Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Will you be ready for the next thing? Why learning Twitter today really does matter
Recently, I was having a discussion with a very esteemed colleague— a high-level communicator who has quite a distinguished career. He asked me if I thought Twitter will be still around in 5 years. (Funny, I’ve heard this question a lot over the last few months...) Now, I don’t have a crystal ball but I know one thing for sure: whether Twitter is around or not doesn’t actually matter. From my point of view, it’s really about the progressive learning that’s happening right now, and being a part of it. For one, it seems clear to me that micro-blogging (made popular by Twitter) has forever changed expectations about length of messages, source, and delivery speed. As modern communicators, we need to be "in" on this sort of culture shift. Two, I’m pretty sure that by learning Twitter now, it’s going to be easier to adapt to "What Comes Next.” I can name several examples of where I’ve already seen this in my career. Not to date myself, but I learned page layout in PageMaker. That program is gone, but InDesign and other page layout tools are built on similar capabilities and expectations. I experience this again and again every time I get a new software version or download the latest App Store Updates. The knowledge of how things work is cumulative. Part of the reason why my colleague asked me the question about Twitter (I’m guessing) was that he had no intention of learning how to use it. For him--someone who’s close to retirement-- that’s fine. But for me, “not learning” isn’t an option. So, teach me more about Twitter (and SharePoint, and cloud computing, and …), and I’ll share what I know. Because, learning today really does matter. How about you? What do you think?
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Hi Beth: I'm equally dated, having learned page layout from Pagemaker in a prior life and yes, the skills acquired were transferable. Great point about Twitter-- though it paved the way for micro-blogging we can afford to be "channel agnostic" because the face of this channel may change but the interactive, inclusive messaging it embodies will not. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteBeth, I agree with you about learning how to use Twitter -- and other social media/networking tools -- right now. These skills are essential to effective communication. So is a lust for life-long learning, even on the brink of retirement. And, BTW, is there such a thing anymore?
ReplyDeleteMost certainly agree. Twitter may or may not be around in five years time, but it is a progressional step in the evolution of speaking the internet language. If you don't tweet, you are just reinforcing the digital divide. And as a retailer, how would you be a trustworthy shopping destination, if you don't speak the same language that your consumer base speak?
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