentences. But Twitter relieves that need in everyone to know something quickly. And, more specifically, Mommybloggers have fully adopted Twitter as their primary source of communication with their peeps.

I just Twittered my still very nascent group of followers about why they Twitter and heard back from a Momblogger: "[sic] people wAnt to be in the know in real time! I do it to keep up and to be nosey".

I asked a more prolific Twitterer to ping her audience, and got more answers:

"Adult conversation, connecting with other women I may not come across otherwise, learning from others…"

One I can really relate to:

"I don't have a ton of time for bloghopping and get behind quickly. Twtr helps me keep on top of what ppl are blogging about."

And, as I expected to find:

"... (additional) promo opp for blog and platform as expert. :)"

Just the fact that my friend, who has over 1,000 followers, could generate 30 immediate responses to my question was testament enough of the power of Twitter. Last year, you Twittered to enforce your status as Digerati. Today you are pinging moms in Indiana, a fashion blogger who would never respond to your emailed press releases, a focus group of women who can easily write back a response when you write, "Hey, those of you who drink diet soda, what do you think of [insert name of brand here]?" and you actually get answers, lots of them if you are followed by many, or followed by people with many followers.

Though my friend tempered my enthusiasm:

"You get a lot done on Twitter, but if you keep pinging your network about every little promotional thing you are up to, it gets really stale. You have to stay connected to your audience and read them, too."

In effect, the most effective Twitterers build not customer bases, but communities.

One mommyblogger I know, who is also a PR executive, told me, "It's so easy. I just Twitter about the launch of an online campaign, and they show up!" What wasn't so easy was building her community, which happened one tweet at a time.

It feels awkward for me, putting myself in that frame of mind as I sit here eating yogurt and wondering why anyone would care about my more mundane activities. But I'm told it gets easier. Eventually, eating yogurt, or any part of my authentic life that is shared, becomes, as one Mommyblogger describes her blogging, a radical act.