There comes a time with every tried and true cliché that even the mere mention of it becomes like nails on a chalkboard or even an annoying relative that keeps inviting himself over for dinner.
I'd say we are rapidly approaching that point with a Twitter Fallacy that's fit for a rumor mill on steroids.
"Twitter is a bunch of people tweeting about their dinner"
"I don't need a bunch of tweets stating that you are a dog lover or own a cat"
"Its a bunch of useless play by play"
If that's your story and you're stickin to it dude, then riddle me this:
1) Why are you following someone like that? Did they threaten to tweet a picture of you knuckle deep in a compromising nose pick?
2) How long were you on Twitter before you drew that conclusion? And when I say "on Twitter" I don't mean pissing and moaning about what everyone else should or shouldn't be doing. I mean actively contributing to your network. Which brings us to . . .
3) Why are you showing up and expecting to be entertained under some code of entitlement just because you followed them? What have you done for them lately?
4) Did you even sign up for Twitter or are you merely repeating what you think the cool kids are saying?
And yes, there really was a time when I thought the same thing about Twitter. I even publicly dissed them when I addressed my company's sales force at a national sales meeting. Then something happened.
I thought if major companies like Kodak and Dell hired Chief Listening Officers, they probably thought there was some opportunity beyond dinner tweets.
Just for the heck of it, let me share some evidence for you that might change your Twitter Perception.
Dell Outlet booked more than $3 million dollars in revenue that was directly linked to their Twitter activities. Don't believe me? Here's what Twitter has to say about it!
Levis has the @Levisguy to put a "face" on their brand and (get this) ENGAGE their customers!
Best Buy's "Twelpforce" has answered over 19.500 customer inquiries since January 2009 via Twitter. FYI: 2,300 Best Buy employees answered those inquiries. Do you have any idea what a bitch it is to discourage that many people from Tweeting about their dinner long enough to help a customer? Well apparently, they're too busy engaging to worry about "Dinner Tweets"
And it isn't just the "Big Shots" that are leveraging Twitter beyond the perceived play by play.
Coffee Groundz in Houston Texas lets their customers either tweet their order in advance or from one of their tables if they prefer (kind of odd to tweet from a table but to each their own)
And for the aspiring rock stars out there: Smart sales jedis are searching for "money" conversations every day (and finding them too) by using tools such as http://search.twitter.com
And you know what gang, maybe, just maybe we might be just a tad guilty of mistaking a dinner tweet as an actual opportunity for us to engage! Note: The venue is still referred to as "Social Networking" . . . there's your sign dude!
And should you choose to reject an opportunity (and a free one to boot) just understand that for some of us Twitter isn't what's for dinner.
Peace!