I’m ambivalent about my title because I use Twitter mainly for learning, communication, and entertainment. I recognize, however, that business is becoming increasingly a part of Twitter. I recently posted a picture on TwitPic …
and commented that it reminded me of a Liberty print.
(I have fond memories of a dress made from material I got at Liberty’s in London, and several scarves I treasure, including one my husband discovered in a second-hand store and bought for me. I haven’t shopped there for years because I haven’t been in London for years.)
What happened next was this –
plus an invitation to follow them. I looked at their site and saw that they had a number of people tweeting using the business name plus the (I assume) first name of the person posting the tweets, which strikes me as a good way to display a business and keep the personal touch so important a part of Twitter.
I didn’t chose to follow them, because I live a continent away and because my prime interest is people I know, web businesses that can have an impact on what I want to do, and people I can learn from. (I love the freedom of not following back without feeling rude. So different from invitations in symetrical social sites.)
I found it very interesting that my casual mention of their business brought them directly to me; they are obviously monitoring Twitter, which I didn’t expect from such an old and traditional company – which shows me I should be careful about stereotyping. ;->
Today, in a Google Group I am part of, Gloria Hildebrandt – http://ohouse.ca/ – linked to this site –
It is clear to me that even businesses not directly connected to the web and social networking are seeing the business possibilities that Twitter offers.
So while I keep on enjoying the learning and entertainment that Twitter provides me, I also recognize that it has many uses beyond the purely personal.
Learning Living 
Thanks for mentioning me & my site, but I hope no one gets the impression that I am current on Twitter & other social media. I just try to add to discussion as I’m able!
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Hi Gloria,
That makes your link to the site on Twitter even more interesting – outsiders see things more clearly.
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It seems to me that there are three types of businesses that are using Twitter. There are legitimate known businesses; ambitious startups; and aggressive sales type on commission. The first two tend to use it responsibily. The aggressive person on commission or selling dubious content of value scare me. Not that I don’t mind ambition, but the fact that there’s traditional businesses that need to learn how to use Twitter or other social networks for business? Maybe it’s the educator in me, but the time is right to hire a kid for a summer job for a social network make over. After all, they’re consumers today and will increasingly have a voice – let’s give them the opportunity.
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