Broadcasting Live… From Twitter!

Image "What happens when AV nerds grow up..." used courtesy of DSmous

One of my favorite panels from the BlogWorld Expo was called “The Twitter Game: How To ‘Play’ Social Media and Why It’s A Bad Idea.” It was all about “gaming” Twitter – what should be automated, what should, best practices, all that tasty stuff.

Before I really get into anything here, I think it’s worth pointing out that social media people are REALLY protective of social media surprise). Sometimes we behave like preachers in the Holy Church 2.0, and we’ll let you know when we think you’re off track. Don’t use MY precious twitter to shout at people, sell your male enhancement products, or tell me how to get more followers or make money – I’m doing JUST fine, thank you.

I’m bringing this up because among the panelists was Jesse Stay, who was greeting with a mild bronx cheer when he was introduced as the man who created auto-DM (direct messages on Twitter to the layperson), but also the man behind SocialToo, which allows you to block auto-DMs. I’ll talk about auto-DMs another time, though – I want to talk about a statement Jesse made that stuck with me. At one point, he called Twitter a “broadcasting platform.”

GATHER YOUR TORCHES, PEOPLE! CLEM, GET THE PTICHFORKS! WE’RE STORMING THE CASTLE! How DARE he refer to Twitter as a “broadcasting platform”?! It’s about engagement, right? We’re connecting with people, not shouting at them, right? Why I oughta… Lord knows there are enough people out there shouting and spamming. Now we have homeboy up on stage outright calling it a broadcasting platform, and to certain people, that’s all the validation they’d need to go on talking to nobody about themselves all day. If I’m honest, though, I actually agree with Jesse. Twitter IS a broadcast medium.

Twitter is a broadcasting platform; the difference is in how you’re broadcasting. I can broadcast over the radio by rockin’ the mic and using the technology of magic (and transistors) to reach my audience, or get in front of a camera and use it and magic (plus satellites) to appear on your TV. On twitter, however, my message gets distributed through other people, and if I’m not out there cultivating relationships and adding value to people’s lives, they have no reason to pass things on (retweeting, mentions, etc.). So while Twitter does provide you with a platform for broadcasting, if you don’t have a real connection with someone, your satellites are offline, your transistors are broken, and you’ve lost the magic.

What do you think?

Tags: Blog World Expo, social networking, SocialToo, Twitter