Twestival is a shining example of tapping into a vibrant community for the purposes of making a difference. Occurring last night in multiple cities around the world, the collective event donates 100% of the money they make to a notable cause. This year, Twestival supports Concern, a humanitarian organization that helps those living in extreme poverty.
San Francisco Twestival featured great music from Stroke 9 and Sioux City Kid. Notable Twitterati, that you may or may not care about, were out in full force. Overall, it was a great event held for a fantastic cause.
I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked why I use Twitter. While unhindered by an inability to count past single digits, the number of times I’ve been questioned on the microblog’s importance causes my eyes to glaze over and my tongue to roll into the back of my throat. Give me a break.
“I don’t get Twitter.”
“Why would I want to know what sandwich you’re eating?”
“Isn’t it a forum for people announcing their bowel movements?”
Not quite.
While I can’t speak on the quality of your friends or those you choose to follow, Twitter is perhaps the greatest platform for idea publication since early man discovered yelling into a crowd. The format is concise and the delivery is quick. As a consumer, the fundamental question poised by Twitter is simple: “What are you thinking?” For businesses, it’s an affordable method to hear the answer to the aforementioned question in regards to their brand. It allows an organization the ability to exhibit its personality (assuming it has one) and connect directly with its customers.
Here are a few easy-to-digest reasons to use Twitter…
1.) Follow the people you really care about
Whether it’s mom, the best friend or a favorite band, Twitter allows users to get quick updates on the people they care about most. And since my mom isn’t on Twitter:
2.) Businesses are actually listening
Twitter amplifies voices and spreads posted ideas. It’s word-of-mouth marketing online, available to be heard and trended by those about whom are spoken. Take Domino’s Pizza, for example. It’s been almost a year since the PR debacle when a Domino’s employee was caught with cheese up his nose. But they’ve come running back with a new marketing campaign: The Pizza Turnaround. In an attempt to reinvigorate the brand, the pizza chain accumulated comments posted online to improve their core product. And they’re pretty excited about the new cheese:
3.) You could do the world some good
Charitable organizations like Twestival, the worldwide Twitter festival supporting a variety of charities, and individuals like Drew Olanoff of Blame Drew’s Cancer have leveraged Twitter’s community building abilities to rally around their respective causes. As participants, we are able to contribute and form direct relationships with these groups online:
Blame Drew’s Cancer aims to match a dollar for each Twitter participant using the hashtag (categorizing phrase), #BlameDrewsCancer in a post.
4.) Potentially save your own life
Organizations watching issues affecting our daily lives post updates regularly. Two great examples are @Emergency_in_SF and @FDArecalls. The former posts regularly on emergencies within San Francisco, from fires to natural disasters. Similarly, the latter announces up-to-the-second recalls on many of the things you put in your mouth. For example:
And you thought it was safe to eat Horse Mackerel again.
5.) Get unfiltered news from the sources that matter
With members of the media kicked out of Iranian cities, millions joining in on protests, and violence erupting all across the turmoiled state, Iranians have been turning to Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and other social tools to get the word out about what’s happening on the ground. Well, it looks like Twitter may have had someone pushing for it not to go down last night, during peak Iranian hours: the U.S. State Department. According to a CNN blog post, the U.S. government is connecting with Twitter and other major social media companies to make sure that the flow of information from Iran remains uninterrupted. While the Obama administration itself keeping out of the Iran controversy on official channels, it is making sure that information coming from people on the ground is getting through to the rest of the world.
Arguably more important than the sandwich I just had (which was turkey, btw).
I think those are reasons enough to at least not immediately dismiss our lovable microblog. If you have some compelling reasons on why you use Twitter, please feel free to add them in the comments.
