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The week prior to Easter last year I wrote the original You, Me and Twitter   and as we arrive at that time of year again, I thought it was useful to revisit and update the article. So here it is.  
 
‘Oh save me, not another article on Twitter’, I hear you say. I understand if that’s your reaction. There are more than enough webinars, eBooks, special reports, white papers, and articles about Twitter being pumped out by bloggers, print media journalists and social media consultants to last until the ice caps melt.  
 
This is not a post about how you should, or could use Twitter or why   you should use Twitter. This is an article about why and how I  use Twitter and by the end of this article, my aim is to assist you to make up your mind as to whether using Twitter, for business or personal reasons, is something worth your while.  
 
Why I use Twitter  :   

  • To connect and network with like-minded people   who have similar interests
  • To connect with recruiters and recruitment thought leaders outside of Australia  
  • As an alternative to RSS feeds   clogging my inbox
  • As an alternative to sending emails  
  • To alert me to events, articles, blogs and news items   of interest
  • To publicise   my blog posts, articles and media mentions
  • To promote   my workshops, webinars and online membership site
  • To promote relevant people, their articles and events to people who follow me   on Twitter
  • To reveal and share something of my personality and interests  
  • To build my personal brand  
  • To distract me when I am bored or disinterested   in what I am doing (eg waiting in queues, airports, sitting on public transport etc)

How I use Twitter:    

  • Through TweetDeck on my pc
  • Through Tweetie on my iPhone

My favourite 10 people (in random order) that I follow on Twitter and why:    
 

@jo_knox  
(then) 333 followers  

(now) 649  
Joined Twitter Dec 2008  
Recent tweet  : A small, mean part of me takes pleasure in receiving negative feedback that is poorly-spelled..
What I said in March 2010  : The Recruiter Daily and HR Daily editor is informative, personal, funny, generous and light hearted.
What I say now :  Jo continues to tweet regularly with the same appeal
@greg_savage  
(then) 3,289 followers  

(now) 6,491  
Joined Twitter June 2009  
Recent tweet  : This is how you know when you have hired a dud recruiter http://bit.ly/eHW7cd
What I said in March 2010  : A more recent convert to Twitter, Australia’s favourite recruitment presenter and Aquent International CEO, engages and informs in equal measure.
What I say now :  Greg has vastly increased his social media profile and continues to be a very active daily presence on Twitter
@AaronDodd  
(then) 412 followers  

(now) 679  
Joined Twitter Jan 2009  
Recent tweet   Battle of Los Angeles. So appallingly bad that it’s mesmerising
What I said in March 2010  : Director of Melbourne-based recruitment company, Mindset, Aaron is an expat-Kiwi who enjoys stirring the pot.
What I say now :  Aaron continues to be active on Twitter with an entertaining mix of retweets, personal observations and pithy comments
@ThisIsRobThomas  
(then) 151,179 followers  

(now) 227,120  
Joined Twitter Mar 2009  
Recent tweet  : undergoing an experiment. trying to watch TRON and give a shit.
What I said in March 2010  : The Matchbox Twenty front man mixes politics, commentary on his travels, concerts and rock star lifestyle with banter amongst his followers/fans   
What I say now :  a lack of touring and recording in the past year has meant Rob Thomas’s tweets have taken on a more domesticated tone
@Undercover  
(then) 43,151 followers  

(now) 42,003  
Joined Twitter July 2009  
Recent tweet  : Splendour In The Grass is the only 2011 Aussie show for Coldplay http://bit.ly/gYXnJg  
What I said in March 2010  : Up-to-date rock music news and reviews from around the globe, written by knowledgeable Australian music journalists Paul Cashmere and Ros O’Gorman
What I say now :  plenty of the stories tweeted by Undercover are barely news (hence drop in follower numbers) but you couldn’t accuse them of idleness with their daily tweet count always in double figures
@JessicaBooth  
(then) 2,028 followers  

(now) 3,653  
Joined Twitter Dec 2008  
Recent tweet  : Leaving work at 5pm feels awesome
What I said in March 2010  : Jess was awarded HR Rising Star award recently in the AHRI National Awards 2010 and her tweets clearly demonstrate the passion she has for her work and life, generally.
What I say now :  Jess changed employers later last year, moving from a legal firm to Lion Nathan. Her twitter output is still prolific and she continues to be an active promoter of her local HR community through her creation, HR Club Sydney
@mspecht  
(then) 3,562 followers  

(now) 4,023  
Joined Twitter Nov 2006  
Recent tweet  : Ramping up the training course, already some great discussion
What I said in March 2010  : Michael is one of Australia’s top HR technology bloggers whose thoughts are always worth reading.
What I say now :  Michael’s social media presence has dropped away in the past 12 months – he’s only posted to his blog twice in the past 6 months, most recently on 17 February, 2011, although he’s still active on Twitter.
@ThomasShaw  
(then) 7,749 followers  

(now) 18,972  
Joined Twitter Nov 2008  
Recent tweet  : If that’s the new RCSA website you would be ashamed of ur work.
What I said in March 2010  : Thomas seems to spend his whole life online exploring the development of recruitment technology and is always uncovering, and tweeting about, interesting stuff.
What I say now :  Thomas continues to be a very active and astute blogger and his Twitter follower numbers have grown more substantially, proportionally, than any other recruitment related person on this list.
@miafreedman  
(then) 13,410 followers (now) 31,436  
Joined Twitter Jan 2009  
Recent tweet  : Standing in a bakery. The middle aged American man in front of me is asking the price of every individual thing in the shop. I may scream.
What I said in March 2010  : Ex-women’s mag editor and Channel 9 exec Mia Freedman always has an interesting and readable slant on current Australian cultural issues
What I say now :  Mia Freedman’s profile has been elevated in the past 12 months due to more TV appearances and the release of her second book, Mia Culpa. Her tweets on current topics of media interest continue to be prolific.
@mpesce  
(then) 6,241 followers (now) 15,473  
Joined Twitter April 2007  
Recent tweet  : Insomnia. Tummy ache. Watching ‘The Love Boat’. I suddenly feel 35 years youngerer.
What I said in March 2010  : ABC1 New Investors panelist and speaker on many contemporary issues, Mark Pesce, is genuinely engaging in tweeting about the goings on in his busy life.
What I say now :  Nothing’s changed. Mark Pesce continues to be an irreverent, outspoken, welcome presence on Twitter.

 
Here’s another 15 worth mentioning:  
 
March 2010 List   @pauljacobs4real, @BillBoorman, @trib, @Justin_Hillier, @Dannuroo, @kaz747, @Animal, @mhawkins1970, @bluetrain @JobAdder @graemebowman @jamesielliott @MeJoris @chrisbrogan @jaredw78  
 
April 2011 ‘need to tweet more’ update:  @Justin_Hillier @bluetrain @jamesielliott @JobAdder  
 
April 2011 ‘in’ (recruitment related):  @JonathanRiceNZ @InterviewIQ @Talent_Capital @MerynDinnen @EllisonHR  
 
To watch out for in 2011:  @NicoleUnderwood @JamesBowmer @DamonKlotz @dominickj @Superior_talent @AndrewAston  
 
Twitter works for me because I am clear as to why I am participating, how I participate and who is worth my time in following and engaging with.  
 
It’s the same with any marketing or business development initiative I would think.  
 
Could Twitter work for you?

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Karalyn Brown

Thanks for the mention, Ross – and, yes, I came across your post first on Twitter! Keep up the good posts! Karalyn @interviewIQ

Jonathan Rice

Ross – you follow me for my recruitment commentary? I thought it was for the Arsenal stuff…

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