Confessions from a Recovering Twitter Hater

I can say, without irony or sarcasm, that Twitter has had a major impact on my life over the past year. I can also say that a little over a year ago, I would have literally laughed out loud at anyone who might have uttered a similar statement. I admit it, I was a naysayer. When my boyfriend first introduced me to the concept of Twitter, I thought it was dumb. I remember saying to him, "Why does the world need another way to not REALLY talk? Why do we need more status updates?? Facebook is bad enough!" And poor Terry (@brockter), he tried to convince me otherwise. He told me that he was meeting people he would have never talked to if Twitter didn't exist, that he was making networking connections across our very large campus. I nodded and bit my tongue. Mostly, I just didn't believe him. 

I am a people person, an extrovert to the absolute core. I pride myself on maintaining close connections to friends and family. My energy comes from interactions with others. I LOVE to talk. But before Twitter (and to some extent even now), I found myself deeply jaded by what I observed in my own and others' use of Facebook. Relationships reduced to a "status," friend requests from people I barely knew, and endless, sometimes creepy, photos of the personal exploits of acquaintances' lives had me convinced that social media was degrading human communication. This conclusion intersected with Twitter's founding and subsequently my response was to scoff and ignore. I was a major hater. 

But here's what changed my mind. Terry started telling me about this group that was forming in the Lansing community; a group of Twitter users who were taking their virtual connections and making them personal. Every week, the Lansing Twitterati started getting together for happy hour. To, you know, talk for real. Still skeptical, I agreed to accompany Terry to said happy hour. Doing so changed my perception of Twitter completely. 

I met people at this Lansing "Tweet Up" that I would have never met otherwise, all of whom had met through Twitter. My semi-regular visits to the Lansing Happy Hour Club (#lhhc) resulted in new friendships, networking connections, and great conversations with smart people. It also softened me to Twitter, helped me to ease in, and transformed me into a devoted user. 

Twitter is not about status messages sent out blindly into cyberspace. It is about building and sustaining conversations, creating dialogue with like (and sometimes unlike) minds, and for me, it's about constantly learning new things. Through Twitter, I have made direct contacts at universities across the country, communicated with major corporations (@Delta, @WholeFoods, for example), and found a voice among my followers and those I am following. Every day, in small ways, I contribute my ideas and opinions to a community of Twitter users, from whom I gain so much insight and knowledge to which I would not previously have had access. That's what makes Twitter so great- it asks very little of you (literally only 140 characters) and you get so, so much in return. 

Yesterday, we held our first William and Mary Tribe Tweet Up in Williamsburg at a local bar. Over the course of 2 hours, nearly 20 people visited the event, all users of social media on our campus and in our community. Again, I experienced the tremendous energy that comes from putting smart, engaged social media users in the same room together. I learned new things about offices on campus and who works in them, met members of the Williamsburg community, and got to know lots of new colleagues. I can now say I know (not know OF, but actually KNOW) people in the registrar, admissions, creative services, and university relations offices. As a new professional, this increases my web of connections exponentially. 

The true Twitter Haters out there may not be buying this. But from one (former) naysayer to another, let me tell you, hating Twitter without trying it or asking an avid user to help you understand it is to miss out on a great tool and even greater opportunities. So give it a chance. Because trust me, if my skepticism can be overcome, I'd bet yours can too!